Netherlands forces migrants to take Covid tests so it can deport them more easily

Joe Barnes
Updated ·2 min read
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Asylum seekers at the Immigration and Naturalisation Services in The Hague, as they try to bring attention to long waiting times. The Netherlands has been faced with overcrowding at asylum reception centres - Remko de Waal/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Asylum seekers at the Immigration and Naturalisation Services in The Hague, as they try to bring attention to long waiting times. The Netherlands has been faced with overcrowding at asylum reception centres - Remko de Waal/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The Netherlands is set to enforce mandatory Covid tests on migrants entering the country to make it easier to deport failed asylum seekers.

Its government was forced to cancel almost 2,000 repatriation flights in 2021 and 2022 because the deportees refused to comply with necessary pre-departure screening.

Dutch politicians are faced with dangerously overcrowded reception centres and a mounting shortage of housing, amid a rising number of migrants arriving in the European Union.

They hope the mandatory testing will make it easier to return rejected asylum seekers to their country of origin, easing the burden on the migration system.

More than 40 countries across the world refuse to take their citizens back unless they test negative for coronavirus.

“Departure from the Netherlands of those who are not entitled to protection is crucial for a well-functioning asylum system,” said Eric van der Burg, junior minister for justice and security.

“That is why it has also been laid down in the coalition agreement that we will combat the frustration of deportation and promote return.”

Rising numbers of migrants

The compulsory Covid tests will be enforced on asylum seekers that have exhausted all legal remedies as they try to remain in the Netherlands.

Mr van der Burg said the law could be adapted to test for emerging diseases other than Covid-19 in the future.

Frontex, the EU’s border force, reported 330,000 illegal crossings into the bloc last year, the highest level since the peak of the migration crises in 2016.

The Netherlands is acutely impacted by the increasing numbers as thousands of migrants travel across the Continent in hope of reaching Britain.

Would-be asylum seekers have become more likely to hide out in the Netherlands or Belgium before trying to cross the Channel because of the extra measures enforced by France to block such attempts.

The Dutch government has warned of dangerous overcrowding in its asylum centres. It is trying to devise measures such as housing migrants on cruise ships to ease the crisis.

A three-month-old baby died in August last year at an overcrowded shelter for migrants.