Harsher treatment for criminal foreign nationals

The Dutch Cabinet, acting on a proposal tabled by Immigration and Integration Minister Rita Verdonk, has agreed to amend criteria in the Aliens Decree 2000 in such a manner that regulations on the termination of residence will be tightened for public-order cases.

Depending on the severity of the punishment and the number of convictions, criminal foreign nationals who legally reside in the Netherlands can from now on be stripped of their residence permits.

In the future, foreign nationals who have committed crimes carrying a prison sentence under the Dutch Penal Code, regardless of the length of the sentence, may have their residence permit cancelled and be removed from the Netherlands within the first three years of their legal residence. The measure is to be introduced alongside sanctions that can be imposed under Dutch criminal law.

The termination of residence will now also apply to foreign nationals who have resided in the Netherlands between three and five years and who have been imprisoned for one month instead of the previous nine months or if they have been convicted for the third time or more.

The proposed tightening of public order policy concerning termination of residence is intended to be used as a way of preventing crimes and of combating repeated offences committed by foreign nationals. This will increase public safety in the Netherlands and reduce crime and public nuisance, one of the objectives of this Government.

The Cabinet has agreed that the draft decision will be sent to the Council of State for their opinion. The text of the decision will be made public once it has been published in the Dutch Bulletin of Acts and Decrees.

Read full article: Ministry of Justice press release, 15 September 2006