Annual Report on Migration and International Protection Statistics. The Netherlands. 1 January December 2008

Transcription

1 Dutch National Contact Point for the European Migration Network (EMN) Annual Report on Migration and International Protection Statistics The Netherlands 1 January December 2008 September 2010

2 The objective of the European Migration Network (EMN) is to meet the information needs of Community institutions and of Member States authorities and institutions on migration and asylum, by providing upto-date, objective, reliable and comparable information on migration and asylum, with a view to supporting policymaking in the European Union in these areas. The EMN also serves to provide the general public with information on these subjects. The EMN has been established by Council Decision 2008/381/EC and is financially supported by the European Commission. The network is composed of the European Commission and National Contact Points (NCP) designated by the Member States. Each NCP maintains a national network. Contact IND Information and Analysis Centre (INDIAC) NL EMN NCP P.O. Box HV Rijswijk Tel: + 31(0) Fax: + 31(0) EMN@ind.minjus.nl

3 Annual Report on Migration and International Protection Statistics 1 January December 2008 September 2010 Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) Staff Directorate for Implementation and Policy (SUB) Information- and Analysis Centre (INDIAC), Dutch National Contact Point for the European Migration Network(EMN) 3

4 4

5 Executive Summary The 2008 contains the most important statistics in the field of migration, international protection and prevention of illegal entry and illegal residence in the Netherlands in The report focuses attention on recent trends and key differences with previous years. This report is a product of the IND Information and Analysis Centre (INDIAC), the Dutch national contact point (NCP) for the European Migration Network (EMN). The EMN is a European Commission initiative. The goal of the EMN is to provide the Community, its member states and the public with objective, reliable and comparable information concerning migration and asylum issues at European and national level. Every year the national contact points of the EMN draw up an Annual Report on Statistics. This is the sixth edition of the (referred to previously as the Annual Report on Asylum and Migration). The European Commission compiles the results of the various country studies into a comparative European report. The year 2008 constitutes a break with previous years because, for the first time, the compilation of this report was subject to Regulation (EC) no. 862/2007 of the European Parliament and the Council of 11 July 2007 on Community statistics on migration and international protection. From 2008 onwards, the national data suppliers of the member states have an obligation to supply statistics on migration and international protection to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, in accordance with this Regulation. This method of working will considerably improve the uniformity of definitions. The consequence is, however, that data for a number of elements has been collected in this specific way for the first time, as a result of which a comparison with reports from previous years is not always possible. The Dutch report focuses first and foremost on international migration flows, including data relating to immigration to and emigration from the Netherlands. In 2008, immigration reached a record height of almost 144,000 people. Such a figure had never previously been recorded. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has been keeping records on immigration and emigration since During the first three quarters of 2008, the number of labour immigrants from the European Union increased. Emigration actually decreased in 2008 from 91,028 to 90,067 and this development contributed to population growth. After the number of applications for refugee admissions had reached its lowest level in ten years in 2007, there was once again an increase in the number of these applications in Compared to 2007 (7,102) the number of initial applications showed a record increase of 88% (13,399) in The rise in the number of asylum applications in 2008 was caused by an increase in applications by aliens with Iraqi nationality and, to a lesser extent, aliens with Somali nationality. The data on asylum statuses granted in 2008 confirms the development identified previously in the EMN report entitled Non-EU harmonised protection in the EU that a substantial percentage of these statuses are granted for subsidiary protection or national forms of protection. It is still the case that a refugee status based on the Geneva Convention is granted in no more than 9% of the positive decisions on asylum decisions applications. In 2008 family reunification/family formation was again the most important reason for applying for a residence permit in the Netherlands. More than 23,000 people submitted a residency application for this purpose. In the reference year a total of 3,160 aliens were refused entry at the border. The majority of the refusals took place at airports (3,060) with only 95 people being refused entry at a seaport. The most important reason to refuse people entry concerned the person's lack of possession of a valid travel document (805) followed by the lack of possession of a valid visa or a valid residence permit (715). In addition, 470 aliens 5

6 were refused entry because of false travel documents. China topped the list of countries of origin with a total of 325 people refused entry. The number of aliens found to be illegally present was 7,500, with Chinese and Moroccans (each with 605 aliens) being the two most important nationalities represented. In 2008, Turkey and Morocco continued to be the countries to which most aliens returned after residence in the Netherlands. 6

7 Contents 1. Introduction 9 2. Methodology International Migration, usually resident population and acquisition of citizenship International migration flows Usual residence Acquisition of citizenship International Protection Applications for International Protection Decisions on International Protection Unaccompanied Minors Dublin Prevention of illegal entry and stay Refusals Apprehensions Residence permits and residence of third country nationals Returns Relationship between refusals, apprehensions and returns 28 Bibliography 29 Annex: Tables 31 7

8 List of tabels and figures Table 1: Immigration and Emigration, the Netherlands, Table 2: Asylum applications by main country of citizenship, The Netherlands 2007 en Table 3: Asylum applications by unaccompanied minors, the Netherlands, Table 4: Overall Migration 31 Table 5: Immigration by country of citizenship, age group and sex 31 Table 6: Immigration by country of birth, age group and sex 31 Tabel 7: Immigration by country of previous residence, age group and sex 32 Table 8: Emigration by citizenship, age group and sex 32 Table 9: Emigration by country of next usual residence, age group and sex 32 Tabel 10: Usual residence by country of citizenship, age group and sex (population) 33 Table 11: Usual residence by country of birth, age group and sex (population) 33 Table 12: Acquisition of citizenship by country of former citizenship, age group and sex 33 Tabel 13: First Instance Decisions on Asylum Applications by citizenship and type of decision/ status_ 34 Table 14: Final Decisions on Asylum Applications by citizenship and type of decision / status 34 Table 15: Decisions on asylum applications, by type of decision, status, age group and sex 34 Table 16: Resettled persons by citizenship, age group and sex 34 Table 17: New Asylum Applications by citizenship, age group and sex 35 Table 18: Asylum Applications under consideration by citizenship, age group and sex 35 Table 19: Withdrawn Asylum Applications by citizenship, age group and sex 35 Table 20: Third-country nationals apprehended / found to be illegally present, by citizenship, age group and sex 35 Table 21: First residence permits, by main countries of citizenship and reason 36 Table 22: All valid residence permits, by main countries of citizenship, reason and duration 36 Table 23: Number of long-term third-country national residents, by main countries of citizenship 36 Table 24: Third-country nationals ordered to leave and returned following an order to leave 37 Table 25: Third-country nationals ordered to leave, by country of citizenship 37 Table 26: Third-country nationals returned following an order to leave 37 Table 27: Third-country nationals refused entry, by ground and external border 38 Table 28: Top 10 countries of citizenship of third-country nationals refused entry 38 Table 29: Asylum applicants considered to be unaccompanied minors by citizenship, age group and sex 38 Table 30: Incoming requests (Dublin) by reason for request and decision taken 39 Table 31: Outgoing requests (Dublin) by reason for request and decision taken 39 Table 32: Total Incoming requests by Member State requesting and reason for request 40 Table 33: Total Outgoing requests by Member State and reason for request 41 Figure 1: Usual residence by country of citizenship Figure 2: Usual residence by country of birth Figure 3: Acquisition of citizenship by country of former citizenship 15 Figure 4: Positive asylum decisions by type of status granted 18 Figure 5: Third-country nationals refused at the border Figure 6: Third-country nationals found to be illegally present in the Netherlands Figure 7: First residence permits by reason 25 Figure 8: Repatriation of third-country nationals in

9 1. Introduction The 2008 contains the most important statistics in the field of migration, international protection and prevention of illegal entry and illegal residence in the Netherlands in The report focuses attention on recent trends and key differences with previous years. This report is a product of the IND Information and Analysis Centre (INDIAC), the Dutch national contact point (NCP) for the European Migration Network (EMN). The EMN is a European Commission initiative. Every year the national contact points of the EMN draw up an Annual Report on Statistics. This is the sixth edition of the (referred to previously as the Annual Report on Asylum and Migration). The European Commission compiles the results of the various country studies into a comparative European report. The EMN is a European Commission initiative with its legal basis in Council Decision 2008/381/EC of 14 May The objective of the EMN is to meet the information needs of the Community institutions and of member state authorities and institutions in the field of migration and asylum, by providing up-todate, objective, reliable and comparable information to support policymaking in the European Union in these areas. The EMN also serves to provide the general public with information on these issues. The year 2008 constitutes a break with previous years because, for the first time, the compilation of this report was subject to Regulation (EC) no. 862/ From 2008 onwards, the national data suppliers of the member states have an obligation to supply statistics on migration and international protection to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, in accordance with this Regulation. This method of working has considerably improved the uniformity of definitions. Another consequence is that data for a number of elements has been collected in this specific way for the first time, as a result of which a comparison with reports from previous years is not always possible. In contrast to previous years a further breakdown has been made in most categories by age and sex. In addition, data relating to the application of Regulation (EC) no. 343/2003 (Dublin) and the acquisition of citizenship is included in this report for the first time. This year, countries are also classified according to the level of their development. On the basis of what is referred to as the Human Development Index (HDI), countries are classified as highly, averagely or poorly developed. Countries are designated as highly developed if the HDI is greater than 0.8. Averagely developed countries score between 0.5 and 0.8 and poorly developed countries have a HDI of less than 05. Criteria which play a role in this classification are life expectancy, illiteracy, the level of participation in education and the gross national product per head of population. The Human Development Index has been developed by the United Nations. 2 The structure of this report is based on the specifications jointly developed by the European Commission and the NCPs. The NCPs all describe their national situation on the basis of the same pattern. This enhances the mutual comparability of the reports. In addition to providing a factual representation, the report is intended to analyse and interpret the data collected. The contextual interpretation in each chapter is related in particular to legal, policy-based and international factors. With a view to enhancing the readability of the report, the decision was taken to include tables in a separate annex (Annex 1). 1 Regulation (EC) no. 862/2007 of the European Parliament and the Council of 11 July 2007 concerning Community statistics on migration and international protection 2 United Nations, Human Development Report 2009 HDI rankings. Taken on 20 August 2010 from 9

10 10

11 2. Methodology All the data used in this report has been taken from the database of Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Most Eurostat data used in this report relates to third-country nationals (third-country nationals are people who are not citizens of the Union within the meaning of Article 17, paragraph 1 of Regulation (EC) no. 862/2007, including stateless persons). 3 As a result, only the data used in Chapter 3 (totals), which relate to international migration (immigration/emigration), usual residence and the acquisition of citizenship, also relate to EU nationals. This report is also the result of desk research in relevant previously published Dutch publications. For this purpose a number of sources were consulted by means of literature research and information was collected via Internet. Annex 1 includes the tables relating to the relevant data, in so far as these are important for the specifications referred to above in Chapter 1, as have been developed by the European Commission and NCPs. In the Netherlands a variety of actors were involved in collecting statistical data on international protection, migration and repatriation. Data relating to migration, in so far as this data concerns demographic aspects (for example population structure, immigration and emigration) are supplied to Eurostat by Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, CBS). The information is based on the Municipal Personal Records Database (Gemeentelijke Basisadministratie, GBA). The third-country nationals registered in the GBA do not need to have a residence permit. For example third-country nationals who are awaiting a decision on their residency application are also registered in the GBA. Incidentally, asylum seekers who belong to this category are only registered in the GBA six months after they have submitted an application for asylum. 4 This registration does not have any additional bearing on the outcome of the procedure relating to this application. The CBS figures on immigration and emigration relate to people who are registered in, or deregistered from, the GBA. The registration criterion is fulfilled if the expected length of stay in the Netherlands in the six months following settlement is at least four months. As regards emigration, the expected length of stay abroad in the year following departure has to be at least eight months. 5 Incidentally, the above-mentioned four month period is not in line with Regulation 862/2007. Article 2 b of this regulation states that immigration means the action by which a person establishes his or her usual residence in the territory of a member state for a period that is, or is expected to be, of at least twelve months, having previously been usually resident in another member state or a third country. The most important national data supplier in the field of international protection and residence permits for regular purposes is the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). The source of this information is the IND information system (INDIS). As regards asylum decisions not all data requested in the specifications can be supplied. For example, although the total number of withdrawals of permits is available, this data cannot be categorised according to the status of the withdrawn permit due to existing system limitations. The specifications also request that a distinction be made between asylum decisions in the first instance and definitive decisions, referred to as final decisions. In the Netherlands, definitive decisions means decisions taken after the court has ordered the IND, upon appeal, to take a new decision. This does not include decisions against which no appeal has been legally lodged. The data relating to refused aliens is supplied by the Royal Military Constabulary and the Seaport Police. The Royal Military Constabulary and Seaport Police play a key role in the field of border controls. 3 Regulation (EC) no. 862/2007 of the European Parliament and the Council of 11 July 2007, Article 2 (definitions) 4 Municipal Database (Personal Records) Act [Wet Gemeentelijke Basisadministratie Persoonsgegevens], 9 June CBS press release PB (2009) entitled 'The population is growing by 81 thousand' [Bevolking groeit met 81 duizend]. Taken on 14 May 2009 from: D62CBB69C5DA/0/pb09n006.pdf 11

12 The IND is the national data supplier on behalf of statistics which relate to aliens illegally present in the Netherlands. In most cases such illegal aliens are apprehended by the Aliens Police. In so far as these people are apprehended by other police units (for example the Railway Police), the alien in question will always be handed over to the Aliens Police. However, the police do not keep any statistics about apprehended aliens. The IND only becomes involved after the alien has been detained. Before then the IND will not have any information on the alien unless s/he has been involved in a procedure relating to the right of residence or has been apprehended previously due to illegal residence and a procedure relating to aliens has been conducted within that framework. Once an alien has been detained, s/he will be registered in INDIS (in most cases via the Court Representation Department of the IND). The statistics relating to aliens illegally present in the Netherlands in fact cover the numbers of aliens detained due to illegal residence. Since 1 January 2007 the data relating to removed aliens is no longer supplied directly to the IND. From that same date, numerous tasks relating to the repatriation of aliens have been transferred to the Dutch Repatriation and Departure Service (Dienst Terugkeer & Vertrek, DT&V). This service comes under the Ministry of Justice. Since 1 January 2007, the data on repatriation has been collected by the Ministry of Justice using a database known as the Cooperative organisational management information module (Ketenbrede Management Informatie, KMI) in which data from the DT&V, Royal Military Constabulary and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is stored. The obligation of an alien to leave the Netherlands is a direct consequence of the law. It is not possible under Dutch law to issue a separate return decision or removal order that is independent of other factors. In fact, a multi-part decision is required in the Netherlands. This decision, whereby a residence permit is refused, also implies an obligation for the alien to return. The figures regarding rejected applications for residence permits are supplied by the IND via INDIS. The above-mentioned data is issued to Eurostat on the grounds of the Regulation. 12

13 3. International Migration, usually resident population and acquisition of citizenship This chapter provides an overview of a number of demographic developments that are directly related to international migration. Paragraph 3.1 describes the developments linked to immigration and emigration. The corresponding tables 4 to 9 (see Annex 1) show overviews of immigrants and emigrants divided by nationality, country of birth and country of previous usual residence in the case of immigration, or the country of future usual residence in the case of emigration. Paragraph 3.2 outlines the development of the population of aliens resident in the Netherlands divided by nationality, country of birth, age and sex (tables 10 and 11). Lastly, paragraph 3.3 describes the developments relating to people resident in the Netherlands who acquired Dutch citizenship in International migration flows In 2008, immigration reached a record height of almost 144,000 people (Table 1). Such a figure had never previously been recorded. The figures relating to immigration and emigration have been recorded by the CBS since During the first three quarters of 2008, the number of labour immigrants from the European Union increased. 6 Emigration actually decreased in 2008 from 91,028 to 90,067; this development also contributed to the population growth. Table 1: : Immigration and Emigration, the Netherlands,, Overall Immigration Overall Emigration In 2008, Chinese people constituted the largest group of third-country nationals who arrived in the Netherlands (4,234) followed by people with Indian nationality (3,454). Countries like Turkey and Morocco, which were still the source of the largest influx of third-country nationals in 2003 and 2004, have been superseded since 2005 (Morocco) and 2006 (Turkey) by China, the United States and India (Table 5). In 2003, 564 people with Indian nationality came to the Netherlands as immigrants. As mentioned above, this had increased to 3,454 in The Netherlands continued to be a popular destination for Eastern Europeans as well. In ,277 Polish and 5,231 Bulgarians immigrated to the Netherlands in In 2002 the numbers were 1,593 and 433 respectively. A key reason for this increase was the accession of these countries to the EU. With respect to the traditional asylum countries of Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, the CBS registered only 772 people, 227 people and 19 people, respectively, as immigrants in This low number can be clarified by the fact that many asylum seekers have not been documented and have been registered in the GBA as having 'unknown' nationality. 6 CBS press release PB (2009) entitled 'The population is growing by 81 thousand' [Bevolking groeit met 81 duizend]. Taken on 11 June 2010 from: D62CBB69C5DA/0/pb09n006.pdf 13

14 3.2 Usual residence Usual residence means 'the place at which a person normally spends the daily period of rest, regardless of temporary absences for purposes of recreation, holiday, visits to friends and relatives, business, medical treatment or religious pilgrimage, or, in default, the place of legal or registered residence. 7 On 31 December 2008 the Netherlands had 16,485,787 residents. This report focuses, in the first instance, on third-country nationals. In 2008, the largest population group in this category of third-country nationals were Turkish people (92,698) with usual residence in the Netherlands (Table 10). The next largest group were Moroccans (70,801). Data has been collected (see Figures 1 and 2) on the population composition by nationality and country of birth. Since time immemorial, due to the Netherlands' colonial past, people born in Suriname and Indonesia (or the former Dutch East Indies) were a major group in the Netherlands. On the reference date, therefore, 186,707 people were resident in the Netherlands who were born in Suriname and 143,705 people who were born in Indonesia (or the former Dutch East Indies). However, these countries do not feature in Figure 2. Many Surinamese people opted for Dutch citizenship after their country gained independence in Most people born in the former Dutch East Indies, who came to the Netherlands after independence, retained their Dutch nationality. Figure 1: Usual residence by country y of citizenship 2008 Turkey 17% Morocco 13% Other third-country nationals 64% China 3% United States 3% Figure 2: Usual residence by country of birth 2008 Turkey 9% Suriname 9% Morocco 8% Other third-country nationals 67% Indonesia (former Dutch East Indies) 7% 7 Regulation (EC) no. 862/2007 of the European Parliament and the Council of 11 July Digitally available at: 14

15 Generally speaking the spread as regards sex is fairly even, with 51% being women and 49% men, measured over the total number of residents. An exception to this rule are nationalities like Thais (84%), Indonesian (67%) and Brazilian (71%), for which there is a relatively high number of women. India stands out because the overrepresentation of men (63%). This overrepresentation of women or men can be explained by reasons for immigration based on culture. 3.3 Acquisition of citizenship This paragraph describes developments and trends relating to third-country nationals who acquired Dutch citizenship in In 2008 a total of 28,229 people acquired Dutch nationality. This represented a drop compared to 2007 when 30,653 people acquired Dutch citizenship (Table 12). Within this category, Moroccans (5,034) and Turks (3,147) have traditionally been the largest groups. As already mentioned in paragraph 3.2 these two nationalities also form the two largest groups of thirdcountry nationals in the Netherlands. Figure 3: Acquisition of citizenship by country of former citizenship Turkey 16% Suriname 5% Iraq 5% Afghanistan 3% Unknow n 45% Morocco 26% Poland was the most important EU country as regards the acquisition of Dutch citizenship by people from EU countries, with 237 people. The proportion of 'nationality unknown' is strikingly high (see Figure 3). This is because aliens who fail to submit (sufficient) documents to demonstrate their nationality are registered as 'nationality unknown' in the GBA. In these cases the IND will usually have registered these aliens in INDIS as having a nationality, based on the alien's own personal statement. These will primarily be former asylum seekers, since this category does not need a valid passport to acquire admission. 8 In this context, reference can also be made to Table 10 (usual residence by citizenship, age group and sex) which shows that for more than 82,000 registered residents of the Netherlands, their nationality is unknown. The group aged between 20 and 34 is the largest age category. An exception to this are the Afghans, Chinese and Ghanaians, where very young people (0-19) form the most important group. The amended Netherlands Nationality Act (Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap, RWN) came into effect on 1 April This new law entailed the implementation of considerable changes in the procedure 8 Immigration and Naturalisation Service Information and Analysis Centre (hereafter referred to as INDIAC) (2009). Naturalisation Trends Report [Trendrapportage Naturalisatie ] p

16 relating to the acquisition of Dutch citizenship. For example, as of that date a non-dutch person must have passed the naturalisation test (known since 2007 as the integration exam) in order to become eligible for naturalisation. Aliens who want to acquire Dutch citizenship have to take an exam which assesses their knowledge of the Dutch language and society. Since this amendment of the RWN came into effect, the annual number of naturalisations has been a lot lower than it was before the amendment. For example, the number of naturalisations of adults was 44% lower in 2008 than in On 1 January 2009 the Netherlands had well over 1.1 million people with Dutch and at least one other nationality. This is almost three times as many as on 1 January Almost half of the Dutch people with multiple nationalities also have Turkish and Moroccan nationality. 10 According to the RWN, an alien acquiring Dutch nationality via naturalisation must renounce his original nationality. However, in practice only a limited number of those naturalised actively renounce their original nationality. 11 People who fall under an exception category (for example 'married to a Dutch person') do not, in fact, have to renounce their nationality. A final striking observation is that Iraqis, Afghans, Iranians, Serbs and Russians also feature significantly in the top ten nationalities of naturalisation applicants and naturalised people, but do not feature prominently in the top ten nationalities of non-dutch people resident in the Netherlands. These nationalities therefore display a willingness to naturalise which is significantly above average. It may be that this is linked to the fact that many of these groups consist of people who have gained access to the Netherlands on the basis of an asylum permit INDIAC (2009), p Statistics Netherlands (Web Magazine 14 December 2009). Well over 1.1 million Dutch people with multiple nationalities [Ruim 1.1 miljoen Nederlanders met meervoudige nationaliteit]. Taken on 18 June 2010 from wm.htm 11 INDIAC (2009), p INDIAC(2009), p

17 4. International Protection The chapter provides an overview for reference year 2008 relating to the most important key figures in the field of international protection. On 1 January 2008 more than 70 thousand refugees lived in the Netherlands. Refugees are defined here as residents of the Netherlands who applied for asylum between 1 January 1998 and 1 January 2008 and who are naturalised or who have a residence status. Almost nine tenths of this group came to the Netherlands in 2002 or earlier. The other members of this group took up residence between 2003 and This is shown by research carried out by Statistics Netherlands as commissioned by Vluchtelingenwerk Nederland. The same research reveals that there is an overrepresentation of men among refugees Applications for International Protection In 2007, once the number of applications for refugee admissions had reached its lowest level in ten years, there was an increase in the number of these applications again in Compared to 2007 (7,102) the number of initial applications even increased in 2008 (13,399) by 88%. In 2008, aliens with Iraqi (38%) and Somali (29%) nationality, were again the largest groups to submit an application for asylum in the Netherlands. The proportion of Iraqi aliens rose from 28% in 2007 to 38% in In an absolute sense this was an increase of more than 3,000 applications. The number of Somali asylum seekers also rose considerably in an absolute sense from 1,875 in 2007 to 3,840 in This represented an increase of 105%. China followed, in third place, with 555 applications. In April and May 2008 there was a peak in the influx of Chinese aliens who had submitted an application for asylum. The apparent reason was a rumour within the Chinese community in the Netherlands that a succession to the throne was imminent that would be accompanied by an amnesty for illegal aliens. 14 Compared to 2007 (4,121) there was more than an absolute doubling in 2008 (9,426) of the number of asylum applications by the top 3 countries of asylum seekers with respect to the most important countries of origin. Table 2: Asylum applications by main country of citizenship, the Netherlands 2007 en Aantal % 2008 Aantal % Iraq % Iraq % Somalia % Somalia % China 242 3% China 557 4% Unknown 218 3% Afghanistan 395 3% Iran 187 3% Iran 322 2% Nigeria 179 3% Unknown 302 2% Afghanistan 156 2% Eritrea 236 2% Eritrea 150 2% Sri Lanka 216 2% Sierra Leone 135 2% Armenia 208 2% Burundi 118 2% Guinea 154 1% Others % Others % Total % Total % The categorial protection policy for people from central and southern Iraq ended on 12 September The effect of this decision therefore only applied for approximately 1 quarter of Any consequences related to the ending of the policy may become clear in Statistics Netherlands (Web Magazine 10 December 2009). More than 70 thousand refugees in the Netherlands [Ruim 70 duizend vluchtelingen in Nederland]. Refugees are defined in this publication as residents of the Netherlands who applied for asylum between 1 January 1998 and 1 January 2008 and who are naturalised or who have a residence status. Taken on 18 June 2010 from NL/menu/themas/dossiers/allochtonen/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2009/ wm.htm 14 Immigration and Naturalisation Service Information and Analysis Centre (INDIAC), Dutch national contact for the European Migration Network (EMN) (referred to as: INDIAC NL EMN NCP) 2009a. Annual Policy Report Developments in Dutch Migration and Asylum Policy 1 January December 2008 p Parliamentary documents II 2008/09, 19637, no (letter) 17

18 This categorial protection policy is a form of national protection whereby asylum seekers who come from a certain (part of a) country are, in principle, given a temporary asylum residence permit (barring contraindications) on the basis of the situation in the country of origin. Since August 2006 it has been possible to differentiate in INDIS between new applications and repeated applications. A comparison with the data from a number of previous years (before August 2006) is therefore only possible for the total number of applications (new and repeated applications). Almost a quarter of the first asylum applications submitted in 2008 concerned an underage child. At around the turn of the century this had been registered at four out of ten asylum seekers. The decrease in the proportion of minor asylum seekers is primarily due to the reduced number of unaccompanied minors. 16 (See also paragraph 4.3.) 4.2. Decisions on International Protection This paragraph offers an overview of all decisions taken in 2008 with regard to applications for international protection. It should be noted that these applications do not all have to have been submitted in In fact, it may be the case that applications decided on in 2008 were submitted in the calendar year prior to the reference year The number of applications approved in the first instance in 2008 on the basis of refugee status (Geneva Convention) was 515. In comparison to 2007, when 487 applications were approved, this means a small absolute rise of 28. Compared to the total number of decisions, the percentage of approved applications on the basis of refugee status rose slightly in 2008 (5%) by 1% in comparison to 2007 (4%). In 2008 Iraq was once again the country with the highest number of recognised refugees; 180 people from Iraq were admitted on the grounds of the Geneva Convention (Table 13). This means that almost 35% of the refugees admitted came from Iraq. The continuing precarious situation in that country will undoubtedly have played a role in this respect. It is also striking that China is represented in second place in the top ten of countries, despite the fact that in previous years it had not even featured at all in the list. One possible cause could be the specific policy that has applied since 2008 as regards the Uighur population group. This population group lives primarily in the Xinjiang region. Uighurs are related ethnically to Turkish peoples. Uighurs who can make a reasonable case that they will suffer persecution if repatriated due to political or religious activities in China, whereby this entails a penalty of some severity, may be eligible, on the grounds of Article 29, first paragraph, under a, of the Aliens Act, for a asylum residence permit. 17 Figure 4: : Positive asylum decisions by type of status s granted Humanitarian status 63% Geneva Convention 9% Subsidiary Protection 28% 16 CBS Web Magazine (2009), A quarter of asylum seekers are children [Kwart asielzoekers is kind]. Taken on 23 June 2010 from: 17 Aliens Act Implementation Guidelines 2000 (C), paragraph 24, the country-specific asylum policy relating to China. 18

19 In 2008, 325 men (63%) and 190 women (37%) were assigned refugee status (Table 15). This proportion is almost entirely in line with the percentage of men and women involved in the total number of decisions taken. In the country-specific asylum policy, population groups can be designated as risk groups. Within the framework of the assessment of whether the alien is a refugee, within the meaning of the Geneva Convention, less stringent demands are made on people who belong to a risk group, with regard to the possibility of making a reasonable case for the seriousness of the events that have taken place. In 2008, the following groups were designated as risk groups: Afghanistan: ethnic minorities and religious minorities. Somalia: Reer Hamar (an ethnic minority group) In 2008, homosexuals from Afghanistan (as of 7 November) and Iraq (as of 22 November) were designated as risk groups. Iraq also headed the list in the field of subsidiary protection in More than a quarter of the statuses granted (470) on the basis of that policy were granted to Iraqis. Somalia was in second place with 336 people who were eligible for subsidiary protection. The subsidiary protection status has been harmonised within the EU. This status has been defined in Council Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004 relating to minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals, or stateless persons as refugees, or as persons who otherwise need international protection and the content of the protection granted (Qualification Directive). In the case of the subsidiary protection status, a person can be eligible if s/he is not eligible for the refugee status, but there are substantial grounds for assuming that s/he would run a real risk of 'serious harm' should s/he return (violation of Article 3 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (EHCR). This form of protection is laid down in Article 29 under b of the Aliens Act. 18 The following groups were designated as vulnerable minority groups during the whole of 2008: Afghanistan: ethnic minorities, religious minorities and single women. Democratic Republic of Congo: Tutsis Iraq: Christians, Palestinians, Yezidis and Mandaeans. Somalia: Reer Hamar. Sudan: non-arab population groups from Darfur. The religious minority groups of Jews, Shabak and Kaka i in Iraq were new groups to be designated as vulnerable minority groups in 2008 (as of 22 November 2008). 19 A detailed description of the term vulnerable minority group can be found in the 2008 Annual Policy Report. In the case of these groups, less stringent requirements were imposed with respect to being eligible for an asylum permit on the b-ground. Lastly, three quarters of asylum permits for humanitarian reasons were granted to people from Iraq and Somalia. This includes the categorial protection policy. During the whole of 2008, a categorial protection policy applied for: non-arab population groups from the Darfur region of Sudan. Somalia, with the exception of the Puntland, Somaliland, Sool and Sanaag regions. Ivory Coast. 18 INDIAC NL EMN NCP (2010). Non-EU harmonised protection in the Netherlands [Niet binnen de EU geharmoniseerde bescherming] p INDIAC NL EMN NCP (2009). pp. 29, 30 19

20 As noted in the previous paragraph the categorial protection policy for central and southern Iraq ended on 12 September Any consequences for the numbers of asylum statuses allocated for that country will probably only be noticeable in It was already noted in the previous edition of this report that country-specific policy can have a significant influence on numbers of asylum decisions in a particular year. One important policy measure that can be considered in this context is the decision moratorium for certain categories of asylum seekers. For example, a decision and departure moratorium applied until 1 April 2008 for asylum seekers from Guinea. The maximum period of one year had been reached on that date. The data on asylum statuses granted in 2008 confirms the development identified in the EMN report entitled Non-EU harmonised protection in the EU, regarding the fact that a substantial percentage of these asylum statuses are granted for subsidiary protection or national forms of protection. 20 (See Figure 4 for an illustration of this) 4.3. Unaccompanied Minors The number of unaccompanied minors rose substantially in comparison to the previous year. Whereas the total number of unaccompanied minor foreign nationals was 433 in 2007, a total of 726 unaccompanied minors to the Netherlands in In 2008 a substantial majority of this group (80%) were boys. The most important country of origin was Somalia with 198 applications, followed by Iraq with 184 applications. The proportion of unaccompanied minors in the total of first applications for asylum scarcely changed in 2008 (5%) in comparison to 2007 (4%). As already mentioned in paragraph 4.1., the number of unaccompanied minors was significantly lower compared to the numbers at around the turn of the century. By way of an illustration, Table 3 below shows the development of applications by unaccompanied minors since As a result of the fact that, in previous years (before 2007), no distinction could be made between first and repeated applications, this table shows the total number of the applications. Table 3: : Asylum A applications by unaccompanied minors, the Netherland lands,, UAM Total influx Percentage UAM 17% 9% 6% 4% 3% 4% 5% 4.4. Dublin This year an overview is being provided for the first time of numbers of 'Dublin applications' (tables 30 to 33). For that reason there is no comparative overview covering a number of years. In the case of Dublin applications a distinction is made between incoming and outgoing applications. Another distinction is then made between 'taking charge' applications and 'taking back' applications. If the alien has already submitted an application for asylum in another member state before his arrival in the Netherlands, this will create a taking back situation. If the alien has indeed applied for asylum in the Netherlands, but not (yet) in the member state which is responsible on the grounds of Regulation 343/2003, a taking charge situation will apply. 21 A relatively large number of outgoing applications for taking charge and taking back go to countries at the outlying borders of the EU. Of the total of 1,020 applications for taking charge in 2008, 662 went to 20 INDIAC-NL EMN NCP (2010). Non-EU harmonised protection in the Netherlands. p Regulation (EC) no.343/2003 of the Council of 18 February 2003, available at 20

21 Greece and 183 to Italy, followed at some distance by France, Germany and Malta with respectively 39, 30 and 23 applications. In the case of applications for taking back, a large number of the applications went to the neighbouring countries of Belgium (303) and Germany (261). Most incoming applications also came from Germany and Belgium. 21

22 22

23 5. Prevention of illegal entry and stay In the Netherlands, border controls are carried out at Schengen external border crossing points to assess whether the people in question, their means of transport and the items in their possession are allowed to be brought into or taken out of the Netherlands. In addition border surveillance takes place at places other than the border crossing points in order to prevent people from evading border controls. The border controls are performed by the Royal Military Constabulary or, in the Rotterdam port area, by the Seaport Police or the Rotterdam-Rijnmond regional police. The IND is the national data supplier on behalf of statistics which relate to aliens found to be illegally present in the Netherlands. In most cases such illegal aliens are apprehended by the Aliens Police. In so far as these people are apprehended by other police units (for example the Railway Police), the alien in question will always be handed over to the Aliens Police. However, the police do not keep any statistics about apprehended aliens The IND only becomes involved after the alien has been detained. Before that time, the IND will not have any information on the alien unless s/he has been involved in a procedure relating to the right of residence or has been apprehended previously due to illegal residence and a procedure relating to aliens has been conducted within that framework. Once an alien has been detained s/he will be registered in INDIS (in most cases via the Court Representation Department of the IND). Therefore, the statistics relating to aliens illegally present in the Netherlands in fact cover the numbers of aliens detained due to illegal residence. 5.1 Refusals In the reference year a total of 3,160 aliens were refused entry. The majority of the refusals took place at airports (3,060) with only 95 people being refused entry at a seaport. The most important reason to refuse people entry concerned the lack of possession of a valid travel document (805) followed by the lack of possession of a valid visa (715) or a valid residence permit (715). In addition, 470 aliens were refused entry because of false travel documents. Figure 5: Third-country nationals refused at the border 2008 China 10% Iraq 9% Suriname 7% Others 68% Nigeria 6% 23

24 Chinese people made up the largest group of aliens refused entry at the border, with a total of 325 people. This was a significant rise in comparison to 2007 when 127 Chinese were refused. Iraqis and Surinamese people were refused entry 275 and 235 times, respectively. There was a clear and substantial drop to single figures in the number of Bolivians refused entry at the border. Since 1 April 2007, Bolivians must have visas to enter the Netherlands. When Bolivians submit visa applications, the foreign authorities carry out a check to see whether the alien fulfils the entry and/or admission requirements Apprehensions The fact that the police in the Netherlands do not keep any statistics on aliens found to be illegally present means the IND is the national data supplier for this category. As already mentioned, this statistic actually reflects the number of aliens detained. In 2008 a total of 7,505 people were detained. The countries of China (605 persons), Iraq (605 persons) and Morocco (580 persons) were the three countries with the largest number of detained aliens. Figure 6: Third-country nationals found to be illegally present in the Netherlands 2008 China 8% Iraq 8% Morocco 8% Others 69% Turkey 7% 22 Ministry of Justice (2009), Report on the Immigration Process for the Period January-June 2009' [Rapportage vreemdelingenketen, periode januari-juni 2008]. p. 6 24

25 6. Residence permits and residence of third country nationals Besides applications for admission for residence in the Netherlands within the framework of international protection (see Chapter 4) the applications can also serve a regular purpose of stay. Such applications are submitted to and processed by the IND. In 2008, family reasons were again the most important reason for issuing regular residence permits. Within that framework, a total of 23,882 applications were submitted. Turkey and Morocco have traditionally been the most important countries of origin. As a former Dutch colony, Suriname features in the top ten. CBS research shows that the decrease in marriage migration halted in As in 2007, 8% of aliens who married did so to a partner who had joined them from the country of origin. There is a preference, particularly among Turkish and Moroccans, for a marriage partner with the same origins. For years, more than 80% of immigrants from these countries have married a partner of the same origins. Since 2004, when the rules for migration marriages were tightened, fewer of the marriages with a partner of the same origins, have been related to migration marriages. 23 The number of applications for a residence permit for family reasons also declined in the period between 2005 and The decline particularly affected applications submitted by aliens with Moroccan or Turkish nationality. This may be a consequence of the introduction of the Civic Integration Abroad Act (Wet inburgering buitenland, Wib) and the corresponding integration requirement in A second explanation may be related to the increased use of the EU right (formerly the community right) for family reunification. People who use the EU right do not in fact feature in the regular data (not based on the EU right) on residence permits. By contrast, the number of applications by aliens with Indian nationality has increased. This is the consequence of family migration in connection with knowledge migrants resident in the Netherlands. However, the economic crisis appears to be causing this growth to stagnate. 24 Figure 7: First residence permits by reason Other reasons 43% Family reasons 32% Renumerated activities 13% Education reasons 12% In 2008, labour migration and studying were again important reasons for issuing residence permits. In 2008, 9,285 residence permits were granted to people who came to work in the Netherlands 23 CBS, (Web Magazine 2 November 2009) An end to the drop in migration marriages [Einde aan daling migratiehuwelijken] Taken on 18 June 2010 from NL/menu/themas/dossiers/allochtonen/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2009/ wm.htm 24 INDIAC (2010), Regular Trends Report 2010 A Presentation of Regular Migration to the Netherlands [Trendrapportage Regulier Reguliere Migratie naar Nederland in beeld.] p. 5 25