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Police, COA and IND start catching up on identification of asylum seekers

Last update: 16 August 2022

Together, the police, COA and IND are making efforts to clear the backlog of identification and registration of asylum seekers as quickly as possible. For this purpose, additional people are being deployed. Catch-up started on Monday 15 August. This way, the organisations want to prevent new queues of asylum seekers in Ter Apel and allow asylum seekers with a pre-registration in the country to go through the identification and registration process (I&R process) as quickly as possible.

Currently, around 2000 asylum seekers have only been pre-registered with the IND in Ter Apel. They are staying in facilities for crisis reception in the country. These people get an accelerated call to still go through the I&R process with the police in Budel. The COA is organising the reception and transport from and to Budel.

New asylum seekers

Asylum seekers who report in Ter Apel for the first time from 15 August will go through the identification process on location, like before. Just like in Budel, additional capacity is available for this. Next, they will be transported to a crisis reception facility until place is available in a regular COA centre.

Additional people

Clearing the backlog requires additional people and efforts from all partners in the immigration system. The Transport and Support Service (in Dutch: Dienst Vervoer & Ondersteuning or DV&O) is also contributing people. In addition, the daily additional deployment of police in Ter Apel and Budel means that the Aliens Police, Identification and Human Trafficking Department (AVIM) can only carry out duties in the field of monitoring of foreign nationals to a limited extent or not at all in the rest of the country.

The aim is that all asylum seekers with a pre-registration in crisis reception will have gone through the I&R process within 6 weeks.

Pressure on immigration system remains high

Also with the catching-up efforts to identify and register asylum seekers, the pressure on the immigration system remains high. The lack of reception locations will not be not solved by clearing the backlog.

In addition, a reporting interview with the IND follows after asylum seekers have been identified and registered. The number of asylum seekers eligible for this will increase in the coming weeks as a result of the I&R catching-up effort. This means that they must wait longer. The IND is currently taking stock of the consequences the adaptation of the I&R process will have and what this means for the waiting time for asylum seekers.

About the asylum procedure

People who want to apply for asylum in the Netherlands must report at the application centre of the IND in Ter Apel. After pre-registration by the IND, the police carries out the identification and registration of the asylum seeker. Next, the asylum procedure at the IND begins. The COA provides asylum seekers with reception, guidance and support.