The Social Affairs Inspectorate (formerly: Labour Inspectorate) has presented its annual report for 2012. The Labor Inspectorate imposed fines because the employer had no work permits for his foreign employees, paid wages that were too low or the Waadi (Posting of Workers by Intermediaries Act) was violated.

After April 1st, 2013 authentication by the Dutch Embassy or Dutch Consulate for documents from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Dominican Republic and Nigeria is no longer required.

On the 1st of June new Dutch migration law, Law Modern Migration policy, will come into force. With this so-called ‘MoMi’ there are a lot of changes for private persons and companies working with foreign employees and for people who wish to reunite with family members from outside the European Union.

24 May 2013    Under European law (Directive 2004/38) a Union citizen will receive automatic right to permanent residency after living legally for five years in another Member State. This is a very strong residency right, as it is not dependent on conditions that apply to the "normal" residency rights of a Union citizen.

On the 22th of May Amnesty International has released its annual report assessing human rights in 159 countries. The organization is concerned about the immigration policy of the European Union and of the Netherlands.

On 22 May, a debate on illegal residency and asylum policy took place in the Dutch Parliament. State Secretary of the Justice and Security department, Fred Teeven, admitted that the current bill regarding illegal residency is not in line with the coalition agreement.

On 13 May an article about imporving migration of workers within the European Union was published in Trouw. EU’s home affairs Commissioner Malström held a speech during the State of the Union Conference last Friday.

Per the 1st of April 2013 it is no longer possible to sit the basic exam integration abroad at the Dutch embassy in Tirana. Applicants are referred to the Dutch embassy in Skopje.

7 May 2013     An interview with Barbara Wegelin regarding three cases in which the Repatriation and Departure Service summoned her clients to appear for their pre-departure talks whilst they had legal residency in the Netherlands, was published in NRC Handelsblad today. The attitude of the Repatriation and Departure Service and IND and the communication between government services are also mentioned.

The Modern Migration Policy Act (MoMi) will come into force on June 1, 2013.

The Act dates back to 2010, however, problems with the new IT system had to be resolved before it could be implemented.

Briefly, the new and comprehensive bill rests on two important pillars.

7 May 2013     Until recently, non-EU nationals with a right of residency in the Netherlands as the unmarried partner of an EU-national found themselves in a rather awkward position when their long-term relationship broke up.

Non-EU spouses of EU-nationals have the right to retain their residency status under European Directive 2004/38 after three years of marriage, including one year in the EU member state of residency.

State Secretary for Security and Justice Fred Teeven spoke on the effects of pre-deportation detention, the Dolmatov case, and how an illegal person should avoid exploitation.