The Senate debates new asylum laws: what will happen?
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The Senate continues its consideration of the new asylum legislative proposals. In a meeting on 20 January, questions were posed to officials from the Ministry of Asylum and Migration. When will the laws be voted on, and what does this mean in practice?
Meeting: questions about the implementation of laws
The meeting in the
Can
What does that mean for the reception of refugees?
Do the
What are the implications for judges and courts?
At least the House of Representative members wanted attention on these issues:
The consistency of the legislative proposals with other asylum laws.
The implications of a proposal on criminalising undocumented residence.
How other countries deal with a
After a technical briefing, House members may also submit written questions. To do so, they use the information they received from the officials in the technical briefing. The ministry must then answer the written questions officially and in more detail. This way they get official, clear answers in writing, and they can make better decisions later in the debate and during the vote.
What laws was the meeting about?
The meeting dealt with several asylum bills, including:
Dutch Asylum Emergency Measures Act.
Law introducing two-state system.
Executive and Implementation Act 2026 Asylum and Migration Pact.
New amendment to the legislative proposal to criminalise undocumented residence.
What are the asylum legislative proposals about?
The legislative proposals are government proposals. They include these items:
A temporary asylum permit goes from 5 years to 3 years.
There will be no new permanent asylum permits.
The government will have more opportunities to turn away people who are not entitled to stay (anymore).
In addition, there is a proposal for a two-status system. That means there could be two types of protection, with potentially different rights and rules, especially in terms of family reunification.
Family reunification will also be stricter. Under the plans, fewer family members are likely to be allowed to come to the Netherlands. Reuniting with your family will become more difficult.
Political questions and debate on the legislative proposals will follow later
There is expected to be another discussion of the laws in the Senate in a few weeks. Then
aAfter that, the Senate is expected to vote on (part of) the asylum legislative proposals in late February.aarna wordt verwacht dat de Eerste Kamer eind februari stemt over (een deel van) de asielwetsvoorstellen.
The European Asylum and Migration Pact also plays a role in this. The EU has made new rules on asylum and migration. The Netherlands must incorporate these rules into Dutch laws by 12 June 2026. This is why the Senate is also looking at how the new asylum laws fit in with the European agreements.
Petition against asylum laws offered
On 20 January, a
A group of VWN employees went to the Senate to present the petition to House members, some of the employees told about their refugee past.
What can you do?
Trust reliable information:There are many messages on social media, but not everything is correct. Therefore, check information through reliable sources, such as the IND and RefugeeHelp.
Discuss your situation with your lawyer or counsellor: Every situation is different. Are you in proceedings, or do you want to apply for family reunification? If so, ask what these plans might mean for your situation.
RefugeeHelp will keep you informed. We will share an update as soon as more is clear about the next steps and votes.