Newsroom
The Dutch government is preparing to start sending migrants whose asylum applications were rejected to Uganda as early as next year, following a model similar to an agreement the US reached with Uganda in 2024.
Under the planned deal, Uganda would accept individuals who cannot be returned to their home countries. But the agreement reportedly excludes people with criminal records, unaccompanied minors, LGBTQI individuals, and those involved in political activism.
The Netherlands would become the second EU country to strike such a deal outside the bloc; Italy already sends rejected asylum seekers to Albania.
The move comes amid broader EU discussions about returning migrants, including proposals to deport people to countries outside the EU that are not their country of origin. Currently, only about 20% of rejected asylum seekers in the EU are returned home, due in part to refusals by home countries and cases of absconding.
The Netherlands would become the second EU country to strike such a deal outside the bloc; Italy already sends rejected asylum seekers to Albania. Last year, the Netherlands ordered around 19,000 people to leave, but only 4,200 were returned. Many of the hardest-to-remove individuals come from countries such as Ukraine, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, and Syria, raising questions about how effective the Uganda deal will be.
