The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) assesses all residence permit applications from the people who want to live, work or study in the Netherlands. The IND also assesses applications from the people who want to become Dutch. For this purpose, the IND processes a lot of personal data of customers and employees.
The IND considers the proper protection of your data to be important. That is why we process your data with great care and attention. In this Privacy Statement, you can read which data the IND collects and why. We also explain who we share your information with and what rights you have.
To keep the information clear, each topic is subdivided into two layers of information. First you read the most important information. Do you want to know more? Then click on the "more information" link.
The IND implements the aliens policy in the Netherlands. This means that the IND assesses all residence permit applications from people who want to live in the Netherlands or who want to become Dutch. This may involve refugees who are not safe in their own country and therefore apply for asylum here. This may also be people who want to work, study or form a family with someone who already lives here. In addition, the IND handles naturalization requests from the people who have been living here for so long that they feel Dutch and therefore want to apply for Dutch nationality. The IND assesses each application separately against the rules of the immigration policy. That means that we listen to the story of every applicant carefully so that every decision we take does justice to everyone's personal situation.
As an implementing organisation, the IND is part of the Ministry of Asylum and Migration (residence permits) and the Ministry of Justice and Security (becoming a Dutch citizen). As a member of the government, the Minister of Asylum and Migration and the State Secretary for Justice and Security are responsible for the work of the IND. The IND has no influence on the immigration policy, which is determined via the Second and First Chamber. In addition, rules stem from (international) treaties such as the Refugee Convention and from EU legislation.
The IND has operating offices at various locations in the Netherlands. The main office is located at Rijnstraat 8, 2515 XP in The Hague. Next to that we distinguish 4 counters, 10 expat centres, 5 application centres and 7 offices. For example, at the counters customers can pick up a residence document or, if necessary, have biometrics (such as fingerprints) collected. The expat centres help expats when they arrive in the Netherlands. Here, expats and graduate foreign students can submit an application, have biometrics done if necessary and collect a residence document. Asylum seekers report to an application centre to apply for asylum. Finally, the offices can only be visited by appointment with an IND employee.
What personal information does the IND collect from you?
The IND processes personal data of the people who apply for a residence permit in the Netherlands or the people who apply to become Dutch nationals. We also process personal data from sponsors, family members, interpreters, agents, employees of the IND and employees of other organisations. The IND receives the personal data from these people personally or from other persons or organisations involved.
The IND processes general personal data. For example, name, contact information, nationality and passport number, date and place of birth and marital status, and also special personal data if it is necessary for the work of the IND, for example, racial or ethnic origin, political views and beliefs, and also genetic and biometric data, sexual orientation and information about criminal cases or a criminal record. For a comprehensive overview, see ‘more information’.
The IND obtains personal data in various ways:
The applicant provides the personal data relating to him or her in connection with the submitted application, personally or possibly through an authorised representative.
The sponsor of the person who wants to stay in the Netherlands provides the personal data about him or her.
The applicant provides personal data of third parties, such as family members.
The personal data come from other government departments and authorities.
Residence status, residence permit type and validity period of the residence permit
Application or applications for the residence permit (asylum or regular) and all documents submitted with the application. These are also original documents
Date on which you became a Dutch national
Personal data in documents from your file. For example, audio recordings of the interview and letters
Financial data
Bank account number
Notes of a contact
Notifications received
The date on which you left the Netherlands
Country where you went to
Whether the government may expel you from the Netherlands
Special personal data
Race or ethnic origin
Political views
Religion or philosophy of life
Whether you are a member of a trade union
Biometric data (such as fingerprints, face scan)
Information about your health
Sexual behaviour / orientation
Other information
Citizen service number or another identification number stated in the law
Criminal convictions and offenses or security measures
The IND cooperates, among others, with the following government services and social organisations:
Repatriation and Departure Service (DTenV);
Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA);
Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (KMar);
International Organisation for Migration (IOM);
Municipalities;
Stichting NIDOS;
Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
Inspection services, such as the Social Affairs & Employment Inspectorate;
DUO;
Tax authorities;
European sister services and NGOs;
Judicial information service;
Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI);
Public Prosecution Service (OM);
National Police (NP);
Employee Insurance Agency (UWV);
BKWI (Suwinet);
Dutch Council for Refugees (VWN).
Full overview of the organisations with which the IND cooperates:
The IND needs your personal data to implement the Policy on Foreign nationals. This policy stems from the Aliens Act 2000 and rules and regulations that go with it, as well as from the Dutch Nationality Act. In addition, there are rules based on international treaties.
The IND manages the administration of foreign nationals. After identification, the personal data of the foreign nationals are registered herein.
Privacy legislation requires that we only process personal data for clearly defined purposes. The purposes for which we process your data are described in article 107 of the Aliens Act 2000.
In summary, the IND collects the personal data for, among other things:
Implementing the Aliens Act 2000, the Dutch Nationality Act and other legal regulations;
Verification, checking and referral and making this data available;
Evaluation of aliens policy and policy of the IND;
The IND only shares personal data when necessary. For example, when another government agency requires your data to perform its duties. Sharing data with other organisations can sometimes save you from having to provide the same information again. Under the Aliens Act 2000, the IND is permitted or required to share your personal data with other government agencies. An organisation may therefore ask the IND for your data; this is known as a request. Sometimes, the IND is legally obliged to provide the data; this is known as a formal demand.
According to the Aliens Act 2000, the IND may or must provide other government organisations with information to perform their duties. For this purpose, such organisation requests (request) or demands information (claim).
Before sharing your data, the IND first assesses if it is necessary. The IND considers the reason why the organisation needs your data, and if the goal could potentially be achieved by using less personal data or none at all.
The IND shares personal data with other organisations in the immigration chain:
Repatriation and Departure Service;
Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers;
Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, including the Expertise Centre for Identity fraude and Documents (ECID);
International Organisation for Migration (IOM);
NIDOS foundation;
Inspection services, such as the Inspectorate of Social Affairs and Employment;
Education Executive Agency;
Tax and Customs Administration;
EU Member States and their respective migration services;
Non-governmental organisations (NGO's) such as organisations that assist asylum seekers;
Judicial Information Service;
Custodial Institutions Agency;
Public Prosecution Service;
National Police (NP);
Immigration Police, Identification and Human Trafficking Department);
Employee Insurance Agency;
Agency for Chain Information Management in Work and Income (Suwinet);
Dutch Council for Refugees;
Department of the Ministry of Justice and Security;
Expertise Centre on Human Trafficking and Human Smuggling;
Chamber of Commerce;
Netherlands Enterprise Agency;
Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate;
Regional Information and Expertise Centre;
Child Care and Protection Board;
Municipalities / Association of Netherlands Municipalities;
Netherlands Forensic Institute;
Netherlands Institute for Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology;
Inspectorate of the Ministry of Justice and Security;
Central Government Audit Service;
National Ombudsman;
The Judiciary;
Red Cross;
UNHCR;
Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Embassies, consulates;
Interpol;
General Intelligence and Security Service;
Advisory Committee on Migration Affairs;
National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children;
National Coordination Centre for Victims of Human Trafficking;
Social Insurance Bank;
Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations;
Nuffic (only data in which individuals are not identifiable);
Municipal Health Service;
Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service;
Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (in the event of a naturalisation application by an elite athlete)
Legal counsil / authorised representatives.
Research
The IND’s Research & Analysis (In Dutch: Onderzoek & Analyse or O&A) department conducts research. These studies are either confidential or public. Additionally, O&A assesses applications from external parties requesting IND data for research purposes. For example, researchers request interviews with IND staff, but also figures, access to case file information and internal documents.
If the application is approved, O&A arranges access to the requested information under strict conditions. For instance, external researchers sign a non-disclosure agreement. This states that they will not include any data that can be traced back to an individual in the public research report. Written agreements are also made for each study regarding the data to be provided, the manner in which the information is given and the review, including fact-checking, that the IND will carry out on the publication.
Research involving the IND can be divided into the following three categories:
research which the IND is legally obliged to cooperate with;
research by external partieswho are granted access to data within the IND. This often concerns requests from universities, students and civil society organisations;
the Netherlands Court of Audit (rekenkamer.nl: in Dutch only);
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (unhcr.org/nl).
Non-mandatory research
In the category of non-mandatory academic research, the IND facilitates Dutch and foreign universities. This may involve research by academic staff, but also research by students for their master's dissertations. Research by civil society organisations can also be facilitated.
Personal data are only processed when necessary for the research
In general, personal data are processed in research only when strictly necessary for conducting the research. Research findings may be published in scientific publications and/or on research institutes’ websites.
The publications contain the anonymised and/or combined results of the research. The privacy of research participants is safeguarded in privacy regulations. Researchers sign a non-disclosure agreement.
More information about IND research
For more information about research within and by the IND, contact the Research Support Cluster of the Research & Analysis department at INDOA@ind.nl.
Does the IND share your personal data with other countries?
In certain situations, the IND passes on personal data to other countries or (international) organisations.
Sharing your personal data with countries within the EEA
The AVG rules also apply in the countries within the European Economic Area (EEA). These are all countries of the European Union plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. These countries protect your personal data as well as the Netherlands.
Sharing your personal data with countries or organisations outside the EEA
In such case, the IND takes measures to protect your personal data. For example, by providing data to the countries for which the European Commission has taken an adequacy decision. The IND also exchanges personal data with embassies of countries where foreign nationals come from. This happens for the reasons that are important to everyone (Article 49, paragraph 1, sub d., GDPR).
According to the law, the IND may transfer personal data on the basis of an 'adequacy decision'. An adequacy decision is the decision of the European Commission (EC) in which the EC has determined that this country protects data at the AVG level in its own laws.
The adequacy decision can apply to an entire country or for one or more sectors or regions in that country. Is there an adequacy decision in place? Then no additional measures are needed to provide personal data to this country, sector or region.
The EC has adopted an adequacy decision for the following countries and regions:
Andorra;
Argentina;
Canada (with the exception of Quebec) (see explanation below);
Isle of Man;
Faroe Islands;
Guernsey;
Israel;
Japan;
Jersey
New Zealand;
Uruguay;
United States of America (see explanation below);
Switzerland.
For Canada, the adequacy decision only applies to electronically processed data covered by the Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
Concerning the United States, there is no appropriate level of protection for the country as a whole. The EC has adopted EU-US Privacy Shield. Companies and institutions can receive a certificate from the Privacy Shield. Personal data may only be shared with companies and institutions with a Privacy Shield certificate. On the official website (privacyshield.gov/welcome) there is a list of all certified organisations.
Sharing personal data with countries without adequacy decision
Your personal data can also be passed on to a country without the adequacy decision. This can only be done if one of the exceptions referred to in Article 49 of the GDPR is met. Article 49, paragraph 1, sub 'd' of the GDPR allows sharing personal data if there are important reasons in the public interest. Art. 49 paragraph 4 sets the additional requirement that this public interest is recognised in a law of the European Union or a law of the Netherlands that applies to the organisation responsible for the processing of those personal data.
To the IND, the Aliens Act 2000 applies. It states that the IND must keep records of foreign nationals. Another law is the Regulation (EU) 2019/1240 of the European Parliament and the European Council of 20 June 2019.
Exchanged of data with other organisations in the Netherlands and abroad
The IND must also be able to share personal data with law enforcement authorities, foreign authorities and within networks of immigration liaison officers. The IND only does this if those personal details are necessary for the following purposes:
implementation of the Aliens Act,
prevention and tackling of irregular migration, or
prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of migrant smuggling or human trafficking.
The AVG applies to such processing of personal data. This means that:
personal data must be deleted if they are no longer needed for the purpose for which they were collected or processed.
any exchange of personal data is limited to what is strictly necessary for the application of the Aliens Act and / or the Regulation.
How does the IND protect your personal data?
The IND has taken measures to protect personal data and prevent misuse. All persons who can access the data must keep this information secret.
Customers and employees trust that personal data are in good hands with the IND. Therefore, the IND protects personal data with suitable technical and organisational measures.
The IND has introduced the Government Information Management Baseline (BIO) for the protection of data in the systems. The technical measures that the IND has introduced to protect personal data, are in accordance with the BIO. The IND actively implements the BIO.
The IND has taken extra measures to protect your data at all times. Technology and processes have been adjusted. The IND also teaches its employees what the risks there are and how they should deal with them. The IND ensures that the risks are reduced and audits the measures.
How long will your personal information be stored?
The IND does not store personal data for longer than necessary for the purpose for which the IND has collected it. The retention periods are laid down in the archive policy. How long personal data are preserved, varies per situation and also depends on the purpose of storage. This period can be a few weeks to many years.
The Minister of Asylum and Migration (residence permits) and the Minister of Justice and Security has a duty of care (that is an administrative responsibility) to keep the archive of the IND in order and to ensure that there is access to the archive. It is stated in Article 3 of the 1995 Archive Act.
The Minister of Justice and Security has made selection lists. This is stated in Article 5 of the 1995 Archive Act. The selection lists state how long the IND must keep its archives and whether the IND may destroy an archive after a certain time.
The following selection lists are made for the IND:
Selection list for the repercussions of the actions of the Ministry of Justice in the field of Admission of Aliens from 1945, 20 November 2009, no. NA/09/3091 (Dutch Government Gazette no. 1754, 9 February 2010).
Determination of the selection list in the field of Nationalities for the period from 1945, 17 March 2003, no. C/S/03/705 (Dutch Government Gazette no. 86, 6 May 2003). BSD Nationaliteiten 1945 - heden).
These selection lists are published in the Dutch Government Gazette.
The archives of foreign nationals who remain for indefinite period are preserved forever.
From 1990, the archives of foreign nationals with a residence permit for a limited period are preserved for 15 years. The retention period starts on the departure date.
The archives of foreign nationals who acquire Dutch nationality are preserved forever. These archives are an important source of information for immigrants and their descendants about their arrival in the Netherlands.
These retention periods have been determined after advice from the Dutch Council for Culture. The selection list has been formally determined by the Minister of Education, Culture and Science and the Minister of Justice.
Managing director of the IND gives shape to the archive policy form
The managing director of the IND determines the archive policy on behalf of the Minister of Justice. This is stated in Article 14 of the Archive Decree and Article 3 under 5 of the Justice and Safety archive management rules. When drawing up a selection list, the managing director must involve the State archivist and an external expert. The final retention period is determined by considering a number of interests. Privacy is one of these interests.
Retrieval of file document from the period before 1986
The entire archive of the IND and its predecessors over the period from the end of the 19th century to 1986 was transferred to the National Archive (NA). Documents from this period can be requested by submitting a request via this contact form. A file number must be stated in this request.
Message for authorised persons and lawyers
On 25 May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became effective. This means the IND wants to handle persons information as carefully as possible. To do this we also need your help.
Do not send applications or documents that contain information on more than 1 (adult) persons
Persons details of customers should only be accessible by that person and not by others. This of course does not apply when the customer has a parent or legal representative.
Do your clients not object to sharing their personal details with other clients?
In that case, please add a declaration of permission to the application or documents. This declaration clearly states that your client gives permission to use these documents and, therefore, the documents may be added to the file of this customer. We do wish to inform you that Archive Law applies tot he file of the customer.
We thank you for your co-operation to be as carefully as possible with the personal details of our clients.
What privacy rights do you have?
Regarding your personal data, you have the right:
to inspect;
to adjust (rectify);
to delete ;
to have data processed to a limited extent;
to transfer data to another party.
You also have the right to object to processing of your personal data.
It is the right to view your personal data at the IND. Your family members may only view your file if you have given them written permission (authorisation). Parents and legal representatives may view the file of their children under the age of 16. Persons who are 16 years or older, decide about inspection (permission hereto) personally. The IND may (partially) refuse inspection of your own file if your inspection damages the privacy of someone else. Surviving relatives are not entitled to inspect the file of someone who has died.
Right to rectify
Do you think that your personal data are no longer correct or complete? Then you can ask the IND in writing to adjust the data. If we do not change the data, we will clearly explain why we don't.
Right to delete
You can ask the IND to delete (part of) your data from the file. If we do not delete the data, we will clearly explain why we don't.
Automated decision making
The IND does not use automated decision-making without human intervention. This means that an employee always looks at the case.
Do you have questions or do you wish to file a complaint?
Do you have any questions, do you want more explanation or are you not satisfied with how the IND handles your personal data? Then contact our Privacy Officer.
Are you not satisfied with the answer to your complaint? Then you can submit a complaint to the Dutch Data Protection Authority. This is possible via the website: www.autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl
The IND is an implementation organisation of the Ministry of Asylum and Migration (residence permits) and the Ministry of Justice and Security (becoming a Dutch citizen). The Minister of Asylum and Migration and the State Secretary for Justice and Security are responsible for the work of the IND. The Data Protection Officer of the Ministry of Justice and Security checks whether the IND applies and complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG). This official is formally the point of contact for processing of personal data within the ministry.
The legislation and our services are not standing still. We closely follow these developments and adjust our organisation as well and as quickly as possible. This can also have consequences for the way we handle personal data. We therefore adjust the Privacy Statement. For this reason, read our Privacy Statement regularly. We will inform you of major changes.
We updated this Privacy Statement last on 15 October 2026.
