Author
An asylum request can be declared manifestly unfounded in case the asylum applicant is from a safe country of origin.[1] Asylum requests from applicants presumed to come from safe countries of origin are handled in the Accelerated Procedure (‘Track 2’) by the IND.
In case an asylum applicant is from a safe country of origin, it is presumed that they have no well-founded fear of persecution nor a risk of treatment contrary to Article 3 ECHR. However, the IND has to assess in every individual case whether, based on the applicant’s statements, this country is indeed safe for the asylum applicant. In other words, the IND must consider whether the authorities of the applicants’ country of origin, in practice, comply with their obligations under the relevant human rights treaties.
The IND cannot maintain the presumption of safe country of origin if the asylum applicant demonstrates that their country of origin cannot be regarded as a safe country for them. In that case, the IND has to assess whether the asylum applicant is eligible for international protection.[2]
Should it become clear during the Track 2 procedure that the asylum applicant might have a well-founded fear for persecution in their country of origin (for example because of their sexual orientation), more thorough assessment by the IND is required. As a result, the asylum request is further assessed in Track 4. Switching from Track 2 to Track 4 may also occur when there is medical evidence, demonstrating that the asylum applicant is vulnerable and in need of special procedural guarantees.
List of safe countries of origin
Anticipating an EU list of safe countries of origin, the Minister communicated at the end of 2015 the intention to draft a national list of safe countries of origin.[3] As provided in the recast Asylum Procedures Directive and Article 3.105ba of the Aliens Decree, this national list was annexed to the Aliens Regulation. In 2022, it was also added to the Aliens Circular. The list contains countries in which, according to the Dutch government, nationals are presumed not to be at risk of persecution, torture or inhuman or degrading treatment. The Council of State ruled in a judgement in April 2021[4] that the Minister had to reassess the list of safe countries of origin every two years and that this reassessment should be carried out through the same procedure used for the designation of a country as a safe country of origin. This reassessment replaced the ‘quick reassessment’ that was normally carried out by the IND and focused only on sources from the US State Department and Freedom House – only if these sources showed significant changes in the country, would the IND carry out a ‘full reassessment’ consulting all sources stated by Article 37(3) Procedures Directive.
The period of mandatory reassessment expired on 4 November 2021, resulting in removing Algeria[5] from the safe country of origin list and adding some exempted groups and groups of special attention to the designation of Mongolia,[6] Morocco, Tunisia and Georgia as safe countries of origin.[7] In November 2021, the Minister also decided to shorten the list of safe countries of origin in order to decrease the periodical efforts to reassess their situation. Twelve countries – from which an extremely limited number of asylum applicants arrived – were removed from the list: Andorra, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, San Marino, Vatican City and Switzerland.[8] The United Kingdom and Trinidad and Tobago were also removed for this reason in November 2022 and June 2024, respectively.[9] All safe countries of origin still need to be reassessed every two years.
Furthermore, due to the CJEU ruling that countries cannot be categorised as safe with the exclusion of certain areas,[10] both Georgia and India are no longer considered safe countries of origin by the IND.[11] The current list of safe countries of origin is included below. In addition, the IND needs to constantly monitor whether there are signs that the safety situation in a country designated as a safe country of origin is deteriorating.
As of 1 January 2025, the following countries have been designated as safe countries of origin:[12]
- EU Member States
- Albania
- Armenia*
- Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Brazil*
- Ghana*
- Jamaica*
- Kosovo
- North Macedonia
- Morocco*
- Mongolia*
- Montenegro
- Senegal *
- Serbia *
- Tunisia*
- United States of America
- Ukraine* (suspended)
* Some groups are exempted from the designation of safe country of origin. These cases will be handled in Track 4 (for example: LGBTQI+ persons in Tunisia, Senegal, Jamaica, Brazil, Armenia and Morocco).
Due to the war with Russia, the designation of Ukraine as a safe country of origin has been suspended.[13] For more information on the current Dutch policies regarding Ukraine, see Annex on Temporary Protection in the Netherlands.
Application of the concept of safe country of origin
The Minister can designate a country as a safe country of origin, while exempting specific groups such as LGBTQI+ individuals or women. In these cases, the safe country of origin-concept does not apply and those belonging to this group do not have a higher burden of proof. The asylum request is handled in Track 4.
On 25 May 2022, the Minister decided for procedural and economic reasons to no longer use the ‘groups with higher concern’[14] in response to a ruling of the Council of State.[15] The Council of State had ruled that the consequences of designating a specific ‘group with higher concern’ for the assessment framework are unclear and that the Minister should either give a substantial interpretation to this concept or abolish it. All groups with higher concern will henceforth be treated as exempted groups.
[1] Article 30b(1)(b) Aliens Act.
[2] Paragraph C2/7.2 Aliens Circular.
[3] KST 19637, 3 November 2015, No 2076.
[4] Council of State, ECLI:NL:RVS:2021:738, 7 April 2021, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/3SQ1oab.
[5] KST 19637, No 2743, 11 June 2021, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/3I8auZw.
[6] KST 19637, No 2778, 4 November 2021, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/42MyISR.
[7] KST 19637, No 2726, 6 May 2021, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/3OOGoOr.
[8] KST 19637, No 2778, 4 November 2021, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/42MyISR.
[9] Stcrt 2023, nr. 3235, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/3YvewS4; KST 19637, No 3260, 25 June 2024, available in Dutch at: bit.ly/4gIAVoy.
[10] CJEU, C-406/22, CV v Ministerstvo vnitra České republiky, Odbor azylové a migrační politiky, 4 October 2024, available at: bit.ly/4gIbu6w.
[11] IND internal information message 2024/61 Arrest Hof van Justitie veilige landen van herkomst, India en Georgië niet langer aangemerkt als veilig land, available in Dutch at: bit.ly/3DLqH8a.
[12] Paragraph C7/1.2 Aliens Circular.
[13] Par. C7/1.2 Aliens Circular under Oekraïne.
[14] For further information about this concept and how it was used, see previous updates to this country report, available at: https://bit.ly/3SMHHji.
[15] KST 19637, no. 2894, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/3Vn7Tzf. Council of State, ECLI:NL:RVS:2022:985, 5 April 2022, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/3OC4BaK.