Leaving the Netherlands. Twenty years of voluntary return policy in the Netherlands (1989-2009)

Through this report we hope to contribute to a better historical awareness of voluntary return measures as integral part of the return policy in the Netherlands. The history of Dutch voluntary return measures includes some distinct moments of a change in policy, which coincide with different government coalitions. The main aim of this report is to provide an addition to the tools currently available to policy-makers and other stakeholders, concerned with the issue of voluntary return. We intend to provide opportunities to learn from past successes and failures in order to inform future (voluntary) return policies in the Netherlands and form a basis for incorporation of Dutch best practices into European asylum and migration approaches.