Turkish citizens and their family members

For whom

The Association Agreement is meant for Turkish employees and family members of Turkish employees. These rules apply:

• You have Turkish nationality.
  
• You work legally in paid employment, as a self-employed person or as a service supplier in the Netherlands.
• You do real and actual work. This means that you actually work at least 40% of the usual 36-hour working week. Or you earn at least 50% of the social assistance standard. Do you work less? Or do you earn less? Then the IND can sometimes still decide that you perform real and actual work. This is only assessed after you submitted an application.
• You do the work for a certain stable period.
• You are not a threat to public order or national security.

More nationalities

The Association Agreement also applies when you have another nationality besides the Turkish nationality, for example, Dutch citizenship. With the application also send a copy of a valid Turkish passport or identity card.

Who are family members?

The Association Agreement also applies to family members of Turkish employees. These family members do not themselves have to have Turkish nationality. In the Association Agreement the following persons are seen as family members:

• The spouse or registered partner of a Turkish employee.
• The child of a Turkish employee or of the spouse/registered partner of a Turkish employee. The child is under the age of 21 or is being supported by the Turkish employee. The same rules apply to grandchildren who are part of the household of the employee. 
  
• The parent or grandparent of a Turkish employee or of the spouse/registered partner of a Turkish employee. The parent or grandparent is being supported by the Turkish employee.

Costs of an application (fees)

Turkish nationals pay a lower fee for applications for the following residence permits:

• Work on a self-employed basis

• Paid employment

• Work experience

• Seasonal work

• Research under Directive (EU) 2016/801

• Highly skilled migrant

• European blue card

• Looking for a job after study, promotion or scientific research

• Au pair

• Residence as a family member of a Turkish citizen (also if you do not have Turkish nationality yourself). The low fee does not apply in the following situations:

  • The Turkish citizen has a residence permit for study.
    

  • The Turkish citizen had a residence permit for medical treatment.
    

  • The Turkish citizen has a residence permit for spending leave in the Netherlands.

  • The family member and the Turkish citizen are not married and do not have a registered partnership.

Do the rules of the Turkish Association Treay apply to you? Then you also pay the low fee for:

• Extension of your residence permit.

• Application for a permanent resident permit.

Fees

Turkish nationals who can derive rights under the Association Agreement, and their family members, pay the following costs for an application:

• Application for a residence permit with mvv: € 70

• Application for a residence permit without mvv: € 69

• Application for an extension of a residence permit: € 69

• Application for a permanent residence permit or residence permit for long-term residents EC: € 69

• Replacement of document due to loss, incorrect personal details, damage or theft: € 69. This application is free of costs if you are replacing your residence document because you have the right on another labour market notification.
  

Under-aged Turkish nationals who can derive rights under the Association Agreement pay the following costs for an application:

• Application for a residence permit with mvv: € 69

• Application for a residence permit without mvv: € 37

• Application for an extension of a residence permit: € 37

• Application for a permanent residence permit or residence permit for long-term residents EC: € 37

• Replacement of document due to loss, incorrect personal details, damage or theft: € 37

Do you need a return visa to travel? If you have paid the low rate for your residence permit then you will pay € 48 for the return visa.

Other rules for some permits

Because of the Association Agreement some permits have other rules for Turkish employees and their family members. This rules are now explained.

Stay with spouse or registered partner: lower age requirement

Is a foreign national going to live with their working Turkish spouse or registered partner? Then a lower age requirement applies: you both have to be at least 18 or older. 

Are you unmarried or unregistered partners? Then you and your partner do have to be both at least 21 or older.

Exemption from civic integration as requirement for more secure residence permit
Turkish nationals and their family member who want to apply for a permanent regular residence permit or a residence permit humanitarian non-temporary, are exempted from the civic integration requirement. This means, Turkish nationals and their family members do not need to have the integration diploma as a requirement for the application. 

Turkish nationals and their family members who want to become a Dutch citizen through naturalisation do have to pass the civic integration examination (naturalisation test). 

Read more information on civic integration as a requirement on the page Civic integration for more secure residence permit and naturalisation.

       Turkish nationals and their family members who want to stay in the Netherlands with a non-temporary purpose (within the meaning
        of the Civic Integration Act) are obliged to participate in a civic integration programme since 1 January 2022.
        Read more information on obligatory civic integration for Turkish nationals on the website of the Dutch government (only
        available in Dutch).  

Sponsorship

The IND cannot require that you have a (recognised) sponsor for the following residence permits:

• Paid employment.
• Highly skilled migrant.
• Researcher under Directive (EU) 2016/801.
  
• Au pair and cultural exchange.
  

This means that you yourself can submit an application. The IND does recommend that you let the employer act as sponsor. When a recognised sponsor submits an application, the application is completed sooner.

Do you want to do the application yourself? Please, use the form at the bottom of this page.

Work as a self-employed: no scoring system to judge essential Dutch interest

A condition for the residence permit to work as a self-employed is that the business activities serve an essential Dutch interest. The IND does not judge this himself, but asks advice from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). RVO uses a scoring system for this. This scoring system does not apply when you have Turkish nationality and apply for a residence permit to work as a self-employed.

RVO will look at your business plan. With your business plan you thus have to prove that your company serves an essential Dutch interest. Your business plan should show the following:

• Your company is viable.
• Your company responds to a need in the Netherlands.
• Your company contributes to the growth of the Dutch economy.
• Your company is able to compete in the free market economy.
• Your company does not disturb the free market economy and the labour market.

N.B. You have to explain all parts of your business plan with financial figures.

Employment rights: after 3 years work freely permitted without work permit

Turkish employees and self-employed persons are free on the Dutch labour market after 3 years. This means that after 3 years of working in the Netherlands, you no longer need a work permit (TWV) if you want to work in paid employment.

Other foreign employees need to work 5 years with a TWV before they are free on the Dutch labour market.

Special permits

Under Association Law, Turkish nationals and/or their families may apply for special permits. These permits are explained here. The general conditions also apply for these permits.

Paid employment on the basis of Association Law between the European Union and Turkey

You can get a residence permit for paid employment under the Association Law if you meet the following conditions:

• You have already worked a minimum of 1 year for the same Dutch employer.
• You have had a valid residence permit during the entire period that you worked for this employer.
• You will continue to work for the same employer.

If you get this residence permit, you do not need a work permit (TWV) to work for the same Dutch employer. Are you going to work for another employer? Your employer must have a work permit (TWV) to allow you to work as an employee if you have not yet worked for at least 3 years for the same employer in the Netherlands.

Please, use the form at the bottom of this page to apply.

Continued residence after a stay with a family member

You can get a residence permit for continued residence after a stay with a family member if you meet the following conditions:

• You have been living in the Netherlands for a minimum of 3 years with a residence permit to stay with a family member. And your family member has a residence permit with a non-temporary right of residence.
  
• You meet the conditions for extending the period of validity of the original residence permit.

Please, use the form at the bottom of this page to apply.

Job-seeking year after termination of marriage of 3 years (the last year of which in the Netherlands)

You can get a residence permit for looking for and carrying out work, whether or not as a paid employee (job-seeking year) if you meet the following conditions:

• You were married for a minimum of 3 years or you had a registered partnership for a minimum of 3 years with a person with a non-temporary right of residence.
• The marriage or registered partnership has ended. Afterwards or after you no longer live together you apply for this residence permit. 
  
• You had, for at least 1 year immediately before the termination of your marriage or registered partnership, lived in the Netherlands with a residence permit to stay with your spouse or registered partner.

Please, use the form at the bottom of this page to apply.

Continued residence after job-seeking year after termination of marriage of 3 years

You can get a residence permit for continued residence after a job-seeking year if you meet the following conditions:

• You now have a temporary residence permit for looking for and carrying out work, whether or not as a paid employee (job-seeking year).
• You have found paid employment during the validity of this residence permit.
  
• You have an independent sufficient long-term income.

Please, use the form at the bottom of this page to apply.

Three-year policy

Have you applied for a residence permit for more than 3 years ago? And has the IND not yet taken a final decision? You may receive your requested residence permit under the three-year policy if you meet the following conditions:

• You are a Turkish national.
  
• You come under the Association Law because you work or want to work in paid employment or as a self-employed person.
  
• You have submitted an application for a residence permit with the purpose of stay to work on a self-employed basis. This application is already being processed for 3 or more years without a final decision.
  
• You have no part in the long processing whatsoever.
  
• You were allowed to wait for the processing of your application in the Netherlands.
  
• There are no contraindications.
  

There is no form for the three-year policy.  Instead you write a letter to the IND. In this letter you ask for your requested residence permit to be provided under the three-year policy. You must ask this before the IND has taken a final decision.