Just last Sunday, protests took place against criminalizing undocumented status, but the House of Representatives has already approved a measure. It could even become punishable to offer an undocumented person a bowl of soup, confirmed the Council of State.
This proposal stems from a PVV amendment in the bill. It has sparked so much controversy that it will likely be rescinded – otherwise, the bill could fail in the Senate. Without amendments, assisting “illegal” residents would become punishable. That would also apply to students in higher education who stay in the Netherlands without proper documentation.
Update:
Caretaker Minister for Asylum and Migration David van Weel (VVD) has indeed drafted the promised amendment: providing aid to people without a residence permit should not be criminalized. Citizens can submit their opinions on the proposal in an online consultation until 26 September. Afterwards, the revised bill will go to the Council of State, then proceed to votes in the House and finally the Senate.
In principle, eighteen-year-olds without a passport or residence permit cannot register for studies. “Only children under eighteen have the right to education, even without residence rights”, says Wendy Guns, human rights lawyer and chair of the Rotterdam Undocumented Support Center. “Only if you registered for higher education before turning seventeen may you continue your studies after eighteen.”
Pilot program
Nonetheless, over recent years several educational institutions have attempted to help undocumented youth pursue education. In 2022, five universities of applied sciences and universities signed a covenant: as a pilot, they would register undocumented individuals up to age thirty.
The institutions report very small student numbers: “a handful” at Inholland University of Applied Sciences, one at Amsterdam University of the Arts. The University of Amsterdam enrolls so few that it prefers not to disclose numbers, and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam similarly declines to share.
Most of these students were born in the Netherlands. They complete their secondary education here and “then have to return to their ‘country of origin,’ which they often don’t know,” says a spokesperson for the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. That university enrolled six undocumented students in 2023 and one in 2024.
Lower academic advice
According to ASKV, an Amsterdam-based support organization for the undocumented, twenty students have been admitted into higher education through the pilot since 2022. The numbers remain low, largely because these youths are reluctant to reveal their undocumented status and are fearful of authorities – many don’t even attempt to study.
Others receive a low school advice already in primary education – for practical reasons: if they do vmbo, they can still enroll in mbo (vocational training) before turning eighteen. But if they finish vwo (pre-university education) at eighteen, they effectively cannot continue.
Path to legal status
However, studying can become a route to legal status. Three pilot students completed higher education, found employment in their field, and were able to obtain a residence status through the ‘knowledge migrant’ scheme – and ultimately apply for Dutch citizenship. It’s an extremely complicated route not available to everyone. Thanks to their new citizenship, they are now eligible to vote in the upcoming elections.
Hope
Wendy Guns from the Rotterdam support center hopes that educational institutions will continue assisting these youth – referred to as “dreamers,” by analogy with similar programs in the US. However, the proposed legislation complicates things; the educational consequences remain unclear.
The numerous legal obstacles prompted Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences to withdraw from the pilot a few years ago. Three undocumented students were de-registered after only a few weeks, as reported by the university magazine Profielen. Some later managed to restart their studies through alternate pathways.
Since the PVV’s election victory, the issue has become more politically sensitive. Laura Bakker, project leader of the pilot, is cautious about sharing information for fear that the few undocumented students in higher education might suffer. She has spoken with several of them this summer: “There is a lot of fear. They wonder: will I be deported even though I was born in the Netherlands? It makes studying much harder for them.”