THE HAGUE--The governing liberal democratic VVD party submitted to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on Monday a law proposal that seeks to restrict the registration of poorly-educated immigrants from Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten.

 

People from the Dutch Caribbean countries will have to comply with at least one of four conditions to live in The Netherlands: they must have a job in The Netherlands, be able to fend for themselves financially, study, or have a direct family member in The Netherlands.

 

The so-called starting qualification will not be welcome to people without sufficient education, to people with criminal records or to those considered a danger to society. Immigrants are expected to speak the Dutch language. Students from the islands still can come to The Netherlands, but they have to enrol in full-time education.

 

People who do not comply with the conditions will not be able to remain in The Netherlands, because their residency will be terminated. The law will not apply to people from Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, because these islands are Dutch public entities and, as such, part of The Netherlands.

 

The initiative law submitted by Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament André Bosman (VVD) aims to stop the entry of deprived, poorly-educated immigrants from Dutch Caribbean countries by making it more difficult for members of this group to take up residency in The Netherlands. This also would prevent them from making use of Dutch social welfare or social housing.

 

"For 30 years, we have invested in projects for deprived Antilleans to reduce crime and school dropouts on the islands. We have invested millions to keep them out of the criminal circuit, but often without result. Antilleans still dominate crime statistics. Unfortunately, this didn't have the intended effect," said Bosman, who further remarked that this group also was the leader in school dropout and unemployment figures.

 

Bosman started the preparations for the law initiative last February together with VVD then-leader in the Second Chamber Stef Blok, now Minister for Housing and the National Government Sector. The plans to draft the law proposal were announced in the media in late March 2012.

 

The VVD hopes to change the mentality of Dutch Caribbean people and discourage them from coming to The Netherlands without jobs or with no or little education. "The time of thinking, 'I don't have to do anything and I will just take the plane to The Netherlands for social welfare' is over," Bosman told the Dutch Telegraaf newspaper, which published the news on Monday.

 

According to Bosman, the law also would serve as a stimulant for the people of the islands to improve their future prospects and invest in social initiatives in the Dutch Caribbean. The philosophy is that it is the overseas countries' responsibility to invest in their people. The VVD has been advocating the regulation of Antillean immigrants since 1980.

 

Residents of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten have Dutch nationality, but in the VVD's opinion that doesn't keep the individual countries from drafting their own legislation to regulate the residency of fellow Kingdom residents.

 

Dutch Caribbean countries already have legislation in place to regulate the permanent residency of people from The Netherlands, to protect the local economies. The VVD argued that the Bosman law would create more equality by applying the same principles for all countries in the Kingdom.

 

There are no legal objections to implementing the Bosman law. According to the VVD, the Kingdom Charter, the Dutch Constitution, the European Treaty to Protect Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom EVRM and the International Treaty regarding Citizens and Political Rights IVBPR provide leeway to regulate the registration of Kingdom citizens in The Netherlands.

 

It is expected that the law initiative will receive sufficient support in the Second Chamber. The VVD is counting on support from its coalition partner, the Labour Party PvdA, as it concerns a proposal that is part of the Governing Accord. The opposition party, the Party for Freedom PVV, is likely to support the law initiative, which means that it also can count on a majority in the First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament.

 

The Consultative Body for Dutch Caribbean persons in The Netherlands OCAN is objecting to the law proposal. It considers it discriminatory, because it defines a specific group of people based on their ethnic origin. The organisation contended that deprived people should not be kept from migrating to a place where life is better.

 

According to OCAN, the chances of sliding down are even greater when it becomes difficult for newcomers to register. As such, the law will be counterproductive, because it will get Dutch Caribbean persons in more trouble. The law will not have any effect on criminals either, because they won't register anyway.

 

The Bosman law proposal contains a loophole, as Dutch Caribbean citizens have the possibility to take up temporary residency in another country of the European Union, including French St. Martin. After a few months, they can proceed to register in The Netherlands without having to comply with the registration requirements of the Bosman law, OCAN stated in a reaction.

 

(The Daily Herald)