The IND offices in The Hague. Photo: Depositphotos.com
The government needs to take a more active and structural approach to immigration, and that includes introducing civic integration programmes for everyone, government policy advisory body WRR said on Monday.
The current approach to immigration and integration is rooted in the past and the government needs to recognise that the Netherlands is an attractive destination for immigrants from all corners of the world, the report said.
‘The Netherlands has been wrestling with the fact it is a society which attracts immigrants for decades,’ WRR board member Mark Bovens told the NRC. ‘People used to think that it was a temporary phenomenon that was linked to the decolonisation of the Antillean islands and Suriname… but that idea needs revision. It is a permanent part of our society.’