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A growing number of asylum seekers whose claims are rejected under European rules are disappearing from Dutch asylum centers to avoid deportation, aiming to reapply once a legal deadline passes. The practice, revealed by exploits a loophole in the Dublin Regulation—a key EU law that assigns responsibility for asylum applications to the country where a person first entered Europe. Under current rules, if an asylum seeker is not transferred back to the responsible country within 18 months, the claim expires.
At that point, the Netherlands becomes responsible for handling the application, regardless of where the person first arrived in the EU. The Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) routinely checks European databases when someone applies for asylum in the Netherlands. If records show that the person was previously registered in another EU country, the IND issues a so-called “Dublin claim,” formally requesting that country to take the applicant back.
That country has two months to respond. If it does not, the claim is considered accepted by default. But in practice, the system often fails due to poor cooperation between member states and applicants disappearing from official oversight, according to Mark Klaassen, assistant professor of migration law.
“The Dublin Regulation is meant to work between member states, and its effectiveness depends on their willingness to cooperate,” Klaassen told . “In practice, the system often fails because the other country doesn’t cooperate—or the asylum seeker doesn’t.” Data obtained by from the IND show that only one in six Dublin claims filed by the Netherlands over the past five years has led to an actual transfer.
Willingness to comply varies sharply between countries: Germany accepts nearly half of Dutch transfer requests, while Italy has not responded to any of the more than 4,000 Dutch requests submitted over the past three years. As a result, no asylum seekers have been transferred from the Netherlands to Italy during that period. The 18-month expiration deadline has effectively created a legal escape route.
“You often see in the data the status ‘left to unknown destination,’” Klaassen said. “These are people who left asylum centers and disappeared. Once the 18 months pass and the person has not been returned to the original EU country, the Netherlands must process the application.
” Asylum lawyer Sonya Taheri said many asylum seekers know how the regulation works and plan their actions accordingly. “They have a few months to build a network,” she told . “At a certain point, I tell them: now is the moment to leave the center.
Then they go into hiding.” Taheri said these individuals often receive support from private citizens or religious groups. “There are many people in the Netherlands who want to help this group,” she said.
“They understand why someone wants to stay—because they have family here, or because the country they’re being returned to has much worse conditions.” Several church-based organizations confirmed to that they assist rejected asylum seekers during the waiting period. None were willing to be publicly named, citing legal risks.
These groups aim to help asylum seekers survive the 18-month gap without becoming homeless. In Amsterdam, the municipality also provides support to undocumented migrants, including those with unresolved Dublin claims. Alderman Rutger Groot Wassink said the city provides shelter to avoid people sleeping outside.
“We want to avoid having vulnerable people sleep outside, because that’s the alternative,” he told “We believe that’s unacceptable for those individuals and it also causes more nuisance for the city.” Groot Wassink voiced concern over planned changes to the Dublin system under the European Union’s new Asylum and Migration Pact, set to take effect in 2026. The reforms would extend the expiration period for Dublin claims from 18 months to three years.
“That will mean people will have to live in illegality even longer, with all the consequences that entails,” he said. “We see on the ground what the effects are of rules that don’t work well.” Despite the impending change, Taheri said she does not expect a decline in the number of people trying to stay.
“There are entire Facebook groups where people secretly arrange temporary housing,” she said. “It may become slightly harder, but people don’t scare off that easily if they truly see their future here in the Netherlands.” The Dublin Regulation was introduced in 2003 to prevent asylum seekers from filing multiple applications across the EU and to clarify which member state is responsible for handling claims.
While intended to ensure fairness and efficiency, critics say the system has created major imbalances and loopholes that some governments and applicants have learned to navigate—or ignore..
