If the IND definitively rejects your asylum application, you may sometimes be able to submit a new application

The new European Pact on Asylum and Migration will come into force on 12 June 2026. This means that any new asylum application you wish to make will be processed under the new asylum procedure, which is stricter. The IND will no longer process your subsequent application under the standard asylum procedure, but under the accelerated asylum procedure. As a result, you may not have enough time during the procedure to properly explain and justify your application. So make sure you prepare your application thoroughly. Take your time and consult your lawyer before submitting your new asylum application. Do not this too quickly.

Do you want to reapply for asylum after your first asylum application was rejected? If so, it is important that you can demonstrate that there are new facts or circumstances. The

Any new facts and circumstances must relate to information that the IND has not yet assessed. For example, you may have received documents that you did not have during your first asylum procedure. And these new documents show that the information you previously provided to the IND was correct. Examples include membership cards proving that you were a member of a political party, or of a church or religious group, or documents proving that you attended political meetings or events. Medical reports of injuries may also constitute new facts. And documents proving that you reported violence or threats.

Examples of new circumstances might include a war breaking out in your country, or other changes in your country that have made the situation much worse or more dangerous (for you).

The key point regarding your second asylum application is that the new information must be new to the IND. You may therefore also provide information that was already known to you, but which you had not yet shared with the IND. However, it is important that you explain why you did not share this information with the IND during your first asylum application. This is because, under the new asylum procedure, new facts and evidence are only accepted if you were unable to provide them during your first asylum procedure. And, furthermore, it must not have been your fault that you did not do so. You must be able to explain this clearly to the IND. If you cannot, the IND may decide not to take the facts into account after all. This is because, in the IND’s view, the information is then not new.

It is not enough simply for there to be new facts or circumstances when you submit a new application. These new facts or circumstances must also significantly increase your chances of being granted asylum. The new facts and circumstances must therefore be relevant to your asylum procedure. This means that they could alter the IND’s decision on your asylum application. Consider this carefully, as new facts or circumstances are not always relevant to your asylum application.

For example, the situation in your country of origin may have changed, making it more dangerous for journalists, LGBTI people or women. However, if you are not a journalist, an LGBTI person or a woman, these new circumstances are not relevant to your asylum application. Bear this in mind. If the IND considers that the arguments in your new application are neither new nor relevant, it will not process your application.

Your first asylum application may have been declared ‘niet-ontvankelijk’ (inadmissible). In that case, the IND will not process your asylum application. This may be, for example, because the IND considers that another country should process your asylum application. Or because you already hold a residence permit in another country. If you then submit a new application, the new facts you provide must relate to the reason why your previous application was declared inadmissible.

For all the reasons mentioned above, it is important that you do not submit a new asylum application too quickly. Thorough preparation is essential. Before you submit a new application, contact the lawyer who handled your first application. They can assess whether the new information is significant enough to warrant a new application. The lawyer can also help you complete the application form.

If your lawyer does not agree to this, you will have to find a new lawyer yourself to assist you if with your new application. You may have to pay this new lawyer yourself. The costs involved can be substantial. You must therefore be absolutely certain that it is worthwhile to submit a new asylum application. Please think this through carefully.

You must go to Ter Apel in person to submit your application. You do not need to make an appointment for this. When you arrive in Ter Apel, you must present the form you have already completed, along with the documents and supporting evidence for your second application. If you do not go to Ter Apel but send your application to the IND instead, you will receive a letter from the IND stating that you must still come to Ter Apel within 3 days. If you do not do so, your application will not be submitted.

It is important that you only bring original documents with you to Ter Apel. You cannot bring copies or photographs as supporting evidence for your application, as it is not possible to verify whether they are genuine.

Please also make sure that the documents you bring with you are in Dutch, English, German or French (or have been translated into one of these languages). This is so that the IND can read and understand them. If the new documents are not in one of these languages, have them translated first by a