The Belgian government has reached a new migration agreement. Under the accord asylum secretary De Moor will be charged with creating extra reception places for asylum seekers, but the rules are being tightened up.
Belgium has been struggling to meet its legal obligations with regard to asylum seekers for months now. The sheer numbers mean it has not managed to provide board and accommodation to all registered asylum seekers as required by law and has been convicted by the courts as a result.
Scores of people ended up on the streets while the various administrations pushed to the buck back and forth.
Legislation will now be modified to ensure applicants leave the asylum procedure more quickly. People whose asylum application is turned down will no longer received board and accommodation. They will have to move out within 30 days and not 3 months like at present.
Asylum secretary De Moor (Flemish Christian democrat) argued that too many people remain in asylum centres following a negative decision and initiate new procedures in a bid to reverse a negative decision. At present around a thousand people are in this category.
Orders to leave the country will be implemented more quickly and greater care will be taken to ensure they are carried out.
The immigration department will hire more staff to accompany police when people are being expelled from the territory.
“We will no longer simply hand over a piece of paper ordering people to leave the country. They will be escorted during their departure from the territory” says De Moor.
The Dublin directive will be applied more strictly. Asylum seekers who made an earlier application in another EU country will be returned to that country within six months. The immigration department will be able to extend this period to 12 months if return cannot be carried out during the initial period due e.g. to a prison sentence and to 18 months if the person has gone to ground.
New rules will govern family reunifications: requirements including ‘parental authority’ and ‘duty of care’ will be checked more closely. Family reunification involving Belgian children will only be possible for parents who actually care for the child. “This will counter the practice of bébé-papers, when people have children or recognise them with the sole intention of obtaining residence papers” says De Moor.
The accord doesn’t include any form of regularisation.
Stateless persons in Belgium will be able to apply for a permit to stay here for up to 5 years. At present 884 stateless people are registered with the authorities.
The measures also include the creation of 700 new accommodation places for asylum seekers. The European Asylum Agency will provide 600 containers to allow this.
Legislation will also be brought forward making it illegal to incarcerate children in closed centres.
At present Belgium offers accommodation to 34,000 asylum seekers. 2,400 people are still waiting to receive accommodation. 700 new places are now being created.