The Dutch government has informed thousands of international students who found refuge in the Netherlands following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to leave the country this week or risk being kicked out.
According to a recent report by Al Jazeera, the students and young workers - most of whom are from Africa, the Middle East and India - will be forcefully deported if they fail to comply with an expulsion order from a high court of the Netherlands that ruled that temporary residents who settled in the country after the Russia-Ukraine war must exit the country by March 4 or risk forced deportation.
Since then, those affected have gathered in the streets of Amsterdam to protest, accusing the recently-elected far-right Dutch government of discrimination. However, Dutch authorities argued that the third-country nationals had "abused" the protection system.
Lotte van Diepen of Everaert Advocaten, an immigration law firm, told Al Jazeera."No one is arguing that they don't have the right, and we recognise their move was very generous in the first instance," van Diepen said. "But the issue is, for those who were already allowed in, you can't now turn around and say we don't want you again. It's an unjust decision with no legal basis."
A man in camouflage clothing helps refugees from Ukraine to pull their suitcases at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland.
According to Minister of Migration Eric van der Burg, the Dutch government has promised 5,000 euros ($5,422) in "remigration" compensation for those willing to leave voluntarily. He added that the government has also granted an extra 28 days for people to organise their exits; however, after the grace period, people could be deported.
Isaac Awodola, a Nigerian graduate of Odessa State University and co-founder of the Derdelanders group, which represents third-country nationals, spoke to Al Jazeera, saying they are traumatised by the situation.
He explained that many affected people want to stay because they are still tied to Ukraine. "There are those who need to return to recoup lost certificates, or those, like medical students, who need to stay close because, although their university studies are held online, they have to be physically present for practical exams - and flight costs from their countries are not cheap."
Other third-country nationals expressed similar concerns, saying Ukraine was their home and they had been affected by the war.
The Dutch authorities have asked third-country nationals who don't feel safe returning to their homes to file for asylum, but most don't fall under that category. Currently, around 2,700 - 2,900 refugees out of the original 4,500 who initially settled in the Netherlands still remain.
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