You have a permanent residence permit or a temporary residence permit with a non-temporary purpose. A non-temporary purpose means that you can keep renewing the residence permit. You want a residence permit that will allow you to apply more easily for a residence permit in one of the other European Union countries that issues a long-term resident's EU residence permit.
The following conditions apply to the residence permit long-term resident EU:
You need to submit documents to demonstrate that you fulfil the conditions. You need the following documents to apply for a residence permit long-term resident EU:
All the appendices mentioned are also included with the written application form.
Official foreign documents must be legalised and translated into Dutch, English, French or German. Find out more about legalised and translating foreign documents.
You can start the application process from 3 months before your residence permit expires. Have you already had a residence permit in the Netherlands for more than 5 years? You can submit the application now.
For your online application you need:
Please note! If you have an asylum residence permit (type III or IV), please use the written application form.
There are two application forms:
The costs of the application for a long-term resident's EU residence permit are [Verblijfsvergunning onbepaalde tijd regulier uitzonderingsbedrag2].
The following persons pay a lower amount:
Are you submitting the application online? In that case, you pay the costs of your application (fee) using the iDEAL payment system before you submit your online application.
Are you submitting the application in writing? In that case, the IND will send a request to pay the application costs (fees) by letter.
The IND has 6 months to decide on your application for a long-term resident EU residence permit. his 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.
You can track the application in My IND. Find out more about My IND and log in.
Once the IND has assessed your application, you will receive the decision. This will be presented in a letter and will be positive or negative.
Do you not meet the conditions for long-term resident EU? And do you not yet have a permanent residence permit? The IND will assess whether you do need the conditions for a regular or asylum permanent residence permit. Do you also not meet the conditions for a permanent residence permit? Then the IND will extend your temporary residence permit, providing that you still need the conditions for that permit. You do not have to submit a new application for this.
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.
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.
A residence permit long-term resident EU gives you a right of permanent residence. That means your right to live in the Netherlands remains valid even if your residence document expires. The residence document itself is valid for 5 years.
After 5 years you can renew your document.
If you hold this type of residence permit, you can work freely in the Netherlands. Your employer will not require a separate work permit (tewerkstellingsvergunning or TWV) for you. The back of the residence permit states: 'arbeid vrij toegestaan. TWV niet vereist' (Free to work. No work permit required).
If your long-term resident's EU residence permit is no longer valid, you can continue to work. If a company or organisation asks for proof of lawful residence, you can apply for an Article 9 letter from the IND desk. Make an appointment by telephone to obtain an Article 9 letter. To obtain the Article 9 letter, you need to apply to renew your residence document first.
If you have a residence permit long-term resident EU, you have almost the same rights as a person with Dutch nationality. The main differences are:
You have to comply with a number of legal obligations.
Find out which legal obligations you need to comply with.