No decisions on asylum applications from Iranian nationals

Since 28 February, Israel and the United States have been locked in an armed conflict with Iran. The situation in Iran remains volatile and is unlikely to stabilise in the near term. As a result, there is currently insufficient clarity to assess asylum applications from Iranian nationals with due care, prompting the Minister to introduce a six-month moratorium on decisions and departures.
Under this moratorium, the IND will temporarily suspend the processing of asylum applications from Iranian nationals. During this period, rejected applicants will not be forcibly returned to Iran.
 

Decision and departure moratorium

A decision and departure moratorium means that decisions on asylum applications are temporarily put on hold. The minister can impose such a moratorium if a conflict breaks out somewhere in the world and the situation in a country becomes temporarily too uncertain.
During a decision moratorium, the IND does not reject pending applications, grant residence permits or take new applications from this group into consideration.
During the departure moratorium, the Repatriation and Departure Service (DT&V) will not return unsuccessful asylum seekers to the country concerned.
 

Exceptions

The IND will still decide on applications that have been pending for more than 21 months. In such cases, it will assess the individual circumstances of the applicant and the information available at that time.
The decision and departure moratorium also does not apply to, among others, foreign nationals who have previously been registered in another European country (Dublin claimants), those who already enjoy international protection in another EU Member State, or cases involving public order or Article 1F.