Dutch Judge Questions What More Can Be Demanded of 76-Year-Old Moroccan Woman
A 76-year-old Moroccan woman who arrived in the Netherlands in 1991 has had her rejected residence permit application overturned. Her extreme vulnerability made an impression on the judge, who openly questioned what more could be demanded of a woman who no longer has family ties in Morocco.
Seated on her walker and supported by two social workers, a 76-year-old Moroccan woman enters the courtroom in The Hague, Amsterdam, on September 17. The woman appears extremely disoriented. She struggles to communicate with the interpreter, switching from Arabic to Berber without even understanding why he can no longer follow her. The judge watches the scene and asks an unusual question in his ruling of October 12, 2026: “What more can be demanded of her?”
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The Moroccan woman says she has lived in the Netherlands since 1991. Her life has been marked by violence and hardship. An uncle allegedly brought her to the country, then exploited and abused her. She later found herself homeless, and then married a Dutch man in 1993. The marriage enabled her to obtain a residence permit, which was revoked as early as October 1994 after they separated.
Since then, she has spent more than thirty years without papers, including several years without a home. Now living in a shelter, she relies on social workers every day.
In June 2023, she applied for a residence permit on humanitarian grounds. The authorities refused, partly because she did not have the required provisional residence authorisation. According to the ministry, her arrival in the Netherlands at around age 40 means she still knows the Moroccan language and customs. There is therefore nothing to prevent her from returning to her country of origin.
“She cannot live without daily support”
But her medical file describes a very different reality. A report from the Kruispost care centre notes cognitive disorders, anxiety attacks and a profound loss of independence. The Moroccan woman can no longer organise her daily life on her own, manage her medication or get around without assistance. Doctors believe she risks falling into severe hardship without ongoing support.
The court faulted the ministry for disregarding this report in its assessment of the applicant’s personal circumstances. The woman has built her support network in the Netherlands and no longer has any family support in Morocco, a fact the authorities do not dispute.
The judge also points out that, although most of her 35 years in the country were spent without legal status, the ties she formed during that time could not be ignored without sufficient explanation. The Moroccan woman had, in particular, volunteered and developed a social network in her host country.
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In its October 12 ruling, the court overturned the administrative refusal of January 30, 2025, and ordered the ministry to reconsider the case within eight weeks. The state must also cover 2 802 euros in legal costs.
The judge goes further in his final observations. After witnessing the applicant’s distress firsthand, he questions whether an administration acting properly could refuse her residence permit again. The permit has not been granted directly, but the authorities will now have to take her extreme dependence into account.