News item | 30-03-2022 | 14:08
Since the Taliban took Kabul, about 3100 people have been brought from Afghanistan to the Netherlands. For 1,860 persons this was between 15 and 26 August. More than 1,200 more people followed between early September and 21 March. At the moment there are still about 1500 people who are allowed to come to the Netherlands. Less than 1200 of them are still in Afghanistan, 330 are in transit in a third country. Ministers Hoekstra (Foreign Affairs), Ollongren (Defence) and State Secretary Van der Burg (Justice and Security) write this in a joint letter to the House of Representatives.
Special facility
The mapping of people who are eligible for transfer to the Netherlands on the basis of the special provision as announced in the letter to Parliament of 11 October 2021 is almost ready. This concerns 625 employees of NGO projects financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And about 500 people who worked for Defence, EUPOL or a Dutch mission. Some of this is already in our country.
Extra effort for journalists and human rights defenders
A list drawn up by the European Union includes about 650 Afghans who are at high risk. The Netherlands is prepared to accept 25 of these human rights defenders and journalists or fixers, including their family members. In the letter to parliament of 11 October, the government announced that it wanted to make an extra effort in an international context – together with EU member states – for this specific group.
Passport
It is a ‘labour-intensive process with many challenges’ to transfer people after their application has been approved, according to the letter to parliament. The biggest challenge is getting people out of Afghanistan. Even babies and small children need a valid passport. The Netherlands advises against crossing the border with Pakistan or Iran without this document. People who do this run the risk of being arrested and deported. In practice, it is also often not possible to allow them to continue their journey to the Netherlands.
Routes to Netherlands
The Netherlands mainly uses the routes via Pakistan and Iran to transfer Afghans. There are Dutch embassies in both countries that can issue visas for travel to the Netherlands on presentation of a passport. The embassies also arrange any temporary accommodation in the country, in collaboration with the local office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Until the beginning of December, the Netherlands made extensive use of the route via Qatar. Since then, flights on this route have been suspended.