The Immigration Service paid migrants €11 million in penalty payments last year local

The IND received more than 28,000 notices of default in 2023, which is 9,000 more than the previous year, the service said in its annual report. This is largely due to the large backlog in processing asylum applications.

Because of this backlog, the Immigration Service expects the number of procedures to increase further this year. Officially, the IND must make a decision within nine months, but this period has now been extended to fifteen months. State Secretary Van der Burgh (Asylum Affairs) announced earlier this year that the number of fines the IND would have to pay would increase. Then he talked about “tens of millions in 2023 and 2024.”

If the IND exceeds the decision period, the applicant can declare service in default. Knowledgeable migrants and families can then claim an administrative fine of up to 1,442 euros. The maximum legal fine that every Dutchman can receive if the government exceeds a certain period.

Asylum seekers can no longer automatically claim this penalty. They must first bring proceedings before the court. The government installed this additional barrier some time ago to prevent the amount of fines to be paid from rising even further. Court proceedings can earn the asylum seeker more money, up to a maximum of €7,500.

“2023 has been a busy year,” the IND wrote. We have once again processed more applications for residence in the Netherlands. More than what the organization was created to do. Crowds were also noticeable in other areas. For example, almost twice as many residency-related legal procedures were conducted compared to 2022.

The IND received 49,900 asylum applications in 2023. This number consists of asylum seekers who report to Ter Apel for a so-called first asylum application and family members who travel later. This number is slightly higher than last year. By far, the largest share of applications were from Syrians, followed by Turks and Eritreans. Due to overcrowding, approximately 50,000 asylum seekers are still waiting for a decision from the INS at the end of 2023. There are also 27,000 follow-up travelers on the waiting list, bringing the total to 77,000 waiting asylum seekers.

“We are improving where possible,” wrote Rhodia Maas, Director General of the IND. “For example, by working more efficiently with requests that are more plannable, such as family members of asylum seekers traveling to follow up.” We have also processed promising asylum applications, such as those from Syrians, more quickly. Just like we do with applicants who have little chance.

The percentage of accepted asylum applications decreased to 62 percent in 2023. In 2022, the percentage was 78 percent.

The increase in the number of asylum applications and delays in the IND means that asylum seeker centers are overcrowded. More than two thousand people have been staying at the registration center in Ter Apel for months. The policy became controversial on Thursday Publish the law into effect, Which could oblige municipalities to provide reception sites for asylum seekers.