KONSTATINOV v. THE NETHERLANDS JUDGMENT 3 11. Between 4 September 1992 and 23 March 1998, the applicant was convicted on six occasions of (aggravated) theft and/or robbery and sentenced to terms of imprisonment varying from six weeks to twelve months. 12. On 19 August 1998, the applicant was heard by the police in connection with the intention to impose an exclusion order on her by declaring her an undesirable alien (ongewenst vreemdeling). 13. In a letter of 5 November 1998, in which he referred to previous letters sent on 8 May 1998 and 27 July 1998, the applicant's lawyer complained to the Deputy Minister of Justice about the failure to determine the applicant's request for a residence permit. 14. By letter of 18 November 1998, the Deputy Minister informed the applicant's lawyer that no letters dated 8 May 1998 and 27 July 1998 had been received, that the applicant's request of 1 November 1991 had been mislaid due to an internal office removal, that the applicant had been invited on 5 February 1998 to report to the Aliens Police (Vreemdelingendienst) to provide fresh information concerning her request for admission to the Netherlands, and that on 19 August 1998 she had been heard in connection with the intention to impose an exclusion order. The Deputy Minister admitted that the determination of the applicant's request for admission had lasted considerably longer than desirable and apologised for this delay. The applicant's case would now be determined within two weeks. 15. On 27 November 1998, the Deputy Minister gave a decision rejecting the applicant's request for a residence permit. The Deputy Minister noted at the outset that the applicant did not hold the required, valid provisional residence visa (machtiging tot voorlopig verblijf) issued by a Netherlands diplomatic or consular mission in the applicant's country of origin. Further noting that Mr G.'s sole income consisted of benefits under the General Welfare Act (Algemene Bijstandswet), the Deputy Minister held that Mr G. did not comply with the minimum income requirement under the applicable immigration rules whereas he was not dispensed of this requirement. Noting that the applicant had been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment on several occasions, the Deputy Minister also found that public-order considerations opposed granting her request for a residence permit. In so far as the applicant had relied on the so-called “three years policy” (driejarenbeleid), according to which a residence title could be granted if a request for a residence permit had not been determined within a period of three years for reasons not imputable to the petitioner and provided that there were no contra-indications such as, for instance, a criminal record, the Deputy Minister held that the applicant was not eligible for a residence permit under this policy given her criminal record which comprised various offences committed between 1991 and 1994, i.e. pending the running of the three year period. In the same decision, the Deputy Minister declared the applicant an undesirable alien, entailing a five year