Improving the social protection needs of asylum seekers and refugees: learning from the experiences of displaced Sudanese in the Netherlands

Abstract

Asylum seekers often spend months, if not years, in the asylum seeking process with limited access to work. This affects them on multiple levels. Allowing them to work from the beginning of the asylum process in the host country would benefit the asylum seekers, their families and the host state. Establishing fast-track programmes that allow refugees to undergo a qualifications validation process of their academic certificates would significantly reduce the time it takes for them to be incorporated in the labour market. Unpaid internships and the unclear rewards of volunteer jobs during the asylum process and even after obtaining refugee status lead many people to remain idle or engage in the informal market. To avoid these situations, European governments should find ways to incentivise internships and volunteer work for asylum seekers and refugees. A way to do this would be, for example, to reward this type of work by allowing them to spend more time back home without having their social security rights penalised.