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Several thousand UK nationals living in the Netherlands must still apply for a residence document for after Brexit

Last update: 16 November 2020

​Several thousand UK nationals living in the Netherlands must still apply to the IND for a residence document for after Brexit under the EU Withdrawal Agreement. After the Brexit transition period expires on 31 December 2020, UK nationals must be able to show that they are entitled to live in the Netherlands. They can use their IND residence document to show this, for example to apply for health insurance. The IND has written to all UK nationals who are registered in the Dutch Personal Records Database (BRP) and who need a residence document. Around 6,000 Britons have not yet responded. In addition, more UK citizens have come to the Netherlands since then. The IND is calling on them to apply for a residence document as soon as possible.

The IND has written to 34,400 UK nationals. More than 28,300 of them have now applied for residency. In addition, 1,500 Britons who were not directly contacted have applied. The call has also been circulated on social media and the UK government's website. The IND has processed almost 95 percent of all applications submitted and 99 percent of these have been approved.

Applications for residence under the Withdrawal Agreement can still be submitted up to and including 30 June 2021. However, the IND calls on UK nationals to do so as soon as possible so that they can show their document as early as 1 January 2021. The application can be submitted online on the IND's special Brexit web pages at ind.nl/Brexit. UK nationals who work in the Netherlands but do not live here will also need a document starting on 1 January 2021. They can use the 'frontier worker' document to show that they were already working in the Netherlands before 1 January 2021 and are allowed to continue to work in the Netherlands.

Additional services and the coronavirus

Due to the coronavirus measures, the IND has extended the opening hours of its desks and opened additional Brexit desks for biometrics (providing a signature, and having a photo and fingerprints taken). As a result, the pressure is spread better across the IND's desks. In addition, the IND is temporarily delivering the residence documents to people's home address. These additional services will run until the end of this year. To date, 15,000 residence documents have been delivered.

The Netherlands is leading the way

The Netherlands was the first EU country to provide Brits with a residence document for after Brexit. The IND started calling on UK nationals to apply for residency on the day of the UK's official departure from the EU. The first Brexit residence document was issued that same month. The Netherlands is also leading the way with the start of the online application process for frontier workers (cross-border commuters) in October.