Saturday, December 13, 2014

Netherlands: the government will reinstate benefits to Moroccans

The Dutch government has changed its mind about cutting family allowance for the children of Moroccans abroad who reside in Morocco. Under the new ruling the Dutch justice system has decreed that allowances will be restored.

In a decision released yesterday, the Utrecht Court of Appeal upheld the judgment at first instance ordering the Dutch government to reconsider its previous decision to reduce the amount of allowances to children of migrants living in Morocco by 40%.

The government will also refund the amounts of these allowances that have not been paid since January 1, 2013, date of the entry into force of the previous law.

Previously the decrease of 40% had been decided by the government which said it was taking into account the difference in living standards between Morocco and the Netherlands.


The news that the benefits will be reinstated has been warmly welcomed by Dutch Moroccans.

Between 1965 and 1973, one hundred thousand Turks and Moroccans came to the Netherlands, and a further 170,000 from 1974 to 1986. Earlier arrivals consisted of guest workers, whose recruitment and admission was governed by a bilateral treaty signed in 1969. However, the guests did not return home. From the 1970s, the number arriving under family reunification schemes became more significant. Around half the Dutch Moroccans are Amazigh (Berber) originating from the mountainous Rif region

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