On April 30, 2026, the Hague District Court ruled in a motion for preliminary relief that the Minister of Foreign Affairs must make efforts to assist 46 people in leaving Gaza.
The clients are currently in Gaza but hold a valid provisional residence permit (machtiging tot voorlopig verblijf or ‘MVV’) for study, work, or as accompanying family members, which is held by the embassy in Jordan. They need this MVV to travel to the Netherlands. Upon arrival in the Netherlands, they will receive a residence permit.
However, due to the deteriorating situation in Gaza, they cannot leave Gaza on their own and are therefore unable to collect their MVVs. In today’s ruling, the District Court of The Hague ruled that the Minister has a duty to use reasonable efforts to provide consular assistance and help the 46 applicants leave Gaza to collect their MVVs.
The ruling of today aligns with the ruling of the preliminary relief judge of the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State on March 19, 2026, in which it was determined that the Minister of Foreign Affairs was required to assist two students from Gaza with valid residence permits in collecting their MVVs. In doing so, the preliminary relief judge of the Administrative Jurisdiction Division weighed the students’ special circumstances—including the deteriorating situation in Gaza—more heavily than the Minister’s interest in not providing consular assistance.
In today’s ruling, the District Court of The Hague reaches the same conclusion given the urgent need and the special and deteriorating circumstances of the clients.
Neither today’s ruling nor the ruling of the Administrative Jurisdiction Division’s preliminary relief judge on March 19, 2026, provides an answer to the question of whether these cases fall under the jurisdiction of the administrative court or the civil court. This question will be answered by the Administrative Jurisdiction Division in the merits proceedings of the case involving the two students, which is scheduled for June 2, 2026. The District Court of The Hague has therefore decided to postpone the merits proceedings of the 46 petitioners until the Administrative Jurisdiction Division has issued its ruling.
The 46 petitioners, as well as the two students involved in the proceedings before the Raad van State, are represented by Eva Bezem.
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