Hundreds of African students who sought refuge in the Netherlands two years ago after fleeing fighting in Ukraine, are set to be expelled from the country in the coming days.
The move is following a January high court ruling asserting a European Union policy that only Ukrainians nationals and former legitimate residents of Ukraine can settle in the country.
The ruling will see the students largely drawn from Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt and India deported from the Netherlands in less than a month, as part non-Ukrainian nationals who were granted temporary living status by the Dutch two years ago.
Various media reports indicate that the ex-students have been joined by workers who have been protesting the decision in Dutch towns, hoping that the government would reconsider the decision.
“We didn’t know what to do because those letters were very petrifying, very scary,” said Isaac Awodola, a Nigerian graduate of Odessa State University and co-founder of the Derdelanders group, which represents third-country nationals.
“We had like six months to prepare to do whatever we wanted, [but] at that moment we were still traumatised,” he told Al Jazeera.
The students and the young workers will be ejected if they fail to comply with the expulsion order.
The court ruled that temporary, third-country residents who sought refuge in the country after the Russian invasion of Ukraine must exit the country by March 4, or risk forceful deportation.
“This is a consequence of a decision delivered by the Council of State. The highest judicial body determined at the start of this month that what are known as third-country nationals are no longer entitled to residence under the Temporary Protection Directive (RTB) after 4 March,” the Dutch government notified the asylum seekers in January.
Those affected total an approximate of 2,760 people who have resided in Dutch cities and towns on the strength of a temporary residence permit for work or study since 2021.
The group is believed to be largely composed of international students enrolled in Ukrainian universities, part of an estimated 4,500 nationals who sought asylum in the country attracted by the offer of free shelter, a stipend and work permits.
“Third-country nationals who do not apply for asylum or whose asylum application has been rejected are required to leave the Netherlands within 28 days after 4 March,”the Dutch government said on 21 January.
“Municipalities will continue to accommodate third-country nationals during this period; the Central Government will reimburse the related costs.”
The announcement added that the Repatriation and Departure Service may assist third-country nationals in their departure.
The order however does not apply to those who have managed to enrol in local institutions for continuation of their studies, according to the government.
“An exception to the mandatory departure of third-country nationals applies if they have a pending asylum application or have been issued with a regular residence permit, such as a study or work visa,” it further advised.
According to the country’s Minister for Migration Eric van der Burg, the government has promised €5,000 ($5,422) in compensation for those willing to leave voluntarily.
Before the Russian invasion the international student cohort in Ukraine in 2020 stood at 76,548 from 155 countries. Between 16,000-20,000 African students were enrolled in Ukrainian universities at the time of the invasion.
Some 24% of the international students were from India, besides other key markets for international students including Morocco (12%), Turkmenistan (3.7%), Azerbaijan (6%) and Nigeria (5.5%).
While thousands of African students returned home after the war broke out, some sought opportunities in the Caucasus region driven by affordable fees and relatively low living costs.
One benefiting is Georgia, which doubled its number of international students.
African and some Asian students are enrolled in medical and degree programs, and are studying in some of the 62 universities in the former Soviet state.
The influx totally changed fortunes for the country without much marketing campaigns, where numbers shot from 14,000 in 2021 to 25,000 in 2023.
A half of the new students – about 11,000 from India and north African countries.
