IND Reverses Decision: Afghan Women Allowed to Stay in Netherlands

Four Afghan women who were initially set to be deported to Afghanistan are now granted residency in the Netherlands. This decision marks a significant shift, as the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) and Minister David van Weel had previously strongly defended the deportation of Afghan women. The women were informed in recent days that they will receive residence permits, and any ongoing legal proceedings related to their asylum claims will be discontinued, as reported by Trouw.

The IND stated that a combination of individual facts and circumstances led to the decision to grant asylum. One key factor in this change was a recent report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which highlighted the worsening situation for women under the Taliban’s radical rule between 2023 and 2025. Last week, it was revealed that one of the four women had already been granted a residence permit last year.

This decision is particularly striking, given that last year, the Dutch government defended sending women back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan at the highest levels. Minister David van Weel (VVD) had stated in early December that there was no reason to alter the asylum policy regarding Afghanistan. However, Van Weel has refrained from commenting on the IND’s reversal and has indicated that the country’s policy towards Afghanistan is now under review.