Netherlands, Uganda Sign Letter of Intent on Return Hub Deal

26/9/2025 6:15

The Netherlands and Uganda have agreed to cooperate on returning rejected asylum seekers via Uganda as a transit point, the Dutch government said in a statement on Thursday.



Dutch Migration and Foreign Affairs minister David van Weel and his Ugandan counterpart Odongo Jeje Abubakhar signed a letter of intent to this effect in New York, where they are attending the United Nations General Assembly.



The system would only apply to people from countries near Uganda who are required to leave the Netherlands but cannot be returned to their country directly or voluntarily within a reasonable time. They will be temporarily housed in Uganda before returning to their country.



The Netherlands and Uganda will refine the Letter of Intent, which will lead to a small-scale pilot transit hub for a limited number of rejected asylum seekers. The statement did not give a timeline.