A lesbian couple from Turkey, who sought refuge and later married in the Netherlands, has been left in a state of uncertainty for three years, waiting for the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) to process their asylum application. The case has escalated as the IND has now ignored two separate court rulings ordering it to make a decision, prompting accusations of 'conscious contempt for the rule of law' from advocacy group LGBT Asylum Support.
The couple applied for asylum on June 23, 2023. Their wait has now stretched to 36 months, far exceeding the absolute European legal limit of 21 months. In response to the inaction, the couple successfully took the IND to court twice for 'failure to decide in a timely manner'. In both instances, the administrative court ruled in their favour and imposed strict deadlines on the IND.
However, the IND disregarded both verdicts, allowing the maximum coercive fines to accumulate. "When a government agency simply ignores court rulings because the fines are paid with taxpayer money anyway, the end of the rule of law is in sight," stated Sandro Kortekaas, chairman of LGBT Asylum Support. He noted that during a meeting in May, the IND had claimed that waiting times of three years were 'absolutely impossible'. "This file proves the shocking opposite," Kortekaas added.
Fleeing Violence, Finding Bureaucracy
The couple's plight in the Netherlands is compounded by the rapidly deteriorating situation for LGBTQ+ people in their home country. They fled Turkey to escape state-sponsored censorship and the threat of violence. Recently, the climate has worsened, with 209 people arrested following the Trans Pride march in Izmir, and platforms like X and Meta censoring the accounts of Pride and LGBTQ+ organisations at the behest of Turkish authorities.
"Returning is unthinkable for these women; they married here in the Netherlands in January 2024, something that is impossible in Turkey," explained Kortekaas. "They fled to survive, but here they are being held hostage by a failing system that is mentally breaking them." Their ordeal has also included facing serious homophobic incidents at their emergency accommodation in Biddinghuizen.
A Two-Tier System
The case highlights a growing concern about a two-tier asylum system. While the new European Asylum and Migration Pact, effective June 12, 2026, aims to shorten procedures to six months, there appears to be no concrete plan for resolving the backlog of older, often harrowing cases like this one. This creates an unjust situation where new arrivals may be processed faster than vulnerable individuals who have been waiting for years.
In response to the IND's continued inaction, LGBT Asylum Support has sent its fifth emergency letter to the Minister for Asylum and Migration, Bart van den Brink, and has engaged the parliamentary committee to hold the minister politically accountable. If the couple's application is not approved within two weeks, the organisation plans to initiate a civil summary proceeding. This legal action would ask a judge to impose unlimited daily fines on the IND for its refusal to comply with judicial orders.
