Too old to be illegal?
Undocumented elderly people in the Netherlands lead a marginalized existence. In practice, they have little or no access to basic medical and social services. Many have been in the Netherlands for decades and can no longer return to their country of origin.
Due to their increasing vulnerability, it is increasingly difficult to provide for themselves and the elderly are becoming increasingly dependent on others. That is the conclusion of the study into undocumented elderly people in the Netherlands. The Regenboog Groep, initiator of the research, advocates, among other things, a residence permit for elderly people who have lived in the Netherlands for fifteen years or longer.
About 750 older, undocumented Surinamese live in Amsterdam. People aged 50 or older who were born as Dutch, but lost their Dutch citizenship due to the independence of Suriname
On June 15, 2022, Boom publishers published a diptych about the problems of long-term undocumented elderly people in the Netherlands. The research for the reports was done at the initiative of De Regenboog Groep in Amsterdam as part of the project 'Too old to be illegal'. Scientists from various universities, including Erasmus University Rotterdam, and the universities of Amsterdam and Utrecht, conducted the research and wrote the reports.
The diptych consists of a social scientific and a legal part. The first part, 'Fighting with life', describes the daily problems in the areas of housing, income, health and social inclusion.
Part two, 'Legal Exploration of the right to facilities and residence for older undocumented migrants' describes the immigration policy and legislation since the 1990s.
