Refugee charities have criticised the immigration service IND after it emerged that Ukrainians who land at Schiphol airport are being held in cells for several days.

NRC reported that the detention regime had been operating for months, even though Ukrainians have the right to live, work and receive services such as healthcare under rules that have applied across the EU since the Russian invasion.

The IND said Ukrainians who arrived by air often came from third countries, which made it more difficult to assess their situation.

“Whereas at the start of the war most Ukrainians came directly from their country of origin, we now see more situations where people travel from country to country,” a spokesman said.

But refugee charity Vluchtelingenwerk said only one doubtful case had arisen in the months since the IND started detaining Ukrainians, making the procedure “pointless”.

Martijn van der Linden of Vluchtelingenwerk said it was “unclear why this policy was suddenly introduced”. “And yet it’s a very intense experience for the Ukrainians,” he added.

Disinformation

Academics questioned whether the mass detention of Ukrainians was justified under the EU special rules, which were recently extended to March 2026.

Galina Cornelisse, professor of courts and transnational justice at the VU university in Amsterdam, said: “You can imagine that some Ukrainians are checked out in respect of things like Russian disinformation,” she said. But she added that there was “no reason” to make detention in immigration cells the rule.

The rules only apply to Ukrainians who arrive in the country by plane: those who travel by car or train through Europe are directed to reception centres, such as the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht.

But the rules in Utrecht are being tightened as accommodation places for Ukrainians become scarce. Refugees are only offered a bed if they are deemed “vulnerable” or are travelling with young children, NRC reported.