Author
As laid down in the Aliens Circular,[1] (representatives of) the Dutch Council for Refugees inform asylum seekers about the asylum procedure during the rest and preparation period (see Registration). This can be done either during a one-on-one meeting, or in a group where asylum seekers often do not know each other but speak a common language, generally through an interpreter on the phone. During this information meeting, the asylum seeker will also be informed that the IND may request for their transfer to another Member State under the Dublin Regulation. In such meetings, asylum seekers receive information from the Dutch Council for Refugees on the Dutch asylum procedure and on their rights and obligations.
The Dutch Council for Refugees also has up-to-date brochures available for every step in the asylum procedure (for example: the rest and preparation period, the general and short procedure, the extended procedure and the Dublin procedure) in 25 different languages, which are based on the most common asylum countries, notably Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan. The brochure describes the steps in the asylum procedure, the competent authorities and the duties of the asylum seeker. In addition to this brochure, there are employees of the Dutch Council for Refugees present in the COL, POL and at Application Centres. At the moment, there are nine different brochures available for asylum seekers. The information in the brochures has been coordinated with the IND. The IND and the Dutch Council for Refugees together hand out the brochures at different moments in the asylum procedure.
UNHCR verifies the content of the brochure and leaflets of the IND and the Dutch Council for Refugees. The common information forms included in Annexes X to XIII of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 118/2014 are in use.
[1] Paragraph C1/2 Aliens Circular. See also: Dutch Council for Refugees, ‘Voorlichtingsfolders Asielprocedure en de Gezinsherenigingsprocedure’, available at: https://bit.ly/3I9JdFS.