If an asylum seeker comes from a supposedly safe country of origin, or has a right of residence in a safe country, it is assumed that the asylum seeker has no well-founded fear of persecution and no real risk of serious harm. However, this assumption can be rebutted if the asylum seeker puts forward good reasons why his country of origin or his country of residence, in his particular case, is not safe. This heavy burden of proof lies on the shoulders of the asylum seeker. Failure to do deliver prove will result in the asylum application being declared manifestly unfounded.

An exception applies to certain groups of foreign nationals from a safe country of origin. For them the country does not qualify as a safe country of origin and therefore the assumption that the country is safe does not apply, nor does the heavy burden of proof. Examples are foreign nationals from certain areas, lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT people) or (ethnic) minorities.

The Annex to Article 37 of the Asylum Procedures Directive contains the definition of safe country of origin:

• "A country is considered as a safe country of origin where, on the basis of the legal situation, the application of the law within a democratic system and the general political circumstances, it can be shown that there is generally and consistently no persecution as defined in Article 9 of Directive 2011/95/EU, no torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and no threat by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict."

The website of the Central Government keeps track via a list of the countries that qualify as a safe country of origin.

Fast-track rejection procedure track 2

The asylum applications of foreign nationals from a safe country of origin fall under the scope of track 2, the fast-track rejection procedure.

The main differences between the safe country of origin procedure and the General Asylum Procedure are:

- No rest and preparation period
- No medical examination
- Only one interview
- No suspensive effect of appeal
- No deadline for voluntary departure

Interview safe country of origin

After identification during the registration phase, the INS decides if the asylum application falls under the scope of track 2, depending on the country of origin of the foreign national. The asylum seeker will be interviewed after this decision as soon as possible. In this interview, the INS will ask questions about personal details, such as place and date of birth, nationality and ethnic origin. He or she will also be asked about the date of departure from the country of origin, the date of arrival in the Netherlands, if he or she stayed in other countries for a while, the possession of a passport and identity documents and the personal details and whereabouts of family members.

Preliminary decision

If the INS intends to declare the application manifestly unfounded, because the asylum seeker comes from a safe country of origin, the asylum seeker will be given the opportunity to explain his asylum motives. A copy of this interview shall be given to the asylum seeker as soon as possible. At that moment, an attorney is often appointed. At the same time, or shortly afterwards, the asylum seeker will receive the preliminary decision which states that the INS intends to declare the application inadmissible or manifestly unfounded. The attorney on behalf of the asylum seeker can inform the INS about the errors and additions.

Negative decision

If a negative decision is issued, a zero-day departure period will apply and an travel ban for two years will be imposed.

Appeal procedure in court

Appeals must be lodged within one week and a court ruling must be given within 28 days. The appeal does not have an automatic suspensive effect, which means that, if the asylum seeker wants to stay lawfully in the Netherlands, an interim injunctions should be requested. This request must be submitted within 24 hours after the publication of the negative decision. Only then the asylum seeker can stay lawfully in the Netherlands during the appeal procedure.

If the INS concludes during the fast-track procedure that the application is not per se manifestly unfounded, the case shall be referred to the General Asylum Procedure.This is the case, for example, if it seems plausible that the asylum seeker belongs to an exceptional group or that the country of origin does not qualify as a safe country of origin for individual reasons. If so, the first step is a period of rest and preparation. The asylum application has already been submitted and the asylum seeker is already registered, these steps do not need to be repeated. The statements already made can also be included in the assessment in the General Asylum Procedure, also known as the track 4 procedure.

It is, of course, important that, during a track 2 procedure, an asylum seeker is assisted by a specialised asylum attorney. Berte Advocaten employs two attorneys who are fully committed to find that one argument that makes the difference. With their many years of expertise, they know better than anyone how to make use of an opportunity. If you would like to know what Berte Advocaten can do for you, please register your case for free using the form on the website or contact us by telephone via 013 53 53 885.