Pre-registration of Afghan evacuees completed
The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) completed the pre-registration of Afghan evacuees last weekend. That being so, everyone's names and places of residence have been registered so that this information can be used in the subsequent steps of the asylum process. It concerns a group of at least 1900 persons.
Over recent days, IND employees have also started screening evacuees for public order and national security, including consideration of social media use and available documents. Moreover, the Royal Netherlands Military Constabulary (KMar) has formally identified and registered the first groups of evacuees over recent days. This procedure includes taking biometric data such as fingerprints.
'Over recent days, the efforts of the IND colleagues have been unprecedented, and the cooperation with our chain partners, such as the COA, the KMar, and the Ministries, is going smoothly', said Annelore Roelofs, Acting Managing Director IND. 'Many people also helped in their spare time.'
First interviews this week
Later this week, the first interviews are expected to take place in connection with asylum applications. Wherever possible, a decision on the application will follow as soon as possible. It is unknown how long it will take to provide the whole group with a decision.
Special teams
The IND puts on special teams to process asylum applications submitted by evacuees. As there are no evacuation flights now, the team at the IND's Border Office at Schiphol airport is again working in regular shifts. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' call team also stopped its assistance of the IND. The IND will continue to work closely with the ministry if there are any questions about individual cases.