Dordrecht and Meppel are ‘the first municipalities’ to deport third-country nationals from Ukraine

As far as we know, the municipalities of Dordrecht and Meppel were the first municipalities to order third-country national refugees from Ukraine to leave reception locations on Tuesday. This is what the ANP news agency writes. From Tuesday, third-country nationals from Ukraine are officially no longer entitled to shelter and living allowances in the Netherlands. A spokesperson for the municipality of Dordrecht arrives late NRC know that this concerns a total of around ninety third-country nationals, who will be removed from reception in phases. According to ANP, one third-country national has so far left a shelter in Meppel.

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According to the spokesperson for the municipality of Dordrecht, third-country nationals will only be removed from the shelter by the police if they refuse to leave voluntarily. No coercion was used on Tuesday. Tomorrow a second part will be asked to leave.

It is not clear where the third-country nationals will go now. The government wants them to return to their country of origin. The municipality of Dordrecht says it is not allowed to keep track of whether they actually return.

Final ruling of the highest court

In total, around 1,600 third-country nationals from Ukraine reside in the Netherlands. It is possible that other municipalities will wait to take steps until the Council of State has made a decision. The highest court has yet to make a final ruling on whether third-country nationals must indeed return to their home country or whether they can stay.

The Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State previously ruled that the Cabinet may revoke the right to protection of these third-country nationals. Dozens of non-Ukrainian war refugees have challenged their forced return. Until now, different immigration judges have ruled differently about their fate.

Third-country nationals from Ukraine, who usually worked or studied in that country with a temporary permit when the Russian invasion began, initially enjoyed the same status in the Netherlands as Ukrainian war refugees. But that arrangement expired on March 4. They were then given until Tuesday, April 2, to leave the Netherlands. Outgoing State Secretary for Justice and Security Eric van der Burg (VVD) would send a letter to all municipalities on Tuesday about dealing with third-country nationals.

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