Rotterdam, Friday
Lower court judges have ruled that the cabinet can order a man from Tanzania who arrived in the Netherlands with refugees from Ukraine to be sent back to his home country.
The government has told all third-country nationals who were living in Ukraine that they must leave the country by September 4 unless they formally apply for asylum.
Until now, third-country nationals who came to the Netherlands from Ukraine have had the same rights as Ukrainians.
By the end of June, 500 of the 2,300 third party nationals from Ukraine in the Netherlands had applied for asylum.
The court in Rotterdam said the government can decide for itself what regulations should cover third –country nationals if they are not covered by EU directives. EU directives state that the person should be either stateless or have a residence permit.
The Tanzanian man had a temporary permit to live in Ukraine which expired in October 2022.
Immigration lawyer Wil Eilkelboom , who was involved in the case, said he would be appealing against the verdict. ‘’If you bring a group of people under the protection of European law, you cannot then remove it,’’ he told broadcaster NOS.
Source: Dutch News.