I amsterdam - Residence Permits

IND

The IND defines regular immigration as persons who “come here to work, to study or for a family reunification or formation. These forms of residence are based on grounds other than asylum”. All immigration and residence decisions go to the IND, which processes all MVV (temporary residence permits), special visa requests, visa extensions, return visas, emergency visas and residence permits, including permanent. Renewal forms for extensions of residence permits or visas should be automatically sent to immigrants.

Address: Ministerie van Justitie
Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst
Afdeling Communicatie
Postbus 3211
2280 HE Rijswijk

Telephone: 0900 123 4561 (EUR 0.10 per minute) – all immigration and visa inquiries
+31 (0)20 889 3045 (from abroad)

Hours: Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The website (www.ind.nl) set up by the IND to answer most basic questions is quite thorough and includes a detailed section in English which is fairly simple to use.

GBA

The GBA (Gemeentelijke basisadministratie persoonsgegevens) is part of the Civil Affairs Department of the local city, town or district council hall. It handles all administrative aspects of residence permit requests and immigration. Law requires registration with the GBA for everyone (EU as well as non-EU nationals) residing in the Netherlands for longer than three months and should happen within the first 3-5 days after arrival. It also acts simultaneously as registration in the municipal register, triggers notification of your details to the IND, and the tax office, which in turn automatically connects your details to a SoFi number (required by both employers and the tax office to work).

It also proves your residence (and therefore your rights) within a municipality, gives you access to these institutions, and is where you will need to exchange your driver's licence. The way you are registered (i.e. number of people in your family) will also automatically determine the charges for water and refuse collection, enable you to register for middle/low cost housing (woonvergunning or huisvestingsvergunning) depending on your income and eventual residence status, and vote in local and European elections.

To register at the GBA you will need to provide the following documents: passport (valid for a minimum of the duration of your stay, unless permanent); rental contract (in your name); employment contract (if applicable); birth and marriage certificates of all family members who also have to appear in person at the first application. These documents may require document authentication referred to as 'legalisation'. Information about legalisation from countries of origin can be given by embassies, the department of civil affairs or the IND.
In Amsterdam these functions are carried out by Dienst Persoonsgegevens (DPG).

Address: Stadhouderskade 85
1073 AT Amsterdam

Hours: Monday to Friday 08.30-16.00

Telephone: 020 551 9218 (Nationals) / 020 551 9252 (Immigrants)
Fax: 020 551 9210 (Immigrants and nationals)

Post address: Postbus 2752
1000CT Amsterdam

Website: www.amsterdam.nl/dpg

EU/EER Citizens

Under EC treaties, as a national of an EU/EER member state you only need your passport to enter the Netherlands and do not require a residence document (verblijfsvergunning) to stay.

Previously, EU, EEA and Swiss nationals who were in the Netherlands for less than six-months for work were given a proof of registration sticker in their passports. Those applying for longer stays had to apply for a residence permit. From May 1 2006, this sticker will still be used for the original purpose, but will also take the place of renewable residence permits for longer than three months. The process is free, but you must first register with the GBA and be able to prove the purpose of your stay.

If you are entering the Netherlands to work, study, join an EU/EER family member, marry a Dutch or EU national residing in the Netherlands, or retire, these are all covered under the EC treaties. Residence permits will still be required for immigrants’ family members who are not EU/EEA/Swiss nationals.

Non-EU Nationals

Many expats must first obtain a machtiging tot voorlopig verblijf (MVV), or authorisation visa for temporary stay while in their country of origin. As of March 15 of this year, many of those requiring a MVV will also be required to take a civil immigration test in their home country before applying for the MVV. This will have an impact primarily, but not only, on those who wish to come to the Netherlands to marry or form a family. In many cases, passing this test will be required before a visa is issued.

The civil integration test can be requested at a Dutch consulate or embassy in your home country and costs approximately EUR 350.
The following groups are exempt from taking the test:

• Persons of American, Australian, Austrian, Belgian, British, Canadian, Cypriot, Czech, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Liechtenstein, Lithuanian, Luxemburg, Maltese, Monegasque, New Zealand, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovakian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Swiss, or Vatican nationality;
• Persons who are coming to the Netherlands for a temporary reason, such as study, au pair work, an exchange, or medical treatment;
• Persons coming to the Netherlands with a work permit and their family members, the self-employed, and knowledge migrants.

Be aware that you may still be required to take the test once resident in the Netherlands.

The form and information on how to study and take the test are available either electronically from the IND website or hard copy through the Dutch embassy or consulate. Once MVV is granted, foreign nationals may enter the Netherlands and register directly at the GBA in their own municipality and apply for residence permits. All non-EU/EER nationals above the age of 12 must have their own residence permit, including those from the countries above; the exception to this is children born in the Netherlands. For applications for special visas, emergency visas and return visas contact the IND to request an appointment.

Highly Skilled Migrants
Since October 2004 the IND has been phasing in a streamlined process and permit for "Highly Skilled Migrants" which is dependant on income levels and agreements between the IND and the employers, and includes a streamlined process for the MVV. To qualify you must be entering the Netherlands for the prime purpose of employment, earning a minimum gross salary of EUR 45,000, or EUR 32,600 if under the age of 30. This income criterion does not apply if you are being employed by an educational or research institute, or are a postgraduate student or university lecturer under the age of 30. Employers are no longer required to apply for work permits as the entire procedure is now in the hands of the IND. Permits are normally granted for five years, or the duration of the employment contract, and should be dealt with in two weeks.

Students
Undergraduates are not considered to be Highly Skilled Migrants, but their educational institute may apply the accelerated MVV procedure for admissions. Stringent regulations govern permissibility to study in the Netherlands which include; health insurance, a declaration that you have no criminal record or pose a threat to public order, in some cases are willing to undergo a TB test, and have sufficient funds for duration of your stay. After graduation, students will be now granted a three-month grace period (which may be increased this year) in which to find employment as a Highly Skilled Migrant. Also, the obligation to apply for a work permits has been abolished.

ID Cards

As of 1 January 2005, every man, woman and child above the age of 14 in the Netherlands is required by law to be able to produce proof of identity upon request of police and authorities. Which form of identification will be accepted depends both on the situation, and on your nationality. For EU/EER nationals, you may use a valid passport with a residence sticker. For immigrants and nationals of those countries outside the EU/EER, you will be required to carry a current/valid residency permit, "verblijfsdocument", as a passport will not be acceptable if the question that is being investigated concerns your legal status in the country. For children who already have residency in the Netherlands, they may obtain a free ID card when they turn 14.

Fees
A residence sticker for EU/EEA and Swiss Nationals is free. An MVV visa depends on the reason for being in the Netherlands and ranges from EUR 830 to come for family formation (other family members then only pay EUR 188 per person) to EUR 433 for the self-employed or highly skilled migrants, to short-term fixed time visa (study, work or exchange) which cost EUR 250. Regular temporary residence permits with an MVV cost EUR 188 as do extensions of a permit, and a permanent residence permit costs EUR 201. For other categories of fees, there is a complete list in the IND English language site.

Upcoming Changes

Some of the expected changes over the coming years are:

• Streamlining the number of categories of residence and entry permits from 29 to 5,
• Temporary workers or those on work or study exchanges will receive a non-extendable one year permit, with no access to the social welfare system,
• A second form temporary residency is available to students or workers with a fixed term contract, for the length of their contract, this can be a first step to long-term residency,
• Knowledge and work migrants will be judged on a new point system,
• There will be a new category under knowledge migrants for those with special skills (“talent regulation”) not attached to a company or employment, these are renewable two-year permits,
• Expats with a long-term or permanent employment contract come into consideration for a five-year permit on entry,
• The family and partner category will allow entry to relatives or partners of: a Dutch person, the holder of long-stay residence permit or a person with asylum status. However, they must take an integration test.

New EU directive concerning the status of ‘third-country nationals who are long-term residents’ not yet in force in the Netherlands.
A new EU directive (2003/109/EC on third-country nationals who are long-term residents) should have been implemented in the Netherlands by 31 January 2006. This directive concerns migrants from outside the EU (‘third-country nationals’) and establishes the right to a new, permanent EC residence status. This status allows them to settle in another Member State, on the condition that they have fulfilled the requirements set in the directive Unfortunately, the Netherlands has not yet implemented this directive. As a result, applications for permanent EC resident status cannot yet be processed.

Permanent

To be eligible for the permanent EC residential status, the migrant must meet a minimum of three conditions:

• He/she, in possession of a valid residence permit, has been living for an uninterrupted period of five years in a EU Member State. This concerns migrants with a standard permanent residence permit, whereby the purpose of stay is not of a temporary nature, such as stay with partner or salaried employment. Asylum seekers, refugees and EU citizens are not eligible. Who do qualify, however, are the family members of EU citizens who have the nationality of a non-EU country and who have been legally living, without interruption, for at least five years in a EU Member State.
• He/she has a fixed and regular income to maintain the own family.
• He/she has taken out health insurance.

Assessment and Rights

When assessing the application, the authorities also look at whether the migrant could pose a threat to public safety. Whether any other conditions will be imposed, and what these will be, is not known at this stage.

The new EC residence status will grant the migrant a number of rights. The most important are a permanent right of residence and the right to equal treatment, for example with regard to education and work. Also significant is the right, subject to certain conditions, granted to migrants to work, study or live of private means in any of the 21 other EU Member States. In order to stay in another EU country, the migrant must first acquire permanent residence status in the own country of residence. Then, he/she can submit an application for a residence permit to the authorities of another EU country.

(Access materials as well as information from www.expatica.com, www.ind.nl, www.amsterdam.nl/dpg were used to compile this text)

 

_{Updated 7 August 2007}