On Friday 15th Iranian students and Ph.D. researchers at TU Delft have received a letter from the human resources department of the university, stating that new applications for residency permits to the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) will not be further processed.

This is a consequence of the decision of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to unilaterally interpret the EU sanctions against Iranian students and knowledge workers, in order to block the “transfer of knowledge and certain technologies to Iranian people.” Nevertheless, these restrictions apply to all Iranians working in the Netherlands, and not only those involved in “strategic” sectors.

We strongly disapprove the Dutch Government’s decision to divert economic sanctions against the freedom of thousands of individuals who chose to study and work in the Netherlands.

Moreover, we express our concerns for the ongoing process of provincialization of this country, which has deliberately declared war to the production of knowledge in the form of budget cuts first, and with the closure of its borders now.

The City as a Project
Berlage Institute/TU Delft Ph.D. Program

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Stop the Unjustified Embargo of Residence Permit Applications for Iranian Nationals