Residing illegally in NL to be made a criminal offence

04 January 2013, by Carly Blair

(4)

Foreign nationals who reside illegally in the Netherlands will soon be considered guilty of a criminal offence and subject to a hefty fine, as recently announced by the Dutch Council of Ministers.

Those who are caught living here illegally will be given a set time limit to leave the country voluntarily. If they fail to leave within the time limit, they will be committing a criminal offence and will be subject to a fine (currently listed as 3.800 euros here).

Those who are fined may be imprisoned if they fail to pay, and those who are fined twice (or more) risk a severe entry ban. A severe entry ban may last for up to five years.

Though voluntary departure is preferred, forced deportation may be used if necessary. Departure is preferable to punishment, so illegal residence will not be criminalised in such a way that it delays or impedes departure.

The criminalisation applies exclusively to adult foreign nationals. If the foreign national still has a term for voluntary departure (at most 28 days), the criminalisation will not apply.

Assisting illegal foreign nationals for humanitarian reasons will not be an offence, but employers and landlords who work with illegal foreign nationals will remain liable to punishment and will be dealt with more severely.

In December 2012, the European Court of Justice determined in the Sagor judgment that EU Member States are permitted to criminalise illegal residence and to impose a fine as punishment.

Imprisonment for non-payment of a fine is also permitted, according to the Court, as long as it is guaranteed that this punishment is cancelled as soon as the foreign national can be removed.

The Council of Ministers' proposal is based on the Court of Justice's decision. The Council asserts that making illegal residence in the Netherlands a punishable offence will send a clear message to illegal residents and will deter additional people from attempting to live here illegally.

For expats of all colours, shapes & sizes Forum Blog Find house

Find a job NEW

Integration stagnating in the Netherlands

20 February 2013, by Mark McDaid

(4)

There has been no increase in contact between Dutch natives and non-Western immigrants over the past 15 years, with casual contacts remaining stagnant and inter-ethnic visits becoming less frequent.

Almost half of the Turkish-Dutch population will never visit an indigenous citizen, whereas at the beginning of the century this figure was one in three. There has been no trend towards increased inter-ethnic contact in terms of friendships, home visits or relationships, with one in ten Moroccan and Dutch natives marrying a native Dutchman or woman - a similar figure to ten years previously.

This research, published in Trouw by two researchers from the Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau, comes as a surprise given the assumption that migrant communities should become further integrated as more generations of migrant families benefit from exposure to the Dutch education system and language. However, the paper posts four reasons for the stagnation in integration: increased segregation of migrant communities, the economic climate, cultural differences and the social climate of the host country.

The tendency of immigrants to settle within cities and in particular neighborhoods has caused an increase in so-called "black neighborhoods" and "black schools" - thus segregating communities and diminishing the potential for inter-ethnic contact.

The current economic crisis is also used to explain the lack of progress, with the weak economy affecting migrant groups disproportionately and therefore giving them less chance of a solid, full-time paid job - a great advantage for anyone seeking to make more leisure contacts.

Cultural distance on specific issues, such as medical roles, homosexuality and gender roles, are also seen as key in relations between the groups.

Photo by Flickr user FaceMePLS

Highly educated Turks or Moroccans have, on average, more traditional views on these matters than the less-educated Dutch native.

The article does qualify these first three issues with it's final reasoning, pointing the finger at Dutch natives too by stating that it "takes two to tango". Views on migration and integration are usually negative, and a significant portion of the indigenous Dutch population opposes contact with migrants, whether it be as a friend, partner or with their children.

There is an element of patience required in this situation following the argument that it takes two or three generations before the fruit of integration can be harvested. Yet, in the short term at least, it seems that little progress is being made in the integration of non-Western immigrants into Dutch society.

Source: Trouw
Thumb photo by Flickr user FaceMePLS