Family Immigration to the Netherlands

If you plan to bring your family, you must also apply for a MVV (Entry visa) and/or VVR (Residence Permit) for your family members. If you possess or are entitled to a Residence Permit as a highly skilled migrant or a scientific researcher according to EU guidelines, your family members will receive the same residence status as you. This means, among other things, that your husband or wife is also exempt from the TWV (Work Permit) requirement.

The following conditions are set:

• In case you and your accompanying partner (or a partner arriving later) are married or are registered as partners, you have to submit a copy of the legalised marriage certificate or certificate of registered partnership.
• In case you and your partner are unmarried or aren’t registered partners, you need a legalised unmarried status declaration. The unmarried status declaration must come from the country of origin.
• Your accompanying children (or children that join you later) are not older than 18. It is not easy to bring along children who are older than 18 years. Their application is evaluated/processed separately from the application for the other family members.
• You have adequate financial means to maintain your family in the Netherlands.

The applications for your family members also go through All About Expats. It is not necessary to apply for an MVV and/or VVR at the same time that your application is submitted, although doing it together is more convenient. Even if applications were submitted at the same time, it does not mean that all family members must come over at the same time. They can still choose between travelling to the Netherlands together with you, or at a later stage.

After receiving a positive answer on your MVV application, you have three months to pick up your MVV sticker from the embassy. Subsequently, the MVV is valid for three months for the purpose of travelling to the Netherlands.

Partners always receive a VVR for maximum of one year. Minor children always receive a VVR for the same duration as that of the parent with the VVR with the longest validity.

For registration in the BRP the birth certificates of the family members will also be required. A marriage certificate or declaration of partnership (no older than 6 months) is required to demonstrate a relationship with the partner. All official documents must be translated into Dutch, English, German or French and bear the necessary stamps (apostille, legalisation and, if necessary, verification).

The following documents must be submitted for registration in the BRP:

• A valid passport;
• Proof of legal stay, for example proof that an application for a residence permit has been submitted;
• A rental contract, evidence of boarding at an address or the title deed to ones house;
• Birth certificate (provided with an apostille or legalisation stamp and verified if necessary).

Legalisation makes documents suitable for use in another country. To legalise a document, the competent authorities sign and stamp it. Several different steps may be needed to complete the process. Most countries have agreements for this.  The steps you must take to have a document legalised vary by country. It depends on the agreements made between the Netherlands and the country the document comes from. Select the country your document comes from.

Step 1

A competent authority in the country where the documents come from checks that the document has been signed by the correct authority or authorities in that country. This is usually their Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After approval, a stamp or sticker is placed on the document. This shows the Dutch authorities that the document has been issued by a competent authority.

Step 2

The Dutch authorities check the document and place another stamp or sticker on it. This is usually done by the Dutch embassy, consulate-general or honorary consul in the country where the documents come. A number of countries have made agreements saying that not all these steps are required. Or that they are not required for certain types of documents. The Apostille Convention is one of these agreements.

Yes, Partners and children of highly skilled migrants will also be allowed to work in the Netherlands.

After giving birth to a child the following steps need to be taken:

• Reporting the birth to your municipality (within three days after the birth)
• Reporting the birth to your health care insurance
• Apply for a residence permit for the child

If your child is born in the Netherlands, he/she does not get Dutch citizenship automatically. According to Dutch law, the child gets the citizenship of the parents. This means that the parents’ nationality is transferred to the child. The country (place) where your child is born does not determine its nationality.

If your child is not entitled to Dutch citizenship upon birth, then you must apply for a residence permit for him/her as soon as possible. If your child has the nationality of an EU country or a country in the European Economic Area (EEA), or Swiss nationality then you do not have to apply for a residence permit.

Before you apply for your child’s residence permit, you must first register your child’s birth at your municipality. The municipality shall issue a birth certificate, which is recorded in the register of births, marriages and deaths. Your child is also registered in the Municipal Personal Records Database (Dutch: BRP). After registration you receive a BSN within a week. You will need the birth certificate in order to apply for your child’s residence permit.

You will need to apply for a travel document for your child (for example, a passport). For that you should contact the authorities of your country. If your child (and you, as the parent) cannot obtain a travel document, then you must substantiate this situation with the appropriate documents.

Subsequently, you would have to telephone the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) for an appointment. After you get an appointment, the IND will send you a letter specifying which documents you have to bring with you (for yourself and for your child).

If you have children under 18, the government will help you with the costs of bringing them up and caring for them. The money you receive for this from the government is called child benefit (kinderbijslag). The rules for who can get child benefit and how much child benefit will be paid are set down in the National Child Benefits Act (AKW).

The amount of your child benefit depends on the age of your child. You will get a higher amount when your child turns 6. The child benefit will increase again when your child turns 12.  If your child does not live with you because he or she is disabled, and you are faced with high expenses, you may be eligible for child benefit at twice the basic rate.

You get child benefit once a quarter. The first payment you will receive will be for the next quarter after your child’s birthday. In other words, your child benefit will start in January, April, July or October. The SVB pays child benefit after the end of each quarter.

If you adopt a child or if you have just come to live in the Netherlands, your child benefit may start at a different time.