Argentine tango singer Omar Mollo (72) and his wife Graciela Minervino (63) are still allowed to stay in the Netherlands. The IND withdrew their residence permit last October after the couple applied for social assistance.
“This is great news.” Graciela Minervino, also her husband’s manager, is delighted to receive the message from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) that she and her husband should not leave the Netherlands after all. ,,We are very relieved and my husband is super grateful. The past few months have not been easy for us.”
Mollo and Minervino’s nightmare began in late October. The IND then reported out of the blue that their residence permit had been revoked. On the advice of their accountant, the couple had applied for social assistance benefits in their hometown of Amsterdam. “Due to the pandemic, my husband was unable to work for quite some time, all our performances were cancelled. We ran out of savings.”
Problem: the IND also received this information. Although the couple can stay here now that Mollo also has a Spanish passport, they only have to keep their own pants up. Now that they appealed to Dutch social benefits, the immigration service resolutely withdrew their residence permit.
Thunderclap
“It is in the interest of the Dutch government that foreign nationals are not a burden to the economic well-being of the country,” the letter read. ‘You must leave the Netherlands within four weeks. If you don’t, you could be evicted.”
The news arrived like a bolt from the blue for Mollo and Minervino, who settled here in 2017 and have pledged their hearts to the Netherlands. Mollo’s first European performances were in Amsterdam. For example, he performed with well-known bandeonist Carel Kraayenhof and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
Minervino wanted to come to our country as a young girl after she Diary of Anne Frank read. ,,Then I said: one day I will live in Amsterdam. My first trip in Europe was to the Netherlands.”
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Crowdfunding
The initial despair (“we were at our wits’ end”) soon gave way to a combative attitude. With the help of a lawyer, the couple lodged an objection against the IND decision. Friends and acquaintances then set up a crowdfunding with benefit concert for them. With a proceeds of 10,000 euros or more, the IND would probably revise its decision.
That hoped-for amount was amply achieved: before, during and after the concert held on January 16, almost double the amount received: approximately 19,000 euros. “An incredible result,” says Graciela Minervino.
In recent weeks, Mollo and Minervino anxiously awaited a message from the IND. Monday evening the redeeming message came in to their lawyer Sofie de Schutter. A new check by the Immigration Department has revealed that their bank balance is high enough to allow them to stay here.
Optimistic
“We are happy and grateful, we feel very comfortable in your country and have so many dear friends and acquaintances here.” Minervino is optimistic about the future, especially now that the strict corona measures have been reversed. “Hopefully my husband can perform and give concerts again soon. We have already received a number of things that we are working on. Omar also hopes to record a new album in the Netherlands next year.”
Both hope to prevent new problems with the IND. “We don’t need much to be happy and are happy with our studio in Amsterdam.”
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