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Accessibility

It is important to us that our websites are digitally accessible, meaning that anyone who visits them can easily find, understand and use our information and services, including those who have difficulty reading or seeing, or who have other special needs. Read what requirements an accessible website must meet and how we work on achieving them.

 

Requirements of an accessible website

Digitally accessible websites and apps must meet the digital accessibility requirements imposed by the Dutch government. These requirements are stipulated in the Digital Government Act (Wet digitale overheid) of which the Digital Accessibility of Government (Temporary Provisions) Decree (Tijdelijk besluit Digitale Toegankelijkheid) is part:

  • EN 301 549 is the European standard.
  • WCAG 2.1 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the international standard.

The IND website and the accessibility requirements

As stated in the Research report on digital accessibility dated 26 October 2024 which can be found at puc.overheid.nl (Dutch only) our website does not yet meet all the accessibility requirements. The report states that possible improvements include the following:

  • Headings are missing in some parts of the website.
  • Not all non-textual content, such as images and buttons, is accompanied by a(n) (good) alternative text.
  • In some places there is insufficient contrast.
  • Error messages could be described more clearly.
  • Not all label and input fields are linked together in the code.
  • The formatting of headings in tables is not always correct.

We are working hard to improve the website. We are planning a new assessment of the digital accessibility of the website in 2026.

Accessibility status

According to the accessibility statement, ind.nl has accessibility status or accessibility label B, which means ‘partially compliant’. This label is an indication of how digitally accessible our website is. We compile the majority of accessibility statements using data from research reports. You can find more information about accessibility statements and accessibility labels at digitoegankelijk.nl (only in Dutch).

Status toegankelijkheidslabel van Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst. Volg de link voor de volledige toegankelijkheidsverklaring.

You can view all of our accessibility statements and associated accessibility statuses in the IND dashboard at digitoegankelijk.nl (only in Dutch). We carry out an assessment of our websites and apps at least every 3 years. 

Research reports on the accessibility of other channels

These research reports (only in Dutch) are an indication of how digitally accessible our other digital channels are:

What is the IND doing to improve accessibility?

  • Accessibility is one of the main principles when developing new websites and a requirement for the continued development of existing ones.
  • Experts regularly test the accessibility of the websites, and we resolve any problems they find.
  • IND staff are working to increase their knowledge of digital accessibility and to use it in their work.
  • New PDFs must be rendered accessible before they are posted on the websites.

Reporting accessibility problems

If you notice an issue relating to the accessibility of our website, or have a question or comment about its accessibility, please report this using our contact form.

The response you can expect from us

  • You will receive confirmation that we have received your email within 5 working days.
  • We will explain our response to your question or comment and the related outcome.
  • We will process your question or comment within 3 weeks.

How to act if you are dissatisfied with our response

If you are not satisfied with the way in which we processed your question or comment, or if we have not responded on time, you can contact Nationale Ombudsman (only in Dutch).