THE NETHERLANDS
LEGAL AND POLICY CONTEXT
In the Netherlands, 58,900 people applied for
asylum in 2015. In 2016 this number dropped
sharply to 31,600. Of this number, 18,170 were
first-time applications, 1,660 were repeated
applications and 11,810 were family reunifica-
tion applications 1 .
The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum
Seekers (COA) 2 handles the reception of asylum
seekers. Asylum seekers are entitled to material
reception conditions as soon as their asylum
claims are registered by the COA Reception
Centre for Asylum Seekers in the northern town
of Ter Apel. The COA provides several types of
accommodation for asylum seekers. The type
of reception facility depends on the stage of
the asylum procedure and thus the legal status
of the person. Most asylum seekers, including
families with children, are accommodated at
facilities known as asylum seeker centres –
asielzoekerscentra (ACZ) – while their asylum
applications are processed by migration author-
ities. Asylum seekers whose asylum applications
have been rejected but who maintain the right
to reception conditions may also be accommo-
dated at AZCs. However, when the voluntary
return period ends, they are moved to facilities
with restricted freedom of movement which are
known as vrijheidsbeperkende locaties (VBL).
Families with children under the age of 18
whose asylum applications have been rejected
and undocumented families who are subject to
return are placed in family centres known as
gezinslocaties (GL), also run by the COA. Adults
and children in family centres and VBLs are
not detained, but they are not allowed to leave
the municipality and they must report their
presence daily 3 . The first family centres were
established in 2011 4 after the Hague Court of
Appeal 5 ruled that children whose asylum appli-
cations had been rejected and children classed
as irregular migrants had the same rights to
adequate and safe accommodation, care and
protection as other children in the Netherlands
and that state authorities should assume
responsibility for these children 6 . Families and
children stay in family centres until their return
or until the youngest child turns 18.
Dutch law guarantees children all the rights
enshrined in the UNCRC regardless of their
legal status or the status of their parents, includ-
ing the right to education 7 .
Primary school classes for children living in
AZCs and GLs, while being part of the formal
education system, are offered inside the centres.
As a result, children have limited contact with
their peers and the local community. Children
in secondary education attend schools outside
facilities for asylum seekers.
Some child rights and human rights
1 _ “IND, COA, DT&V Present Annual Figures”, Government of Netherlands, 10 April 2017,
https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2017/04/10/ind-coa-dtv-present-annual-figures.
2 _ See “About COA”, Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers, n.d., https://www.coa.nl/en/about-coa.
3 _ Rejected asylum seekers who are placed in a VBL or a GL are subject to the freedom restricted measures based on Article 56 of Aliens Act 2000.
4 _ Letter from the Minister of Immigration, Integration and Asylum to the House of Representatives, 21 December 2011,
www.rijksoverheid.nl/binaries/rijksoverheid/documenten/kamerstukken/2011/12/21/kamerbrief-gezinslocaties/microsoft-word-
kamerbrief-gezinslocaties-def.pdf.
5 _ ECLI:NL:GHSGR:2011:BO9924, De Rechtspraak, Gerechtshof ‘s-Gravenhage, 11 January 2011,
http://deeplink.rechtspraak.nl/uitspraak?id=ECLI:NL:GHSGR:2011:BO9924.
6 _ See also Defence of Children International v. Netherlands, 47/2008, European Committee of Social Rights, 28 February 2010.
7 _ Leerplichtwet 1969.
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