This paper focuses on a new Dutch policy aimed at launching a national ‘reception’ system for undocumented people in major Dutch cities between 2019 and 2022. From a theoretical point of view, the contribution looks at critical migration studies, in particular, at the debate on irregularity and the national and urban migration policies. Based on empirical research carried out from 2019 to 2020, this work explores the Dutch system by highlighting its underlying logic and some contradictions inherent in the governance played out between different territorial levels. The case study allows us to rethink how policies addressed to ‘irregular’ people are produced, contracted and transformed within different scales of governance.