Evaluation of the Aliens Act 2000 Regarding the Asylum Procedure, Part 2

• NCJ Number: 217939
• Author(s): M.H.C. Kromhout; M. Olde Monnikhof; I. Kulu-Glasgow; K. Munk; E.M.Th. Beenakkers
• Date Published: 2006
• Length: 417 pages
• Sale Source: Boom Juridische Unitgevers (Royal Boom Publishers)
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Country: Netherlands
• Note: For additional information see NCJ-217940 for Part 1 of the evaluation. English summary

Annotation

This report presents the results of an evaluation of the asylum process under the Netherlands Aliens Act 2000 enacted in 2001 which was to reduce the length of time for procedures for requesting and obtaining a residence permit.

Abstract

No conclusion can be drawn regarding a reduction in durations for the asylum process compared to the situation before the introduction of the Aliens Act 2000 because no comparison was made with the durations before the enactment of the Aliens Act. However, the conclusion that the aims of the Aliens Act 2000 have not been fully met is valid, as the statutory periods were regularly exceeded. The durations in the normal asylum procedure are considerably longer than the handling times. The Aliens Act 2000 contains various policy instruments which were expected to have a certain effect on the durations. In practice, the expected effect often failed to occur or was compensated by other developments. Recommendations are presented and discussed in the areas of measures to reduce logistical waiting times, improvements in information systems, use of monitor data for better control of the asylum chain, and immediate implementation of improvements in registration for the next evaluation. The Aliens Act 2000 came into effect on the first of April, 2001. One of its main aims was to reduce the length of time the asylum procedures in the Netherlands for requesting and obtaining a residence permit. An evaluation of the Act was requested to take place 3 years after it came into effect. The evaluation would examine whether the aims of shortening the asylum procedure and reducing the number of extra procedures have been achieved and the degree to which the new elements in the Act contributed to this effect. The evaluation investigated the degree in which different routes were followed in the asylum procedure; the duration of an individual asylum procedure under the Act, whether the procedures were completed within the period allowed by law, and which factors affected the duration of an individual asylum procedure.