Frequently asked questions

The IND does not provide information on the status of your application as long as a decision has not been made. In most situations, a (statutory) decision period applies. The IND can make use of the entire decision period to process your application.

Follow your application in My IND.

Do you not have DigiD? And has the decision period ended? Please, call the IND.

Have you applied for asylum and are you waiting for a decision? Find out more information about the processing of asylum applications on our page about processing times.

If you would like information on your application (requirements, requested documentation, decision period, letters sent by the IND), we advise you to check our website first.

If you have any additional questions, you can call us at 0880 - 430 430 (normal charges apply, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm).

Have you received a letter from the employee who is processing your application and do you have specific questions concerning this application? Then, you can contact the employee who is processing your application directly. For instance, if you cannot provide us in time with requested documentation.

You will find the direct phone number of the employee concerned in those letters (under ‘Contactpersoon’).
 

If you have sent an application to the IND, a notification of receipt will be sent to your home address.  You can follow your application in My IND. Does the application have the status 'received'? Then the IND has received your application.

An application that is submitted online usually is visible after a few minutes. Can't see your application after a few minutes? Then something is wrong. Please, don't call immediately. One of our employees will check your application. After a maximum of 5 days your application will be visible in My IND. A written application is registered in about 10 days. 

If you have lived in another EU Member State as a Dutch national, you have used the EU law to free movement of people. You may therefore be seen as a community citizen. You partner can apply for a residence document family member of an EU citizen if all of the following conditions are met:

• You have both lived in that other EU Member State.
• You have met the conditions of EU Community Law during the whole period you lived in that EU Member State. This means that your right of residence as an EU citizen has not been revoked due to for instance an appeal on social benefits.
• You have lived together for at least 3 months in that Member State. 

Read more on the page Dutch nationals and EU law.

​No, that is not allowed. In the Netherlands you are only allowed to be married to one person. That also means that only 1 spouse with his/her children is allowed to live with you in the Netherlands.

​This is possible. You have to satisfy all the conditions that apply to stay with family member or relative. You do not have to have lived for 1 year in the Netherlands before you can bring your partner over to the Netherlands. Because both of you live outside the country, you may travel together to the Netherlands as soon as the Regular Provisional Residence Permit has been issued.

​In general it is not possible to bring a child who has reached the age of majority to the Netherlands. Only in exceptional situations can a child at the age of majority receive a residence permit. For further information, contact the IND.

This is allowed if you and your partner satisfy the conditions for a residence permit for partner.

​Yes, but the new educational institution must also be recognized as sponsor. The new educational institution also has to notify the IND of your switch. Your residence permit remains valid.

Your residence permit for study after graduation will remain valid until 3 months after deregistration from your educational institution. Or until the start date of your orientation year. If you wish to stay in the Netherlands after your study you have to apply for a different residence permit. As a graduate you can make use of the orientation year for graduates. With your permit for the orientation year you have one year to find a job in the Netherlands, for example as a highly skilled migrant.

You can also apply for a start-up residence permit. This gives you one year to start an innovative company.

Do you have the possibility to do scientific research? Then, you can apply for a residence permit as a researcher highly skilled migrant or as a researcher under directive (EU) 2016/801.

Contact the IND. We can check to see whether we have received your application properly.

If the IND has not received your application, then we will deposit the money back into your bank account. Please submit a new application.

​Excess payments will be automatically deposited in your bank account. You need not take any action in this regard.

​If you want to save your application and complete it later, follow these steps:

1. In your online application find the menu button (upper left of the page)
2. Click 'Save'.

Often you will get a follow-up question depending on your browser/browser preferences.

For example, are you working with Internet Explorer? Then below on your screen you will see the text: 'Do you want to open or save the file?' If you choose 'save', Internet Explorer will normally save this file in the Downloads folder. The file is now in the Downloads folder. The saved file has the extension .tfa.

Now your online application has been temporarily saved on your own computer.

You can find the saved application using these steps:

1. Go to the website and click on the online application form you need.
2. Log in with your DigiD and sms code.
3. Click the menu button (upper left of the screen) and select 'Open'.
4. Click 'Select a file'. This opens the Explorer/Finder.
5. Go to the Downloads folder.
6. In the Downloads folder, select the .tfa file you saved before.

You can only upload PDFs with a maximum of 8 MB per file. Do not password protect PDFs for the IND. Read more about uploading documents.

Due to a technical limitation you cannot re-open a saved TFA file larger than 25 MB. You can prevent this by saving your application without uploads. Add the uploads when you re-open your saved application and are going to submit it. We are working on a solution.

​The purpose of the mvv is that the IND can check whether you meet all conditions before you come to the Netherlands. Therefore, it is not desirable for you to be in the Netherlands during the procedure. The IND strongly advises against it.

Do you have an urgent reason to be in the Netherlands during the mvv application? Report this reason to the IND before you come to the Netherlands.

Are you coming to the Netherlands during the procedure? Then this is your own responsibility. You also always need to collect the mvv at the Dutch embassy in your country of origin or the country of continuous residence.

You are not allowed to change your main residence. The period of time that you are allowed to stay outside the Netherlands depends on your residence permit. Find out the period you may stay outside the Netherlands with your type residence permit.

You can request a payment reference from the IND. Call +31 (0)88 - 043 0430 (normal rate).

No. It is not possible to pay the fees in installments. Your application is only processed when you have paid the total fee of your application.