The Netherlands and Four EU Countries Are Planning Return Hubs for Rejected Asylum Seekers
Minister Van den Brink announced the plan in Brussels after his first meeting with EU counterparts, shifting away from the previous cabinet's solo approach to deporting rejected asylum seekers to Uganda.
The Netherlands is joining a group of five EU countries to establish return hubs for rejected asylum seekers outside the European Union. Minister of Asylum and Migration Bart van den Brink announced the initiative in Brussels on Thursday after his first meeting with EU counterparts.
The group consists of the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Germany and Denmark. They are entering an exploratory phase to determine which non-EU countries they could reach agreements with. "Different countries have different contacts or relationships from the past with countries in Africa," Van den Brink said.
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What a return hub is
A return hub is a facility outside the EU where rejected asylum seekers are held while awaiting deportation to their country of origin. Asylum seekers go through their procedure in an EU country as normal. If their application is rejected and their country of origin does not take them back, they are transferred to the return hub, where they remain until a solution is found.
Under current EU rules, such facilities are not yet legally permitted. That is set to change shortly: the European Parliament is voting on Monday on legislation that would make the return centres possible. The Council of Ministers has already agreed to the European Commission proposals. A key new element is that asylum seekers would not need to have a connection to the country they are sent to. Only unaccompanied minors and families with children would be exempt.
Uganda plan dropped
The new cabinet has abandoned the previous government's plan to establish a return hub in Uganda. That plan was initiated in October 2024 by PVV minister Klever, and in September 2025 the then-minister Van Weel signed a letter of intent with Uganda. Amnesty International called it "an extremely bad plan." The Netherlands had previously limited cooperation with Uganda over its strict anti-LGBTQ legislation.
Van den Brink said the new approach is a coalition effort rather than a unilateral one. He said the key condition for any return hub is that the human rights of migrants are guaranteed, and that both the International Organisation for Migration and the UNHCR will be involved in establishing the hubs.
Broader deals required
Van den Brink indicated that return hub agreements will require more than migration-specific negotiations. The Netherlands will need to make deals covering more than just migration with African countries in order to set up hubs there. He wants to start with one or two locations, so that the legal framework is in place.
Research institute Clingendael, which published a report on this topic last month commissioned by the previous cabinet, concluded that cooperation with third countries only has a chance of success if it becomes part of a broader reform initiative that puts global responsibility at its centre.
Why so few countries want to host hubs
Researchers from the Clingendael Institute warned that establishing return hubs would not be easy. Only a limited number of countries are willing to host such facilities. With so few possible partners, those states can demand significant compensation, while EU countries have little room to set strict conditions.
Greek media have reported that Kenya is among the countries being considered, though Van den Brink declined to confirm which countries are currently in talks.
The scale of the problem
The return hub initiative is driven by a persistent failure to actually deport rejected asylum seekers. The EU currently manages to return only one in five rejected asylum seekers to their country of origin. The rest remain in Europe, often disappearing from official systems and ending up in irregular situations.
The EU's Migration and Asylum Pact, which enters into force in June 2026, is intended to address this. The new return legislation also includes a measure that would make a return decision issued in one EU country valid across the entire Schengen area, preventing rejected asylum seekers from registering again in another member state. It would also make it easier to detain rejected asylum seekers for longer periods and impose longer re-entry bans.
