SINT MAARTEN/THE NETHERLANDS – The Netherlands will start sending Syrians back to Syria when it is safe and will do what it can to help those who want to return now, immigration minister Marjolein Faber has told broadcaster RTL.

“To be clear, our policy will be to return people,” the minister said on Friday. “And like Germany and other countries, we will go for returns as soon as it is possible.” Germany is reportedly considering planning to send back Syrian nationals who do not speak German or have a job.

The Netherlands stopped processing refugee applications from Syrian nationals in December for a six month period, while it is unclear what the impact of the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad will be, and if it is safe for people to return.

Before Syrian refugees can be reassessed, the foreign affairs ministry must declare the country to be safe, and agreements must be made with Syrian government about accepting back those who had fled.

Faber, a minister on behalf of the far right PVV, said that the initial focus would be on people with a temporary residency permit. If they had fled because of Assad, then the grounds on which they had been granted asylum have now gone, she said.

Some 150,000 Syrians live in the Netherlands and they currently make up the biggest refugee group.

PVV leader Geert Wilders has said several times on social media that Syrians should be sent back as soon as possible “to rebuild” their country.

However, legal experts say the Netherlands cannot simply send people back, pointing out that many Syrians have been in the country for years and may have Dutch nationality.

(DutchNews)