MPs today debate the long-awaited amnesty for up to 30,000 long-term refugees which gives them permanent residency rights in the Netherlands.

The cabinet agreed the details of the amnesty last month. It affects asylum seekers who arrived in the country before April 2001.
Junior justice minister Nebahat Albayrak can expect tough questioning from Christian Democrat MPs, who want guarantees that local councils will stop putting failed asylum seekers up in emergency accommodation, news agency ANP reports.
At the moment, refugees who have lost their appeals are often evicted from refugee centres, forcing them onto the streets. Albayrak has promised to couple the amnesty with an effective deportation system.
Earlier this week, Albayrak said that war criminals and their family members, including children, will not be covered by the amnesty.
The debate is expected to take up much of the day.