According to Eurostat, is currently under consideration by the Dutch Migration Service (IND) 29.460 applications from asylum seekersa. That's just 180 fewer applications than in 2015, during Europe's biggest migration crisis since World War II. Refugee Work Netherlands is calling the backlog of asylum applications a ticking time bomb as asylum seekers are already nowhere to be housed.
Lack of resources in IND
Representatives of the IND say that the queue of applications for consideration is so long, because the resources of the organization are not designed for the current intensity of the influx of refugees. Under earlier agreements with the Ministry of Justice and Security, this year the Migration Service has committed itself to taking action on 22.000 asylum applications. The IND says that this target will be reached. True, most of the processed requests were submitted back in 2021.
Shortage in the Office of Asylum and Protection
Representatives of the IND speak of a constant understaffing in the Office for Asylum and Protection (directie Asiel en Bescherming). This year, there is a shortage of 380 staff members, in particular for positions related to decision-making on asylum applications. Previously we have Reportedthat there are not enough employees in almost all civil services.
Complicating the decision-making process
In recent years, according to the IND, the process of hearing and deciding on asylum applications has become increasingly complex. This is due, among other things, to the new European rules and the procedure for challenging IND refusals in court. “As a result, we have to conduct an even more thorough investigation and justify why the decision was made. It takes more time", - they say in the migration service.
"Floating" financing
The budget of the IND depends on the projections for the influx of refugees. An estimate of how many asylum seekers will arrive in the Netherlands next year determines how much money the organization will receive. As inflows have been low in recent years, the service says it currently does not have enough trained colleagues to handle the volume of asylum applications. Representatives of the migration service are in favor of stable funding for the organization.
Lifting coronavirus restrictions
The influx of refugees has objectively increased due to the lifting of most of the travel restrictions that were in place during the worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are now many Afghans, Syrians, Turks and Yemenis in the flow of refugees.
Extension of decision time
According to the rules, the IND must make a decision on the asylum application within six months. Like us wrote, in April, only a third of applications were processed within this period. Now the government is going to extend the "decision period" up to 15 months.
However, extending the processing time does not seem to be the way out for Van der Linden of the Refugee Council (Vluchtelingenwerk): “It is beneficial for everyone to quickly determine whether an asylum seeker is eligible for asylum or not. Politicians should listen more closely to organizations like the IND. The Migration Service should be structurally financed. The feasibility of an asylum policy in general must also be carefully examined.”.
What's next?
In 2020, a task force was created in IND to eliminate the backlog, but after the problem was resolved in the summer of 2021, it was disbanded, and a year later the backlog almost doubled.
