Ukrainian labor migrants who already worked in the Netherlands before the war in Ukraine are increasingly making use of municipal reception facilities intended for war refugees. They register as war refugees and can then claim housing, medical care, insurance and living allowance.
In the municipality of The Hague, there are hundreds of labor migrants, almost 10 percent of the number of applications. The Hague cannot act against this, because guidelines from the Ministry of Justice are lacking.
In a ‘fire letter to Minister Yesilgöz (Justice and Security, VVD) is therefore urging The Hague on a “legal basis” to be able to refuse labor migrants who are not war refugees from the Ukraine shelter that has been set up since February. According to responsible alderman Arjen Kapteijns (Social Affairs, GroenLinks), it is a recent phenomenon. “We’ve been seeing more and more young men lately, while before that it was mostly women and children. It now concerns men with a valid visa for Poland or other European member states.”
Also read the series about the reception of Ukrainians at Camping Sun & Sea in Yerseke . in Zeeland
The Hague now receives 1,300 Ukrainian refugees, in addition to 1,800 people who have found shelter with private individuals. According to Kapteijns, the municipality has indications of 150 to 200 applicants that they were already there before the outbreak of the war. “The numbers don’t lie. For the entire region of The Hague, the numbers are doubled. We see this mixing occurring, but we are not allowed to make a distinction based on the guidelines of the cabinet. With the risk that we will arrange shelter and living allowance for people who are not war refugees.”
No signals elsewhere
Nationally, more than 60,000 war refugees from Ukraine are now registered in the Netherlands. But other municipalities say they do not recognize the signals from The Hague. The Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG) has also received no further reports. According to Kapteijns, it is a new phenomenon whereby labor migrants, often working in agriculture in the Westland, ‘try this way through word of mouth. And we can’t define who comes from a war zone and who doesn’t.”
A spokesperson for the municipality of Rotterdam says that the fire letter from The Hague is known. But in Rotterdam, such a striking increase in Ukrainian refugees who may have been in the Netherlands before the outbreak of the war is not visible. Incidentally, this is not checked either: “Rotterdam registers every Ukrainian, regardless of the date of entry. Ukrainians who say they have fled Ukraine can in principle be registered with us.”
According to assistant professor Carolus Grütters of the Center for Migration Law at Radboud University Nijmegen, The Hague is probably the first municipality to encounter this problem, but it will also occur elsewhere. The reception of the 60,000 war refugees is now regulated in the European Temporary Protection Directive, which was activated by the European Commission shortly after the outbreak of the war. Officially intended for Ukrainian refugees, but member states were given the opportunity to determine who else falls under this. And whether Ukrainians who had already left before the war were also entitled to claim that arrangement.
The Netherlands has also done this, for example, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) reports on its website that Ukrainians who have been working here for some time, but cannot return because of the war, will be treated leniently. “A number of labor migrants will make use of this, they are often treated badly,” says Grütters. “And they often can’t go back to Ukraine because of the war.”
According to Grütters, it will be ‘problematic’ when that temporary European Directive expires. Because those who fall under that directive will not be entitled to a permanent residence permit in the long run, they will still have to go through the regular asylum procedure. “Now all Ukrainians who register must also submit an asylum application, only those asylum applications are not processed. In recent years, this has been a political choice in the Netherlands, to offer refugees from war zones not categorical, but individual protection. They remain asylum seekers. And when that temporary protection directive ends, Ukrainians will no longer have a right of residence in the EU on the basis of that directive, and therefore not in the Netherlands either.”
In The Hague, the more than 2,600 Ukrainian refugees registered there will start their asylum procedure from 1 July. Just like in other municipalities, the IND deploys mobile teams for this. That may provide more clarity. “We are now talking about temporary arrangements and temporary reception locations,” says Kapteijns. “No one can see into the future, but it makes quite a difference whether people stay here or go back. The sooner there is clarity about their eventual status, the sooner we as a municipality can provide services. Because it makes a difference whether that is for six months or for an indefinite period of time.”
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