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A strict asylum law has been on hold for six months due to political turmoil. The House of Representatives will debate the amendment of the law on Monday: illegal immigration remains a criminal offense, but anyone who provides assistance will go free. Will Parliament agree, or will the law be overhauled once again?
Hanneke Keultjes
December 15, 2025, 7:00 AM
1. Why does the Asylum Emergency Measures Act need to be amended?
Last summer, this strict asylum law was tightened even further at the last minute. A parliamentary majority then unexpectedly added a measure proposed by the PVV to the law: criminalizing illegal immigration.
The tightening of the law not only criminalizes people without valid residence permits, but also criminalizes assisting undocumented immigrants – giving them a cup of soup. This went too far for the House. The caretaker government promised to amend the law, and the House of Representatives will consider it on Monday. Without amendments, the Emergency Asylum Measures Act will fail in the Senate.
2. Will the PVV tightening of the law be scrapped entirely?
The government has decided to leave part of it intact. People who assist undocumented immigrants will no longer be criminalized; although some experts doubt whether this applies to all assistance.
People who are in the Netherlands illegally will remain criminalized. According to the cabinet, this contributes to “a better grip on migration.” Experts dispute this. Minister David van Weel (Asylum and Migration, VVD) believes this measure sets “a clear standard”: “Anyone who does not have the right to stay here must leave the Netherlands.”
3. If illegal immigration is punishable, can people who do not have the right to stay in our country be returned more quickly?
No, experts told the House of Representatives last week. After all, people who are in our country illegally must leave now. The fact that this does not always happen is sometimes due to unwillingness, but sometimes also to powerlessness. Not all undocumented people can return to their country of origin, for example, because the country will not accept them.
The hope is that people who currently do not cooperate with their return will do so if they would otherwise end up in prison. But that is not certain; no research has been conducted on this.
4. What will change if illegal immigration becomes punishable?
The police and courts mainly fear that the change will create much more work for them. The police must track down and detain people who are in our country illegally, even though there is already a shortage of cells. The courts must convict undocumented immigrants. And, as police chief Karin Krukkert told the House of Representatives last week: “In this case, detention does not solve the offense.”
After all, someone is still in our country illegally after serving their sentence. As soon as the foreigner walks out of the prison gates, they commit another offense. Then they can be arrested again, tried, and sentenced to prison.
5. Will the House of Representatives agree to the amendment?
A very large majority in the House of Representatives is certainly very pleased that people who help undocumented immigrants are no longer criminally liable. But that doesn’t go far enough for some parties. The Christian Union proposed on Thursday to also abolish the criminalization of illegality—the entire PVV amendment.
According to sources, D66 had the same plan. According to Minister Van Weel, abolishing the section entirely would be “a step backward.” It’s also questionable whether Parliament can support this new amendment. Roughly speaking, left-wing parties oppose criminalizing illegal immigration, while right-wing parties support it. They are therefore in a hurry.
The discussion of the amendment comes at a politically sensitive time: in the middle of the coalition government. D66 opposes criminalizing illegal immigration and the Asylum Emergency Measures Act. The VVD supports both. The CDA supports the law but voted against it due to the PVV amendment.
And then there’s the PVV. Geert Wilders has always said that the law of his former asylum minister Faber must absolutely not be weakened. Without PVV support, a majority in the Senate is in jeopardy.