The Council of State held a hearing in The Hague on the cabinet’s decision to stop funding the Landelijke Vreemdelingenvoorziening (LVV), which provides shelter, food, washing facilities and living money to undocumented people who cannot stay in the Netherlands. The measure, originally decided by former minister Marjolein Faber and effective from 1 January 2025, remains in place despite earlier rulings by courts in Amsterdam and Rotterdam that ending the shelter could expose vulnerable people to inhuman or degrading treatment. The group using the scheme is estimated at about 600 people, and municipalities and aid organisations are currently supporting many of them.

Lawyers representing undocumented people, municipalities and aid organisations argued that the state was violating the European Convention on Human Rights. The government’s lawyer said shelter was available at the freedom-restricting location in Ter Apel for people willing to cooperate with a return procedure. Opponents said that facility had only 232 places and was unsuitable for people who had no country to return to, including some stateless people. The Council of State is expected to rule no earlier than six weeks after the hearing, although the administrative judge indicated that it could take considerably longer.