A Surinamese lobbyist is calling on the country’s president to intervene on behalf of hundreds of elderly Surinamese citizens separated from their family members in the Netherlands, pushing for the revival of a defunct immigration scheme that allowed older parents to settle permanently near their children and grandchildren.
Ram Rambaratsingh, the lobbyist leading the campaign, says that thousands of single elderly Surinamese have been trapped in hopeless circumstances since the Netherlands scrapped the expanded family reunification arrangement back in 2012. Most of the people affected by the policy change have all of their children and grandchildren already living and working in the Netherlands, Rambaratsingh explained in an open letter addressed to Surinamese President Jennifer Simons.
Cut off from close family support, these elderly people frequently face crippling loneliness, unaddressed chronic health issues, and a lack of consistent daily care, the letter notes. Under current rules, they are forced to remain in Suriname, as their family members already based in the Netherlands cannot meet the strict requirements for permanent family reunification under standard immigration regulations. Currently, the only path for these seniors to visit their loved ones is through a short-term tourist visa that allows a maximum stay of 90 days. After their visa expires, they must return to Suriname to restart the entire application process, a cycle that generates significant unexpected costs and places enormous physical and emotional strain on aging travelers with underlying health conditions.
What makes the situation particularly unfair, Rambaratsingh argues, is that many of these elderly residents held Dutch nationality before Suriname gained independence, yet they are now treated as ordinary foreign nationals when they seek to join their family in the country. He points out that this treatment stands in sharp contrast to policies adopted by other former colonial powers, which maintain more flexible migration arrangements for residents of their former overseas territories.
In his letter, Rambaratsingh formally requests that President Simons raise the urgent issue with the Dutch government, specifically with the country’s Minister of Asylum and Migration. He is calling for either the full reintroduction of the original 2012 scheme, or a formal review of a new targeted program to address the unique needs of this vulnerable group of elderly Surinamese. To address potential concerns about public costs, Rambaratsingh emphasized that all adult children and grandchildren of the affected seniors have agreed to cover 100 percent of any related expenses, including health insurance, housing, and daily living costs, removing any financial burden from Dutch public services.
As evidence of the long-standing push for policy change, Rambaratsingh referenced parliamentary questions raised in the Dutch parliament back in 2017. In response to those questions, the sitting Dutch government at the time confirmed that the expanded family reunification scheme had been terminated in October 2012. While the state secretary noted that elderly foreign nationals could still submit standard residence applications under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the government rejected calls to reinstate the original special scheme. Official responses from that time also showed that just 20 applications for permanent residence were submitted by Surinamese residents aged 65 and older seeking to join their family in 2015, a low number that reflects the difficulty of accessing the standard pathway.