Living in the Netherlands

Your rights when you have applied for asylum:

• Shelter: from the moment you report yourself as asylumseeker at AC Ter Apel you get shelter, food, a small financial allowance and medical health care. After AC Ter Apel you will be moved after one or a few days to another shelter in an AZC (asylum seeker shelter).

• Free legal support: you will get help from a lawyer. You can either find a lawyer yourself (or with help from VWN or another support organization) or a lawyer will be appointed to you. For both you do not have to pay. You can trust these lawyers.

• Support/advise from Vluchtelingenwerk (VWN): This is a non-governmental organization that you can ask for information or advise. They can help you with obtaining documents from abroad or evidence for your asylum motives, which can be very important for your asylum procedure.

• Free health care: You can ask for a doctor if you need one, and it is important to do so.

• Health situation check: doctors will ask you in a short interview about your medical health situation. They will report this to the IND. It is important that you name your medical problems in detail (also psychological problems, such as trauma, stress, sleeping complaints), because these may support your asylum story and in this way the IND has to take your health situation into account during the interview.

• Interpreter: You always have the right to speak with help of an interpreter in your first language. Be aware of different dialects. You have the right to choose for either a male or a female interpreter. It is important always to mention when the interpreting is not correct, otherwise IND will hold you accountable for any mistakes in your asylum story.

• You can ask a person you thrust to be present during the interviews.

[!] If the rights listed above are not met, it is your responsibility to demand your rights (ask VWN or your lawyer for advise).

Your rights when you do not have papers

Surviving illegally: If legal stay is not possible you may try to survive illegally in the Netherlands, for example by learning Dutch and finding informal jobs and informal rooms to rent. Making use of your social network may be the best way. It is not easy, but possible. And when you do not have a residence permit, it is important to know your rights and know which help you can find where. (For more detailed information on your rights and useful addresses in different towns, check www.basicrights.nl and www.stichtinglos.nl)

• Medical care: Only when you are in an asylum procedure (or in some other cases) you receive a health insurance. Even without insurance, every undocumented migrant has the right to get medically necessary health care (every care the doctor considers necessary), but in practice it can sometimes be difficult. There are support organizations who can help with arranging a doctors appointment. When you do not have a health insurance and cannot pay a doctor, the doctor or specialist can be reimbursed for the costs by Het CAK . see here: hetcak.nl/zakelijk/onverzekerbare-vreemdelingen

This is possible for all health care that normally is included in a basic health insurance. In the Netherlands you always first have to go to a ‘huisarts’ (general practitioner) who can direct you to a specialist. You can also get help from a psychologist or psychiatrist when you have psychological complaints, such as stress or sleeping problems. Also it is possible to get medication. Costs from hospitals and pharmacies can be reimbursed when they are contracted with Het CAK. The costs for dentists and physiotherapists cannot be reimbursed.
In some cities local support organizations have arrangements with a dentist or physiotherapist for cheaper treatments, contact the local organization, see contacts.

• Legal aid: It is possible to get free legal support. You can either find a lawyer yourself (or with help from a support organization) or a lawyer will be appointed to you. When you do not have income, you can get exemption of the costs at the Legal Aid Board. There are also support organizations who can give free legal advice, especially to find out whether there are options to get a residence permit, and help you with the application

• Shelter:

1. in an AZC (asylum seeker center) is possible when you asked for asylum, when you have a positive decision on art. 64 (postponement of departure on medical grounds) or have asked for shelter while awaiting that decision. Pregnant women have the right on art. 64 and shelter from six weeks before the expected date of giving birth until 6 weeks after.
2. In a GOL (family location) , shelter from the government, is possible for families with minor children. When you are not in procedure anymore the authorities will try to deport the family.
3. WMO (Social Support Act): Night shelter for homeless people: These shelters do not accept people without papers. In some cases they have a separate agreement with the local government to give shelter to undocumented migrants, see the list here www.stichtinglos.nl/noodopvang.
4. WMO: Women’s shelter: The women’s shelter is for women who are a victim of domestic or sexual violence, including women without residence permits when they apply for a permit as a victim of domestic violence or human trafficking.
5. Shelter for rejected asylumseekers (Noodopvang) is sometimes possible when you cooperate to find a legal solution for your case. You can request for shelter at a local support organization.
6. Living with a friend It is not criminal for other people to offer you shelter. However, there can be consequences for social benefits or tax benefits if the authorities find out.
7. Renting a room: Even if you don’t have a residence permit, you can rent accommodation. You are not permitted to rent from a housing association (an organization offering relatively cheap social housing). You are only allowed to rent from a private landlord. When you rent, you do have tenant’s rights.

• Money: you only receive money, and other provisions such as shelter in an AZC and a health insurance, (under the regulation Rva) from COA when you asked for asylum and when you have a positive decision on art. 64 (postponement of departure on medical grounds). There are some extra groups that can ask for money (under the regulation Rvb) from COA: migrants and their children who are in a procedure for family reunification, children, victims or witnesses of human trafficking and victims of domestic violence. Sometimes support organizations or churches can help you with money, although their capacity is very limited.

• Work: when you don’t have legal stay, you are officially not allowed to do paid or voluntary work. However, in practice it is possible to have black jobs. For example cleaning, babysitting, jobs in construction, horticulture or in restaurants. The labor inspection sometimes checks companies on illegal workers. An employer can get a fine of between 2000 and 8000 Euro per working person. You as an illegal worker do not get a fine, but you can get arrested and be kept in alien detention. If you do work, you officially have the rights under the labor law. There are however employers who want to make use of your vulnerable position and let you work under very poor conditions or let you work involuntarily (for example in the sex industry). In this case, you can report the employer to the police and you might get legal stay under the B8/3 regulation for victims of human trafficking.
Ask support from Fairwork here: www.fairwork.nu

• Food: Organizations for homeless people in most bigger towns, churches or mosques, support organizations and food banks (voedselbanken) may be able to help you with food.

• Education: Children in the age of 5 to 18 are obliged to go to school, also children without residence permit. Education is for free, except of the voluntary contribution for festivities. An organization called Stichting Leergeld may sometimes offer support in case there are costs you cannot afford. After 18,
you can finish the school, but you can only start a new education when you are ‘in procedure’ (‘rechtmatig verblijf’).
For higher education, the tuition is very high but can be waived in some cases.The Foundation for Refugee Students UAF can sometimes help students in an asylum procedure. There are possibilities for undocumented adults to follow Dutch language course or other courses for free, provided by support organizations or community centers.

• Birth registration: Every child born in the Netherlands must be registered within three days after birth at the municipality. It is important to do this in order to get a birth certificate for the child. A parent without a resident permit cannot register the birth. The registration must be done by somebody who was present at the birth, so a midwife, doctor or a friend who was present can do it as well.

• Marriage and divorce: it is possible to marry, only when both partners have a passport, legalized birth certificate and a legalized proof that you are not already married before. With these documents you should go to the municipality in which the legally residing partner is registered. The municipality has to investigate your marriage: when they think that the marriage only takes place in order to obtain a residence permit, they can call the police and you can be arrested.