From Monday, asylum seekers who have already been granted protection in another EU Member State will no longer be eligible for shelter in Belgium.
This policy change is part of a measure introduced by the Minister for Asylum and Migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt, as covered by the Easter Agreement.
Last month, the federal parliament approved a series of measures aimed at limiting access to the Belgian reception network. Minister Van Bossuyt describes them as “crisis measures.”
The first set of measures will be implemented on Monday. Individuals who have received protection elsewhere in the EU will no longer be admitted to the Belgian reception system.
“Asylum is about protection. Those who have that elsewhere in Europe should no longer access our shelters. The era of asylum shopping must come to an end,” Van Bossuyt stated.
Minister of Asylum and Migration Anneleen Van Bossuyt
The dossiers will now be processed more quickly by the General Commissioner for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGVS), along with the applications of asylum seekers previously rejected in another EU Member State.
For these groups, their applications will be systematically deemed inadmissible.
Last year, approximately 15,000 out of nearly 40,000 asylum applications in Belgium came from people who had already received protection or had a pending application in another EU Member State, the minister noted.
Additionally, from Monday, the right to shelter will be removed for asylum seekers who, after an initial rejection, submit a new application without new elements via a minor child. Van Bossuyt asserts that this aims to stop “the use of children to prolong procedures and shelter.”
Finally, not having shelter will no longer provide access to subsistence income from Monday.
Minister Van Bossuyt has announced tougher family reunification rules, set to take effect in mid-August.
Van Bossuyt has repeatedly emphasised her intent to implement “the strictest asylum and migration policy” ever.
