Ukrainian Asylum Applications: EU Court Orders the Netherlands to Assess 140,000 Claims – Important Ruling Explained

THE HAGUE – October 7, 2026 | The Dutch Daily

Ukrainian asylum applications that the Netherlands put on hold must now be assessed after all. In a judgment of 1 October 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that EU countries may not automatically suspend asylum applications for as long as the applicant has temporary protection. According to NOS, the ruling affects the applications of more than 140,000 Ukrainians in the Netherlands. Below we explain what the court decided, what the minister plans to do and what it means for Ukrainians living here.

1. What the EU Court ruled on Ukrainian asylum applications

The Court of Justice in Luxembourg answered questions sent by the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Dutch Council of State (Afdeling bestuursrechtspraak van de Raad van State) in April 2025. The Dutch judges wanted to know one thing: must the Minister of Asylum and Migration decide on the asylum application of someone who has temporary protection under the EU Temporary Protection Directive, or may the minister wait until that temporary protection ends?

The answer from the Third Chamber of the court has two parts:

• No automatic suspension. The Temporary Protection Directive (2001/55/EC) and the Asylum Procedures Directive (2013/32/EU) do not allow a country to automatically suspend asylum applications from people with temporary protection for the whole protection period, so that the decision deadline only starts or continues once that period is over.
• Delay only in exceptional cases. In exceptional cases, the authorities may temporarily postpone the handling of some of these applications, even if that means missing the decision deadline. But only if the delay results from measures that are necessary to deal with the objective impossibility of meeting the deadline strictly, while preventing the country’s asylum system from becoming blocked.

In short: parking all Ukrainian asylum applications until the war-related protection ends is not allowed. Spreading the work out over time may be, under strict conditions.

2. Why the Netherlands has 140,000 applications on the shelf

People who came to the Netherlands because of the war in Ukraine fall under the EU Temporary Protection Directive. According to NOS, the Netherlands arranged this in its own way: to receive that protection, you also had to file an asylum application. That application was then automatically suspended.

“The Netherlands really is an exception in this,” Ricky van Oers, assistant professor of legal sociology and migration law at Radboud University, told NOS. In other countries an asylum application was not automatically filed for people under the directive.

Asylum lawyer Wil Eikelboom was blunt about the Dutch choice. In hindsight, he told NOS, linking temporary protection to filing an asylum application “was not such a good idea. Very awkward.”

The result is a pile of more than 140,000 Ukrainian asylum applications that, according to the ruling, must now be looked at and assessed.

3. The case behind the ruling

The case did not start with a Ukrainian, but with a Chinese man. According to the Council of State, he lived in Ukraine with his Ukrainian wife and child before 24 February 2022. In early March 2022 the family travelled to the Netherlands together and he applied for asylum.

As a family member of a Ukrainian national, he has the right to temporary protection, and the minister gave him that protection. But the minister did not decide on his asylum application. The plan was to decide only once his temporary protection ended. The man disagreed and took the case to the Council of State.

4. The minister’s plan: Ukrainians later in the queue

Minister Bart van den Brink of Asylum and Migration accepts that the ruling changes things. “For a long time we chose not to handle applications from Ukrainians in the Netherlands, because they were already getting protection,” he told NOS. “Also because it was a very large number. The court now clearly says: that must be done.”

He admits the ruling will “certainly” put extra pressure on the asylum system. “At the same time, the court also offers room,” the minister said. He reads the judgment as meaning he does not have to handle every Ukrainian application straight away.

His order of work, as described by NOS:

1. First: asylum applications from people arriving now.
2. After that, and at the same time: the more than 50,000 people who were already on the waiting list.
3. Only then: priority for the group of Ukrainians.

So the Ukrainian asylum applications must be handled, but for most of them the minister wants to wait for now. Van Oers confirmed there are nuances in the ruling: “Because it concerns so many applications, the Netherlands may possibly handle the procedures in phases. They can also decide to prioritise certain groups, think of families.” Whether that gives the minister much room is an open question, NOS notes, because it will mean extra work either way. Eikelboom doubts the capacity is there: “It is the question how the IND is going to do this; they actually have no capacity for it at all.”

5. What it means for Ukrainians in the Netherlands

For now, your daily life under temporary protection does not change because of this ruling. According to NOS, the directive allowed Ukrainians to work here immediately, unlike asylum seekers, and gives a temporary right to shelter, medical care and education for children. That temporary protection currently runs until March 2028. NOS says it is still unclear whether it will be extended after that.

The bigger question is long-term certainty. “Ukrainians here live in permanent temporariness,” Van Oers told NOS. “Because of the temporary protection there is constantly little perspective to build a life. While in fact there is an asylum application. An asylum status gives more certainty.”

The Dutch Council for Refugees (Vluchtelingenwerk Nederland) said the ruling has probably not reached many Ukrainians yet. “But it undoubtedly leads to more unrest and lack of clarity. Returning to Ukraine is not a realistic option at the moment.” The organisation wants a lasting plan for Ukrainians in the Netherlands, “with a fast and careful assessment of their residence permit, so that these people, who have already been through so much, know where they stand.”

Our tip (not from the sources): none of the sources we used describes a new step that individual applicants need to take right now. Keep an eye on official messages from the IND and on Vluchtelingenwerk, and if the IND asks you to come in, read our IND appointment guide.

6. What happens next

The Luxembourg judgment is not the end of the Dutch case. The Council of State had paused case number 202402732/1 while it waited for the EU court. Now that the answers are in, it will continue the case and give a final ruling later. According to NOS, only then will it become clear what the ruling means in practice, although lawyers say the Netherlands cannot simply ignore it.

Points to watch in the coming months:

• The final ruling of the Council of State in case 202402732/1.
• How the minister turns his phased approach into practice at the IND.
• Whether EU temporary protection is extended beyond March 2028.

We will update this article when there is official news.

7. FAQ

Do I lose my temporary protection because of this ruling?

No. The ruling is about the handling of asylum applications. Temporary protection currently runs until March 2028.

Will the IND decide on my Ukrainian asylum application soon?

Probably not right away. The minister plans to handle new arrivals and the existing waiting list of more than 50,000 people first, and only then give priority to Ukrainians.

Why does this only affect the Netherlands?

Because the Netherlands required Ukrainians to file an asylum application to get temporary protection, and then suspended those applications automatically. According to Van Oers, other countries did not do this.

Which court case is this?

Case C-249/25 at the Court of Justice of the EU, judgment of 1 October 2026, following questions from the Dutch Council of State in case 202402732/1.

🇳🇱 Dutch Corner

Sources

• Court of Justice of the EU, judgment of 1 October 2026, case C-249/25 (operative part: no automatic suspension, exceptions and conditions)
• Raad van State, 1 October 2026: Europees Hof beantwoordt prejudiciële vragen over beslistermijnen op asielaanvragen bij tijdelijke bescherming (referral, background of the case, next steps)
• NOS, October 2026: IND moet met 140.000 aanvragen Oekraïners aan de slag (140,000 figure, minister’s quotes and plan, Van Oers, Eikelboom, Vluchtelingenwerk)

More on The Dutch Daily: IND appointment guide

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