Author
In The Netherlands the preparations for the Pact coincide with numerous national legislation proposals that sometimes overlap.
It is first to be noted that the Aliens Act, in particular Article 82, has still not been adjusted to incorporate the Gnandi judgment, and will likely not happen because of the implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.
Regarding reception conditions, among others, the Dutch National Implementation Plan for the Pact on Migration and Asylum recognizes that the recast Reception Conditions Directive explicitly requires the daily expenses allowance to always include a monetary amount.[1]
The legislative proposal for abolishing the permanent asylum permit and lowering the duration of the asylum permit from 5 to 3 years. has also been included in the legislative proposal to implement the EU Migration Pact.[2]
On 12 March 2025, a legislative proposal titled “Asylum Emergency Measures Act” was submitted.[3] One of the measures proposed is to narrow the category of eligible family members who may qualify for family reunification with the sponsor in the Netherlands. If the proposal enters into force, unmarried partners will no longer qualify. Children who were already adults at the time the sponsor entered the Netherlands will also no longer be eligible for family reunification, nor will foster children and adopted children. A positive development, however, is that minor siblings of an unaccompanied minor holding an asylum residence permit will henceforth fall under the more favourable framework for family reunification. For them, currently, the regular framework applies. Unlike the current situation, they will then also be eligible for an asylum residence permit. In the legislative proposal ‘Implementation and Enforcement Act for the 2026 Asylum and Migration Pact 2026’, this restriction of the category of eligible family members is also included. [4]
However, on 12 March 2025, a new legislative proposal titled “Introduction of a Two-Status System”[5] was also submitted, which, upon entry into force, aims to introduce a distinction in the right to family reunification. The waiting period proposed in the legislative proposal for holders of an asylum permit that is based on subsidiary protection status would be two years. In addition to a waiting period, the holder of a residence permit based on subsidiary protection will also have to meet an income requirement and a housing requirement before becoming eligible for family reunification. Again, in the legislative proposal ‘Implementation and Enforcement Act for the 2026 Asylum and Migration Pact 2026’, this waiting period is also included.[6]
[1] KST 32317, nr. 908, Implementatie van het EU Migratiepact, 6 December 2024, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/4fQZHSc. Attached to this document is the Implementation Plan itself, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/40sgs1z.
[2] KST 36871 nr. 2, Legislative proposal to implement the EU Migration Pact, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/4bnm42M.
[3] KST 36704, nr. 2, Wijziging van de Vreemdelingenwet 2000 en de Algemene wet bestuursrecht in verband met maatregelen om de asielketen te ontlasten en de instroom van asielzoekers te verminderen (Asielnoodmaatregelenwet), Voorstel van wet, 12 maart 2025, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/4sCrFsw
[4] KST 36871, nr. 2, Wetsvoorstel Uitvoerings- en implementatiewet Asiel- en migratiepact 2026, Voorstel van wet, 17 December 2025, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/4qQWZ57.
[5] KST 36703, nr. 2, Wijziging van de Vreemdelingenwet 2000 in verband met de introductie van een tweestatusstelsel en het aanscherpen van de vereisten bij nareis (Wet invoering tweestatusstelsel), Voorstel van wet, 12 maart 2025, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/4syIbtc.
[6] KST 36871, nr. 2, Wetsvoorstel Uitvoerings- en implementatiewet Asiel- en migratiepact 2026, Voorstel van wet, 17 December 2025, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/4qQWZ57.