The question is how many third-country nationals from Ukraine will apply for asylum in the near future, but the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) has no place to receive them. As of today, reception for refugees from Ukraine without Ukrainian nationality has stopped. They can still apply for asylum.
According to a COA spokesperson, a solution will have to be looked into in the near future.
The so-called third-country nationals have until April 2 to leave the European Union. If they apply for asylum, they are entitled to reception at the COA pending a decision. This only applies to people with a current application, not to those who make a repeated application, says a spokesperson.
Until there is room, these asylum applicants will remain in their current municipal reception facilities for the time being, although the municipalities in question still have to give the green light for this because the pressure on these reception places is high. The COA has already arranged accommodation for about sixty people because they could no longer live in their municipality.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) has not received any new asylum applications from third-country nationals since the end of January. So far, 740 of the 2,760 third-country nationals in our country have indicated that they want to continue their application. It is not known exactly how many of them reside in Drenthe. The spokesperson could not say whether there will be any new applications.
Third-country nationals initially had the same temporary protection in our country as Ukrainians who fled the war or people with a permanent residence permit in Ukraine. But the cabinet decided to stop this, because third-country nationals could safely return to their country of origin.
After the cabinet decision, several people went to court. In January, the Council of State ruled that the shelter would stop after yesterday. Last weekend it became clear that some third-country nationals are opposing this decision with the help of lawyers in courts in the various regions where they reside.