Erik Boers Jun 29, 2007:

First they let him go so that he can leave the country on is own. If he fails to do so, they will deport him. I would still translate it "The foreigner is to be let go/set free".

Andre de Vries Jun 29, 2007:

I think the answer is in the accompanying letter.

Sanmar (asker) Jun 29, 2007:

To confuse matters even further, today I received an accompanying letter ordering the person to leave Belgian territory (same date). The letter states that the person concerned will be detained and subsequently deported if he fails to do so. So I am still not 100% sure about 'De vreemdeling laten beschikken'! Does it mean that he should leave but that, in practice, they cannot detain him since he is a minor? Any further suggestions would be very much appreciated!

Sanmar (asker) Jun 27, 2007:

After some more research I now wonder if 'De vreemdeling laten beschikken" is equivalent to granting discretionary leave, especially since this relates to a minor. (http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/caris/legal/srandi/sr_19.p... It is just that it is very important to get this one absolutely right and there really is very little to be found on the internet with regard to 'laten beschikken' in this context (apart from Writeaway's link).

Sanmar (asker) Jun 27, 2007:

Leave to remain? Thanks for the link, writeaway. I think the English term is 'leave to remain', i.e. "X should be given leave to remain".

writeaway Jun 27, 2007:

the URL I posted clears it up a bit.

Sanmar (asker) Jun 27, 2007:

"this was said in response to what?"
I have no idea. All I have is a letter with the personal details of a man plus ...Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken, Belgie.

writeaway Jun 27, 2007:

http://www.senat.be/www/?MIval=/publications/viewPubDoc&TID=...

Sanmar (asker) Jun 27, 2007:

Writeaway, you are right but I am not sure how to move this entire post to Flemish at this stage.
Andre: please see my note above. This is all the context I have, apart from the person's personal details and Algemene Directie van de Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken.

writeaway Jun 27, 2007:

this was said in response to what?

Sanmar (asker) Jun 27, 2007:

Adam: Yes, I need the English term.

The complete sentence is "De vreemdeling laten beschikken". Betrokkene is minderjarig!!

Context: brief van de Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken (BE)

Andre de Vries Jun 27, 2007:

Far too little context.

writeaway Jun 27, 2007:

If it's "Vlaams", why not post it under "Flemish" since that still exists on Proz as a separate language.

writeaway Jun 27, 2007:

complete NL sentence would be very helpful

Adam Smith Jun 27, 2007:

Are you wanting an English answer or are you struggling for another Dutch word? It's not very clear from your question what the problem is.