Contents
Who can apply for verification against EU law?
You are a family member of a Union citizen. A Union citizen is a person who is a national of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland.
Find out which countries are in the EU and EEA. You are not a Union citizen yourself. However, as a family member of a Union citizen, EU law often applies to you. You can apply for verfication against EU law to demonstrate that EU law is applicable to you.
Conditions for verification against EU law
The following conditions apply to verfication against EU law:
- You have a valid passport.
- You do not pose a threat to public order or national security. That means you do not have a criminal record and no legal action is currently being taken against you.
- Your family member with the nationality of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland is lawfully residing in the Netherlands. That means your family member has a registration certificate from the IND or a valid Dutch residence permit.
Read about registering with the IND as an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen.
Family members who can apply for this verification
The family members described in this paragraph can apply for verification. Additional conditions apply to certain family members.
- You are the spouse or registered partner of the Union citizen.
- You are the unmarried partner of the Union citizen. You have lived together for at least 6 consecutive months prior to the time of the application or at the time of the decision. Or have a child together.
- You are the child or grandchild under the age of 21 of the Union citizen or of his/her spouse or registered partner.
- You are the child or grandchild under the age of 18 of the unmarried partner of the Union citizen. You will be living with your parent or grandparent in the Netherlands.
- You are the child or grandchild aged 21 or above or the parent or grandparent of the Union citizen or of his/her spouse or registered partner. You are financially dependent on the Union citizen. You receive money from your family member on a regular basis (e.g. every month). You need that money to meet your basic needs (e.g. rent, food and drink).
- You are another family member of the EU citizen, e.g. an uncle, aunt, nephew or niece, and one of the following situations applies to you:
- You are financially dependent on the Union citizen. You receive money from your family member on a regular basis (e.g. every month). You need that money to meet your basic needs (e.g. rent, food and drink).
- You were already living together with the Union citizen in your country of origin.
- You require care from the Union citizen because of serious health problems.
Family members of a Dutch national
Will you be living with a Dutch national? In that case, you are usually not able to apply for verfication against EU law. EU law does not automatically apply to Dutch nationals.
Read when EU law applies to Dutch nationals and their family members. Will you be living with a Dutch national who does not fall under EU law? If so, go to the 'Family' page to find out about the conditions and procedure.
The documents you need
You need to submit documents to demonstrate that you fulfil the conditions.
Documents that are always needed
To apply for verification against EU law, you always need:
- A copy of the page from your valid passport showing your personal details and the validity period. A child may also be entered in the passport of one of his/her parents. In that case, copy the page of the passport on which the child is shown.
- A copy of the registration certificate of the Union citizen or a copy of the front and back of his/her valid residence permit.
- Documents proving that the Union citizen is still performing genuine and effective work or still has sufficient income for both of you.
Read more about real and actual work under EU law.
Documents that you need depending on your situation
See which other documents you need in your situation:
You are the spouse or registered partner of a Union citizen
- Document proving that you are married to or in a registered partnership with a Union citizen, e.g. the marriage certificate or registered partnership certificate (authenticated if necessary).
NB If your marriage or registered partnership is recorded in the Municipal Personal Records Database (Basisregistratie Personen – BRP) of a Dutch local authority, you do not need those certificates.
You are the unmarried partner of a Union citizen
- Documents proving that you are in a durable relationship with a Union citizen. You can demonstrate that with one or more of the following documents:
- Proof that you have been living together in the Netherlands for at least 6 months, e.g. an extract from the Municipal Personal Records Database indicating that you have been registered at the same address in that database.
- Proof that you have been living together abroad for at least 6 months, e.g. registration at the same address in a local authority administrative system, tenancy agreements, contracts relating to a joint house purchase, proof of a joint bank account (bank statements), proof that you both have your own bank account at the same address.
- A birth certificate (authenticated if necessary) for a child born from your relationship.
- The 'Declaration of Relationship for Partner of EU Citizen' appendix. This is included with the application form. You and your partner must complete in full and sign the appendix.
You are the child or grandchild under the age of 21 of a Union citizen or of the partner of a Union citizen
- Documents proving that you are the child or grandchild of a Union citizen, e.g. a birth certificate (authenticated if necessary).
You are the parent or grandparent or the child or grandchild aged 21 or above of a Union citizen or of the partner of a Union citizen
- Documents proving that you are the parent or grandparent or the child or grandchild of a Union citizen, e.g. one or more birth certificates (authenticated if necessary).
- Documents proving that you are financially dependent on the Union citizen or his or her spouse or registered partner, e.g. proof that you receive money from your family member on a regular basis (e.g. every month).
- Documents proving that, because of your financial and social situation, you require material support to be able to meet your basic needs (e.g. rent, food and drink), e.g. a declaration from a benefits agency.
You are a family member, other than a partner, parent, grandparent, child or grandchild, of a Union citizen
- Documents proving that you are the family member of a Union citizen, e.g. one or more birth or marriage certificates (authenticated if necessary).
- Documents proving that you are financially dependent on the Union citizen, e.g. proof that you receive money from your family member on a regular basis (e.g. every month).
- Depending on your situation, one of those types of documents:
- Documents proving that, because of your financial and social situation, you require material support to be able to meet your basic needs (e.g. rent, food and drink), e.g. a declaration from an authorised benefits agency.
- Documents proving that you lived together with your family member in your country of origin.
- Documents proving that, because of serious health problems, you rely on the care of your family member.
You are a family member of a Dutch national and fall under EU law
If you are not a national of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland yourself, you must provide documents proving that you have lived together with your Dutch family member in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland for 3 months. Bring all of the documents you have available from the following list:
- Document proving your family relationship to the Dutch national, e.g. marriage or birth certificate.
- Proof of lawful residence in the other EU/EEA country or Switzerland for the Dutch national.
- Your EU residence document from the other EU/EEA country or Switzerland. That document proves that you lived together with the Dutch national there.
- Proof of registration and deregistration in your place of residence in the other country for you and your Dutch family member.
- Employment contracts, payslips, annual statements of earnings and/or other documents relating to income and work for you and/or your family member in the other country.
- If you or your Dutch family member worked as an entrepreneur: proof of entry in the commercial register, balance sheet, income statements and/or operating results.
- Tax returns and tax assessments.
- Proof of health insurance in the other country for you and your Dutch family member.
- Doctors' and dentists' bills.
- Diplomas and/or certificates for civic integration or other courses and training programmes that you and your family member were on in the other country.
- Documents proving that you have paid your regular outgoings in the other country. These can be provided for the last 3 months in which you lived in the other country. For example:
- Rent or mortgage payments for your home, together with the tenancy agreement or purchase contract.
- Final energy statement or other energy bills.
- Bills from television and internet providers.
- Itemised telephone bills from the other country.
- Bills relating to newspaper or magazine subscriptions in the other country.
- Other bills proving that you and your family member lived in the other country.
- Bank statements that show pin transactions of daily groceries in the other EU country. Bank statements should be both from you and your family member. The last 4 numbers of the IBAN bank account number and the names of the account holders must be visible.
- Copy of bank cards on which the last four digits of the account number are visible.
- Proof of vehicle registration in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland or a document proving that you have had the foreign licence plate re-registered in the Netherlands.
- Declarations/bills relating to support received during pregnancy and childbirth, childcare, child development records, school reports, payments to sports clubs, contract relating to your child's part-time job. Did your children not live with you? In that case, explain in a letter why not, who the child lived with and why he/she lived with that person. Enclose evidence.
- If you or your Dutch family member were still working in the Netherlands, provide proof of commuting, e.g. route-specific public transport passes or proof of payment from filling stations.
- If neither of you worked, documents proving how you had the funds needed to live on and/or how you looked for work, e.g. proof of a benefit, registration with an employment service/temporary employment agency, invitations to job interviews, application letters.
- Other documents proving that you had your main place of residence together with your family member in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland. Your main place of residence is the place where you have settled and where you intend to remain for a sustained period of time.
- Did you live outside the EU for 6 months or more before returning to the Netherlands? If so, provide documents that prove which country you lived in, how long you lived there for and why.
Legalisation and translation of official foreign documents
How to apply for verification against EU law
You are applying for verification against EU law in the Netherlands. You should therefore travel to the Netherlands first.
Travelling to the Netherlands: facilitation visa or permit-exempt term
Depending on your nationality, you enter the Netherlands with or without a facilitation visa.
Find out whether you need a visa.
Facilitation visa
Does your nationality require you to have a visa? If so, you will need a visa to travel to the Netherlands. Family members of Union citizens receive a 90-day Schengen visa (type C visa) free of charge if they want to live with their family member in the Netherlands. This is called a facilitation visa. You can apply for the facilitation visa at the Dutch embassy or consulate in your country of residence. State that you will be living in the Netherlands with a family member who is a national of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland. You need to submit documents to demonstrate that you are a family member of the Union citizen. These can include a marriage or birth certificate, for example.
Visa-exempt term
Does your nationality not require you to have a visa? In that case, you can travel to the Netherlands during your visa-exempt term. You need these documents to enter the Netherlands:
- A valid passport or other travel document. A child may be included in the passport of one of his/her parents.
- A document proving that you are a family member of a Union citizen, e.g. a marriage or birth certificate.
Making an appointment to apply for verification against EU law
Once you are in the Netherlands, make an appointment to apply for verification against EU law. You can only do that by calling the IND. You have to attend the appointment yourself. If you are under 18, your parent or guardian must also attend the appointment.
Combined appointment for registration and a check under EU law
If the Union citizen does not yet have proof of lawful residence in the Netherlands, you can make a combined appointment for the registration of the Union citizen and the check under EU law.
Read more about registration for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens.
NB: Until 1 September 2021 you can only submit your application in writing.
Read about how the written application process works in the frequently asked questions about coronavirus.
Written application form
- Download the
application form 'Application for verification against EU law (certificate of lawful residence)'.
- Print out the form.
- Fill in the form and the appendices.
- Bring the registration form, the appendices and the documents you need to your appointment at the IND.
Costs of the application for verification against EU law
An application for a check under EU law costs € 64. For a minor you pay € 33. These costs are paid when you attend the appointment.
Decision on your application
The IND has 6 months to decide on your application for verfication against EU law. This period is called the decision period. It is specified by law. You will receive a letter stating the date by which the IND will decide on the application.
Are you submitting a combined application including registration of the Union citizen? In that case the registration of the EU citizens will be assessed immediately.
Track your application in My IND
You can track your application in My IND. To do that, you need to log in using DigiD.
Read more about My IND and log in.
Apply for review of the decision
You can apply for review of the decision within 4 weeks. The decision letter explains how to do this.
Find out more about applying for review or appealing a decision from the IND.
The IND decides late
Has the decision period passed and you have still not received a decision on your application or review? Then the IND is late in deciding. Find out what you can do if the IND is late with its decision.
Collecting your residence document
If you have received a positive decision, you will be sent a letter about collecting your residence document.
Read about what you have to do after a positive decision on your application.
Validity of the residence document of a family member of a EU/EEA citizen
Your residence document is valid for 5 years. After that period you can apply for a new verification or a permanent residence document for EU citizens and their family members.
Working in the Netherlands as a family member of a Union citizen
If you hold this residence permit, you can work freely. On the back of your residence document you will see the text 'arbeid vrij toegestaan. TWV niet vereist' (Free to work. No work permit required).
Use of public funds
If you rely on (or make an additional claim for) public funds, e.g. a social assistance benefit payment, your lawful residence may come to an end.
Find out more about the consequences of relying on public funds.
