News item | 26-05-2026 | 13:46
The Senate has approved the bill that adapts Dutch legislation to the European Asylum and Migration Pact. The parliamentary proceedings have been completed with the consent of the Senate. This allows the Netherlands to start implementing the pact, which will become applicable on June 12.
Minister Van den Brink: “The approval of the Senate is a historic step and marks the largest reform of the European and therefore the Dutch asylum system in recent decades. With this pact we will have one joint system for migration and asylum in Europe. This ensures stricter controls at the external borders, shorter procedures and more solidarity between Member States. We are also significantly tightening Dutch asylum policy, so that we can gain more control over migration.”
Consequences for Dutch asylum policy
With the implementation of the migration pact, parts of the previously unadopted Asylum Emergency Measures Act will also be anchored in Dutch law. This concerns measures that further tighten national asylum policy, including:
- The abolition of the asylum permit for an indefinite period;
- Shortening the validity of the temporary asylum permit from five to a maximum of three years;
- Limiting the options for family reunification (family reunification).
European Asylum and Migration Pact
The pact introduces a joint asylum system within the European Union, meaning that the same rules will apply in all member states from 12 June.
Part of the pact is a mandatory border procedure for asylum seekers who have little chance of protection or pose a risk to public order. This procedure must ensure that it is quickly clear at the external border whether someone is entitled to protection within the EU. If that is not the case, return work can be done directly from the external border. This prevents people from traveling undocumented within the EU.
In addition, national asylum procedures within the EU are being more harmonized. Fixed deadlines will be introduced for processing applications, so that asylum applications are decided more quickly and in the same way in all Member States. In addition to better agreements to combat secondary asylum flows within the EU, the pact also contains agreements on mutual solidarity to support member states that are under high migration pressure.
The coming period, even after June 12, will continue to be dominated by the introduction of this pact. The introduction requires an enormous effort from all countries. In the Netherlands, the ministry is working with relevant implementation organizations, such as the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) and the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA), on the introduction of the new rules as of June 12.
