The cabinet will ask the Council of State to suspend the judgments of the judges who ruled that family members of beneficiaries can come to the Netherlands. With this, the judges put an end to the cabinet’s travel restriction.
The government has applied to the Council of State for an interim measure. It has done so pending the appeal, which Secretary of State Eric van der Burg (Asylum) had already announced on Friday.
Illegal
It concerns status holders who were ruled in favor by four different courts on 22 and 23 December. The judges all stated that the government’s restriction on travel in connection with family reunification is illegal and that the family members of the status holders who had gone to court for this are allowed to come to the Netherlands.
The State Secretary wants to put a stop to this, according to the letter he sent to the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The administrative law department of the Council of State will rule on the provisional provision on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning, a spokesman for the Council of State said. In January, the Council of State will hear the cabinet’s appeal. A hearing date has not yet been announced.
Family Turkish status holder
In anticipation of the provisional provision, the Council of State has decided that the State Secretary does not have to issue an entry document for family members of a Turkish status holder within one day. On Friday afternoon, the Amsterdam court ruled that such a provisional residence permit (mvv) for the family members of the Turkish man had to be issued within 24 hours. This may have to be done after the ruling on the preliminary injunction.
Family reunification restriction
At the end of August, the cabinet decided to impose a restriction on travel in connection with family reunification. This applies to family members of recognized refugees (status holders). A visa will be issued after approval no more than fifteen months after the application for family reunification has been submitted. If the status holder previously has a home for his or her relatives traveling in the Netherlands, the visa will be issued earlier. The measure applies up to and including 2023 and, according to the cabinet, is necessary to relieve the pressure on the overburdened asylum reception.
The administrative law department of the Council of State will issue a provisional ruling on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning, a spokesperson for the Council of State said. In January, the Council of State will hear the cabinet’s appeal. A hearing date has not yet been announced.
Van der Burg announced on Friday that it would appeal to the highest administrative court, after the umpteenth ruling by lower courts that the restriction on family reunification violates many national and international treaties. The cabinet wants to know from the Council of State whether or not the regulation is legally tenable.