legal and social conditions for asylum seekers and refugees in ...

Work
During the first two years of their stay in the Netherlands, persons under temporary protection are
allowed to work for a maximum of 12 weeks per year and their prospective employers must apply
for work permits on their behalf. From their third year of residence, they have free access to the
labour market.
It is expected that these rules will be changed in the course of 2000. Accordingly, the allowed
period of work will be extended to 12 weeks every 39 weeks, and a permit issued for a variety of
works.
Language tuition
Those issued with temporary residence permits are allowed to attend courses in Dutch language
and society during their first year.
School attendance
School attendance is compulsory between the ages of 5 and 16 for all children.
Mother tongue tuition
This is subject to the same conditions as for Convention refugees and persons granted residence
permits on humanitarian grounds.
Access to the adult education system
Although state financial support for integration programmes regarding this group was stopped in
1998, most municipalities still offer access to further education and vocational training from the
second year of their residence in the Netherlands.
Access to the national health service
Each municipality is obliged to provide health insurance for persons with temporary protection
living in their area.
Dutch citizenship
Persons granted provisional residence permits might apply for residence permits after three years
in the Netherlands for humanitarian reasons; this means that they are eligible to apply for Dutch
citizenship after five years of residence.
Repatriation
Persons under temporary protection who repatriate are entitled to the same assistance as asylum
seekers. This includes a repatriation allowance of EUR 568 for one person, EUR 795 for a family
with two children and EUR 90 for each additional child.
No specific programme has been established for Kosovo Albanians. However, in addition to the
existing assistance, an extra allowance is granted by the Ministry of Development. The amount
paid is DEM 1,000 [EUR 511] per adult and DEM 500 [EUR 255] per children, with a maximum of
4,000 [EUR 2,043] per family.
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The Netherlands