Faber wants to cut war refugees’ permits to two years
Migration minister Marjolein Faber has said she wants to cut the residency permits for refugees fleeing war from five to two years as part of her strategy to bring in the “toughest asylum regime ever”.
The coalition agreement already includes an agreement to scrap permanent residency permits for refugees, which they are currently entitled to after a five-year stay.
Speaking after a fact-finding mission to Denmark, Faber told the Telegraaf that the situation there is “very basic” with only short-term permits “which I am fine with”. Faber is a minister on behalf of the far-right PVV.
“I want to get rid of permanent residency permits,” she said. “Our temporary residence permit is now five years but if it was up to me, it will be cut to two years.”
That will also make family reunions more difficult, she said. The cabinet plans to restrict family reunions to refugees who have a home, sufficient income and have lived in the Netherlands for at least two years.
Faber is also working on plans to declare an “asylum crisis” which would allow the government to bypass parliament when bringing in new legislation. Legal experts have warned that the move is unlikely to succeed, and coalition partner NSC has also expressed doubts.
PVV leader Geert Wilders appeared to raise the stakes on Tuesday by saying that he did not know if his party could support a change of plan. “Then we would have a problem,” he told reporters.
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