People in the Gaziantep Earthquak Shelter
Source: Wikimedia
News

Expedited reunification for family in earthquake zone only in case of medical emergency

Published at: 17/02/2023, 00:00

If you have family members in the earthquake zone in Turkey and Syria, you may want to come and live in the Netherlands. It is almost not possible to do this on an expedited basis. You can read more about it on this page.

"Earthquake no reason to expedite asylum application"

If you have applied for asylum and the

Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND)
has not yet approved your application, you cannot apply for family reunification for your family members from the earthquake area.

The IND also indicated that the circumstances in Turkey and Syria are not a reason to speed up asylum applications.

Medical emergency reason to expedite application for family reunification

If you have an asylum residence permit and have applied or want to apply for family reunification, the IND can only expedite your application for family reunification in cases of medical emergency. The IND wants to see evidence of your family member's medical conditions. The expedited process may still take weeks to months.

  • If your application for family reunification is already being processed by IND, ask your contact at VluchtelingenWerk Nederland (VWN) or your social worker to contact the IND. IND will decide whether your application will be expedited.

  • If your application for family reunification is not yet being processed by IND, ask your contact person at VWN or your social worker to request urgency. The IND will decide if your application will be processed urgently.

Please note:If there is no medical emergency, the IND will not simply expedite your application for family reunification. If your family member in Syria or Turkey is in distressing circumstances, ask your contact person at VWN or your social worker what the options are to expedite your application.

Documents lost in earthquake

If your family member has lost necessary documents due to the earthquake, the IND will take this into account when assessing your application for family reunification.

Picking up 'Machtiging tot Voorlopig Verblijf' (authorisation of provisional residence)

Family members from Turkey and Syria can only pick up their

'Machtiging tot Voorlopig Verblijf' (mvv)
at the Dutch Embassy in Ankara.

If they are unable to collect the mvv on time due to the effects of the earthquake, the IND will take this into account. The period to collect the mvv can be extended from 3 to 6 months.

Family reunification

If you have an asylum residence permit and want to reunite with family members, you can ask to have your family members come over to the Netherlands. This is called family reunification. On this page you can read about family reunification.

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