Frequently asked questions and answers Business Portal

You get this error from your eHerkenning provider. Check whether you have assurance level 3 'Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst: Toegang tot het portaal' (Immigration and Naturalisation Service: access to the portal). You need this to gain access to the Business Portal.

Companies that use eHerkenning for several services of other organisations, such as the Tax and Customs Administration, often have a central user. A central user gives other users within the company the right authorisation. Does your company have a central user? Then ask this central user to check your authorisation.

Does your company have several Chamber of Commerce (KVK) numbers? Then it is also important to check whether your eHerkenning has been requested for the right KVK number.

It is possible that one or more company details are not or no longer correct in our system. Please send an email to Team Zakelijk (Team Business Relationship Management) with a screenshot on which the address bar of your browser is also visible.

You can best use one of these browsers.

• Microsoft Edge
• Google Chrome
• Safari
• Mozilla Firefox

It is only possible to log in on behalf of a recognised sponsor. Check whether your client is a recognised sponsor. Are they? Then send an email to Team Zakelijk (Team Business Relationship Management). It is possible that one or more company details are not correct in our system.

You cannot take over a colleague’s account because an eHerkenning account is personal. Go to the eHerkenning website for more information and to apply for eHerkenning.

To log in to the Business Portal, you need a chain authorisation via eHerkenning. A chain authorisation is made up of 2 parts:

1. Your company is authorised by another organisation to log in to the Business Portal. We call this a horizontal authorisation. 
2. Specific employees of your company are authorised to log in to the Business Portal on behalf of another organisation. We call this a vertical authorisation.

Your company must first have horizontal authorisation before you can arrange vertical authorisation for your employees. The eHerkenning administrator or the supplier can help you with this. Read more about arranging a chain authorisation on eHerkenning.nl.

Do you see the screen below when you log in to the Business Portal? Then you can log in with an authorisation via the IND. Once you use a chain authorisation, you will no longer see the screen below. From 4 November 2024 you will no longer be able to login via this screen. A chain authorisation is then needed to log in on behalf of another organisation. Read more about arranging a chain authorisation on eHerkenning.nl.

Yes, that is possible. The costs differ per supplier of eHerkenning. Suppliers are allowed to charge for the use of eHerkenning and chain authorisations. This is because these services are not paid from tax revenues (unlike DigiD). Read an explanation about costs on eHerkenning.nl. 

The chain authorisation has not yet been properly registered. Contact the eHerkenning administrator within your organisation.

It is important that you fill out the form from top to bottom. For example, first fill in the year of birth and then the country of birth. Otherwise you will see empty fields in the form. 

Check if you filled in everything on the page. You can then click on next.

Make sure that your internet browser has been updated. Else the button ‘next’ does not work. Update your browser and then try again.

Many questions have an explanation. Click on the link next to the question. A drop-down text will appear with an explanation of the question.

You would like to save your application midway. This is how to do it.

1. Go to the menu button in your online application.
2. Click on Save.

Often, this will be followed by another question. This depends on your browser settings. Do you have Internet Explorer? Then you will get to see ‘Do you want to open or save this file?’ at the bottom of your screen. If you select save, Internet Explorer will save this file in the folder Downloads by default. The saved file ends in .tfa. You have now saved your online application temporarily on your computer.

This is how you can find the application you saved.

1. Go to the Business Portal homepage and click on Submit new application.
2. Select the application you have already started.
3. Log in with eHerkenning.
4. Click on the menu button and select Open.
5. Click on Select a file. Explorer will open.
6. Go to the folder Downloads.
7. Select the .tfa file you saved previously in the folder Downloads.

Because of a technical problem it is sometimes not possible to open an application again if it was saved midway. The reason is that the file is too big. You can prevent this by saving an application without uploaded documents. Only upload the documents when you are submitting the application. We are working on a solution.

The portal shows applications submitted in writing and applications submitted online. Online applications are visible within a few minutes after sending them. You can only see applications sent by post after the IND has processed them. Can you not see an online application in the portal after a few minutes? There might be a technical issue. Then contact IND’s Team Business Relationship Management. One of our employees will look at your application. Afterwards your application will appear in the portal within five days.

Are you authorised to log in on the portal on behalf of another company? Then you can only see applications you submitted on behalf of the company. You cannot see applications that the company or another authorised person has submitted.

Was the IND’s decision on your application positive and has the residence document been collected? Then the application disappears from the overview of ongoing applications after 28 days.

The application can sometimes not be seen immediately because we must process it manually. This takes 5 working days on average. Are you still not able to see your application in the portal after this period? Then please contact the IND.

We sometimes register an application on paper rather than online due to a technical problem. However, applications on paper are not shown in the overview of ongoing applications in the portal. We are still working on a solution.

You can only upload PDF files. Each document can be up to 8 MB. Find out more about Uploading documents for your online application.

You cannot upload the photo form because in that case the quality of the photo is not high enough. You must send the photo form to the IND by post. The postal address is on the photo form.

• Appendix Passport photo form 7630 (PDF, 122.49 KB)

You can only upload the documents listed in the application.

Have you already submitted your application and would you like to upload supplementary documents? You can do this as long as the IND has not decided on your application yet. 

You can upload supplementary documents this way.

1. Log in on the Business Portal.
2. Click on Applications and Notifications.
3. Open the form Supplementary information.

Always keep the case number ready. The case number is written in the confirmation of receipt of the application.