Verdonk plans to block former illegals
Expatica News
21 July 2006
AMSTERDAM Minister of Integration Rita Verdonk told Dutch national daily Trouw on Friday that she is looking into ways to make it difficult for people who have been picked up for living illegally in the Netherlands to return, even legally, to the country.
A persons record as a previous illegal resident may in future also be considered when they apply to visit the country, the minister said through a spokesman.
People wanting to visit the Netherlands for work, study or family reasons can still attempt to re-enter the country legally by applying for a temporary residence permit. A measure introduced earlier this year requires people wanting to settle
permanently in the country to pass a course in Dutch language and culture.
At present people who have been deported after getting caught living illegally in the country can still apply for a temporary residence permit. Among others, school student Tada Pasic from Kosovo, whose deportation weeks before she was due to wrote her final school exams caught the headlines, recently successfully applied for a temporary residence permit to study in the Netherlands. She is to study law in Leiden.
Verdonk says she wants to sharpen up the rules covering applications for temporary residence permits to ensure that former illegal residents are excluded. Her intention is to discourage illegal residence in the country, her spokesman said.
He added that the idea came from a memorandum on illegal residence produced last year by her department. The Pasic case had not played a role, he said.
Around 100,000 people are estimated to be living illegally in the Netherlands presently.
