Refugees who are considered to have a good chance of being given a residency permit will be able to start work three months after their arrival in the Netherlands, ministers have decided.
Currently they are only allowed to work after being in the country for six months.
Social affairs minister Hans Vijlbrief said having a job helps people integrate into the Netherlands by learning the language and contributing to society. “They also earn wages and contribute to the cost of their accommodation,” he said. “And it is good for employers… given the tight jobs market.”
Until the end of 2023, asylum seekers awaiting a residency permit were only allowed to work up to 24 weeks a year. However, the Council of State ruled that if the wait is longer than six months they can work all year round, provided they have a BSN number and their employer organises a work permit.
Employers applied for more than 30,000 work permits for asylum seekers last year, according to ministry figures.
Refugees who are not considered to have a good case, or who come from a safe third country, will not be allowed to work.
Housing rethink
The cabinet has also scrapped legislation drawn up by the previous government which aimed to stop local councils giving refugees with residency permits priority in social housing.
Housing minister Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan said on Friday she is working on a new plan to provide accommodation for refugees who have been told they can stay in the Netherlands.
The old draft legislation had been criticised by both local authorities and the Council of State, which said it would be discriminatory and did not take the disadvantages facing refugees on the housing market into account.
Some 18,000 people who are currently living in formal refugee accommodation should have moved to regular housing but cannot do so because of the shortage of homes. Currently refugees are supposed to be housed in an ordinary home within 10 weeks of receiving a residence permit, but that rarely happens.
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