From 12 June 2026, the European Asylum and Migration Pact will introduce new asylum rules across the European Union. For some time, asylum and reception systems in many EU Member States have been under considerable pressure. The pact aims to improve consistency in migration policy across Europe.
Through this agreement, European countries are taking a step towards a more effective European asylum system: refugees will receive the protection they need, while those who do not qualify for asylum can go back to their country of origin more quickly.
Under the pact, European countries have agreed that stricter checks will be introduced at the external borders from 12 June onward, meaning that all irregular migrants will be screened at the EU’s external borders.
Asylum procedures will also be accelerated, and asylum seekers will find it more difficult to move onward to another EU country to apply for asylum there. And, agreements were made about solidarity: asylum seekers will be distributed among European countries according to a distribution key. If a country receives a disproportionately high number of applications, another EU country must either take over asylum seekers or make a financial contribution to the receiving country.
Because screening plays such a central role in the pact, the shared Eurodac database, which contains data on all applicants, will be improved. An increase in the number of Dublin transfers is expected, which means that the country responsible for an asylum application will also handle that application. To ensure this system works properly, decision periods will be adjusted so that the Dublin Regulation can function more effectively.
The European Parliament approved the Asylum and Migration Pact on 10 April 2024. Its objectives are laid down in ten legislative proposals, consisting of nine regulations and one directive. The regulations will be effective immediately and are meant to significantly impact the operational processes of various implementing bodies.
The IND too will need to change the way it works and adapt its processes to align with the pact, placing substantial demands on the organisation. At the same time, the IND will make use of the opportunities the pact offers to organise asylum procedures more efficiently and to speed them up, without risking its carefulness.
The new asylum procedure is designed to minimise handovers between staff and procedural steps. For example, certain optional national procedural steps will be discontinued, such as the application interview, and comprehensive medical examinations will no longer always be carried out. Greater emphasis will also be placed on applicants’ ability to manage parts of the process themselves. For instance, they will be given a tablet to enter their information and upload documents. The new procedure is also more humane, as applicants will receive clarity more quickly, and capacity can be deployed more effectively for people in complex or vulnerable situations. There will be a uniform procedure for all, and the current track-based system will be discontinued.
The IND will take on the responsibility for domestic screening and the registration of asylum seekers in Ter Apel through the Reception and Preparation for Asylum Applications process (in Dutch: Ontvangst en Voorbereiding Asielaanvraag or OVA). The IND's identification and registration efforts will serve to gather the information needed to decide on the most appropriate follow-up procedure.
Read more about the European Asylum and Migration Pact, what it will mean for the IND and what the IND is doing to be ready to comply with the pact from 12 June 2026.
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The national implementation plan (only available in Dutch) outlines the steps required to introduce the European Asylum and Migration Pact into the Dutch asylum and reception system.
For more information, read the Letter to the House of Representatives on the implementation of the EU Migration Pact (only available in Dutch) from 6 December 2024, in which Minister Faber informed the House of Representatives about the introduction of the European Asylum and Migration Pact.
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