From asylum seeker to status holder in the labor market: on paper it seems like a simple 'process', the reality is more difficult. Status holders find it difficult to find a job, especially a job at the desired level. In this article we highlight a number of facts and figures.

Please note: this article was translated using a translator app

Terminology

When someone has left his or her country of origin to apply for protection (asylum) in another country, the term ' asylum seeker ' is used. During the asylum procedure, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) determines whether the asylum seeker falls under the United Nations Refugee Convention. If this is the case, the person is recognized as a refugee. If you are officially recognized as a refugee, you will receive 'residence status': a temporary residence permit for five years. You are then called ' status holder '.

The same rights and obligations

Status holders have the same rights and obligations as Dutch people on the labor market.*(1)*They can work as an employee, as a self-employed person, as a self-employed person, at a work experience place, do an internship or do volunteer work. An employer does not have to include any special matters in the employment contract or in the personnel administration, because a status holder has a BSN number and a Dutch identity document.

Many status holders still stay in asylum reception facilities for the first few months. There they do not receive social assistance benefits, but living allowances. Only when status holders are housed in a municipality are they eligible for social assistance benefits.

A few numbers

According to figures from the UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Organization, the Netherlands had 78,911 status holders at the end of 2020 and 11,892 people were awaiting a decision on their asylum application. (2) The number of asylum seekers fluctuates greatly over the years. In 2021, 24,740 people applied for asylum in the Netherlands. For comparison: in the corona year 2020 there were only 13,720 and in 2015 there were 58,880. More than three-quarters of all asylum seekers are younger than 35 years old when they arrive in the Netherlands.

The longer status holders have been in the Netherlands, the more they move on from secondary education to MBO and practical education. Within MBO, they mainly follow a level 1 course in the first years, but this gradually changes to level 2. In October 2019 and 2020, more status holders followed level 2 than level 1. The other levels (3 and 4) also increase their share. although not as hard as level 2. (3)

After 5.5 years, only 41% have a job

Although status holders are allowed to work, practice shows that it is difficult for them to find (full-time) work. Their labor participation rate lags significantly behind that of the rest of the Dutch working population. (4) Naturally, not all status holders fall into a working age category. Figures from the COA show that more than a quarter of people are younger than 17 years old. (5)

Research by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) into the social position of status holders who received a residence permit in 2014 shows that after five and a half years, 41 percent have a job. Of these, 73 percent have a part-time job and 84 percent have a temporary contract. It also appears that these (part-time) jobs often do not provide sufficient income to receive benefits and become financially independent. (6) Furthermore, job opportunities differ considerably per region - in the Randstad the job opportunities are higher than in South Limburg. (7)

Status holders with a job often work below their level. (8) A large proportion go to work in the temporary employment sector (30 percent), where they are mainly employed in cleaning and catering. (9) Furthermore, they mainly work in the catering industry (24 percent) and trade (19 percent).

Status holders have been hit relatively hard by the corona crisis. Because many of them have temporary contracts and work in sectors most affected by the corona pandemic, many have lost their jobs. (10) Due to the corona pandemic, job-seeking status holders also received significantly less intensive guidance in their search for work, there were fewer work experience places, internships and volunteer jobs available, and there was less contact with the municipality. (11)

This text is a shortened version of part of the second chapter of the practical guide “ Permit holders and work ”.

*1- A status holder can also be asked for a VOG (Declaration of Good Conduct) or VGB (Declaration of No Objection). A VGB can be a problem for status holders, because they must be traceable for 5 years or more. However, this information is not maintained or made available from all (origin) countries. Certificates of Good Conduct, on the other hand, rarely if ever cause problems.

2- Refugees in numbers 2021, VluchtelingenWerk, 2021 .

3- Asylum and integration 2021. Cohort study of asylum seekers and status holders, CBS, 2021.

4- Work guide for refugees: facts and figures on the labor market , SER.

5- Refugees in numbers 2021, VluchtelingenWerk, 2021 .

6- Status holders, housing and integration, Cohort Study Asylum and Integration 2021, CBS, 2021.

7- What works for labor participation status holders , Movisie/Verwey-Jonker Institute, update March 2020.

8- Fact sheet status holders: work, education and integration, Divosa, April 2021.

9- Refugees and Work. A new interim balance , SER advice, May 2018.

10- Fact sheet status holders: work, education and integration , Divosa, April 2021.

11- Status holders received less guidance from municipalities when looking for work due to corona , Knowledge Platform Inclusive Samenleven, 2021

Also read: Status holders and work: the knife cuts both ways *