Living in the Netherlands after Brexit

Quick links to content further down page:

1. You arrived in the Netherlands before 1 January 2021

• Transition period
• You will receive an invitation from the IND and then you apply online for a residence document
• Which sort  of residence document to apply for
• You have a permanent EU residence document (duurzaam verblijf) : exchange your document

2. You will come to live in the Netherlands on or after 1 January 2021

3. When Brexit does not affect your right of residence

4. If you have any questions

1. You arrived in the Netherlands before 1 January 2021

You are a UK national or the family member of a UK national and you were living in the Netherlands before Brexit. Or you are a UK national or the family member of a UK national who came to live in the Netherlands after Brexit and before 1 January 2021. The provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement apply to you.

Transition period in 2020: you can continue to live, work and study in the Netherlands

 As a result of the Withdrawal Agreement, Brexit will not change your current situation in 2020. A transition period now applies from 1 February 2020 up to and including 31 December 2020. During this period you can continue to live, work and study in the Netherlands. You do not need a residence document, just a valid passport.

After the transition period: you will need a Withdrawal Agreement residence document

As a result of Brexit your right of residence has changed. You are no longer an EU citizen. You will need a residence document to continue to live in the Netherlands from 1 January 2021. This residence document will show your right to live in the Netherlands. When Brexit does not affect your right of residence you may not need a residence document.

You will receive an invitation from the IND and then you apply online for a residence document

Are you correctly registered in the Personal Records Database (Basisregistratie Personen or BRP) of your town hall (gemeente)? Then you will receive a letter from the IND during the transition period. In this letter the IND invites you to apply online for a residence document. The IND has started to send invitation letters after Brexit. This will be done by year of registration in the BRP. Around 45,000 registered UK nationals and their family members  will receive an invitation.

When you will receive an invitation

The IND will send out the invitations spread across the entire transition period, and afterwards up until 1 July 2021. This is to ensure that every application is processed carefully and promptly. It is not possible for you and every other UK national to submit an application at the same time. Wait until you receive the invitation or your application will be delayed.

Every week the IND is sending out around 1,000 invitations. Here you can see when you can expect to receive an invitation. The calendar shows which invitation letters have been sent out and which have still to be sent. This calendar will be updated regularly. The calender shows that the IND is now busy sending out invitations for 2016.

(Click on image to see larger version)

• The longer you have been registered in the Netherlands in the Personal Records Database (Basisregistratie Personen or BRP), the sooner you will receive an invitation. In case of re-registration, the most recent registration date determines when you will receive an invitation.
• If family members in a household registered on different dates, the oldest registration date determines when you will receive an invitation letter. The IND will invite family members in one household at the same time.
  
• The higher the number of BRP registrations in one year, the longer it will take to send out invitations for that year.
  
• After receiving the invitation letter during the transition period, you can submit an application for a (new) residence document online.
• Please submit your application within 4 weeks of receiving the invitation.
• As soon as more information is available about the invitation process, this web page will be updated.

Make sure you receive an invitation

To make sure that you receive an invitation letter to apply for a residence document, check that you are correctly registered in the BRP at your town hall. You can check your details on mijn.overheid.nl under Identiteit, Persoonsgegevens. See below for more information.

What you can do now to arrange your residence in the Netherlands for after 1 January 2021

Watch the animation and read the information below.

1. Register yourself in person in the Personal Records Database  (BRP) at your town hall.  The IND is linked to the BRP. If you register in the BRP, the IND can get in touch with you.
2. Then apply for a DigiD. With your DigiD, you can easily submit an online application to the IND. Do you already have a DigiD but no sms-verification? You can also set this up on My DigiD.
3. Then make sure that you will also receive post from the IND digitally. Use your DigiD to log in to MijnOverheid at https://mijn.overheid.nl/. There you can access your Berichtenbox (message box) where you can receive digital post from government institutions, including the IND. Go to Instellingen (Settings) and under Landelijke Organisaties check Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst (Immigration and Naturalisation Service, the IND).
4. Open a Dutch bank account. You need this to set up iDEAL, an online payment method. You will need iDEAL to pay for an online application for a residence document.
5. Do you have another EU/EEA or Swiss nationality? Make sure that nationality is listed in the Personal Records Database  (BRP). Then you will not receive an invitation letter because you will not need a residence document.

Which sort of residence document to apply for

There are two sorts of Withdrawal Agreement residence documents. How long you have lived in the Netherlands determines which sort of residence document you should apply for.

• If you have been living here for less than 5 years, you can apply for a temporary residence document.
• If you have been living here for over 5 years consecutively, then you can apply for a permanent residence document.

The steps for applying for a residence document

The diagram below provides an overview of the different steps in the application process. More information is provided on the pages for applying for a residence document.

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The conditions for receiving a residence document

Certain conditions apply for you to receive a residence document. These are the same conditions that already currently apply for you to be allowed to live in the Netherlands. You can find out what the conditions are on the pages for applying for a residence document.

The cost of applying for a residence document

An application for a residence document costs the same as the application for permanent residence as an EU citizen: ​€58 for adults and ​€31 for children under 18.

You have a permanent EU residence document (duurzaam verblijf) : exchange your document

Watch the animation and read the information below (available in English only).

Are you a UK national or the family member of a UK national? And you have a permanent EU residence document issued in the Netherlands? Then you need to exchange this residence document for a new permanent residence document.  As a result of Brexit you can no longer use your current residence document. UK nationals are no longer EU citizens. Exchanging your document is free. You can only continue to live, work and study in the Netherlands from 1 January 2021 with your new document.

You do not need to submit an online application. The IND is already aware of your situation because we previously checked whether you met the conditions when you were originally granted permanent residence (duurzaam verblijf). During the transition period, the IND will, on its own initiative, check your situation again, and decide whether you will receive a new residence document after Brexit or not.

If you are not a threat to the public order and have not lived outside the Netherlands for more than 2 years consecutively, then your situation is in order. You will receive a letter from the IND. This will explain what you now need to do to exchange your current residence document for a new residence document at an IND desk, free of charge.

If your situation is not in order, you will receive a letter from the IND stating that you do not currently meet the conditions. You will have the opportunity to respond and to prove that you do.

2. You will come to live in the Netherlands on or after 1 January 2021

Are you a UK national travelling to live in the Netherlands after 31 December 2020 and you are not coming for the purpose of family reunification under the Withdrawal Agreement? In that case, you do not come under the Withdrawal Agreement. To be able to live in the Netherlands, other provisions apply to you. On the IND website you can find out more about the different residence purposes, such as EU, Family, Work and Dutch citizenship. 

3. When Brexit does not affect your right of residence

• You are a UK national and have a national residence permit for permanent residence. This also includes a residence permit as an EU long-term resident in the Netherlands. Brexit does not affect your right to live in the Netherlands.
• You are a UK national and also have EU, EEA or Swiss nationality. Brexit does not affect your right to live in the Netherlands because of your other nationality. This also applies to your family members without EU, EEA or Swiss nationality.
• You are a third country national and the relationship with your British partner (UK national) in the Netherlands has ended as result of divorce or death. You are a third country national if you do not have EU, EEA or Swiss nationality. Under EU provisions, it is possible that you may stay in the Netherlands. In that case, you do not need a new residence document. Therefore, the IND will not send you an invitation. If you wish, you can apply for a residence document. When considering your application, the IND will check whether your situation meets the conditions.

4. If you have any questions

• Read the Q & As for Brexit with a deal.
• On Government.nl you can find more information, including other topics that may be relevant to you.
• Visit the other pages on this website with more information about applying for a temporary or permanent residence permit and cross-border workers.

Call the Brexit information line: +31 (0)88 04 30410

Here you can ask your questions about your right of residence. The Brexit information line can be reached from Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 17:00.