The outgoing cabinet may not just end the reception of three so-called third-country nationals who have fled from Ukraine to the Netherlands from 4 September. This is the ruling of the District Court of The Hague in three lawsuits brought by two refugees with Indian nationality and one with Moroccan nationality.
According to the court, the cabinet has ‘no authority’ to end the temporary protection of the three. The session took place in Roermond.
Third-country nationals are people who fled from Ukraine after the Russian invasion. They had a different nationality and studied or worked in Ukraine. When war broke out there, they fled to the Netherlands and received the same temporary protection as Ukrainians. This arrangement was extended in March, but will come to an end on September 4. Then they have to leave for their mother country or submit an asylum application and wait for a decision.
Big doubts
The Legal Aid Board and the Council for Refugees have serious doubts as to whether it is legally feasible to lift the temporary protection of so-called ‘third-country nationals’. That is why, in collaboration with the IND immigration service, they have started a test case for twelve of these people, of which this is the first with a verdict. The aim is to proceed to the highest court to find out whether the cabinet decision stands.
Earlier, in a case involving a third-country national from Tanzania, the court in Rotterdam correctly ruled that the outgoing cabinet was allowed to terminate the reception scheme.
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