Guide to Bringing a Partner or Family Member to the Netherlands

Choose a route for each relative from the sponsor's current status - not nationality labels alone. A Dutch sponsor normally uses national family law. A Dutch citizen returning after genuine residence under EU free-movement rules may use the returning-Dutch EU route. Another EU/EEA/Swiss citizen proves lawful Dutch residence through genuine work, self-employment, study with insurance/resources or sufficient resources, then a non-EU relative applies for verification against EU law. A regular non-EU permit holder uses the national partner/child route unless a long-term-EU, Blue Card, researcher, Turkish-association or other special rule applies.

Map asylum sponsors separately: Convention refugee, subsidiary protection, and an unaccompanied minor who qualified before adulthood. Add Dutch-minor-child/Chavez, Article 8 ECHR, retained EU rights and Withdrawal Agreement where facts support them. These are not interchangeable fallback boxes. Record eligible relationship, sponsor qualification, application location, MVV or facilitated visa, fee, income/housing, waiting rule, statutory decision period, work right while pending/after approval, and reporting duties.

For a regular partner application, the 2026 fee is €254 and the legal decision period is 90 days. From 1 July through 31 December 2026, the sponsor's partner threshold is €2,337 gross SV salary monthly without holiday allowance or €2,523.96 with it. A regular child under 18 is generally €85. A Chavez application is €85. Verification under EU law costs €85 for an adult and €46 for a child and has a six-month decision period. Fees, exemptions and income amounts change, so link the exact live IND branch.

Do not assume national income/integration requirements simply disappear under EU law. The Union sponsor must actually have lawful residence; a non-working sponsor may need sufficient resources and health cover. Direct family includes spouse/registered partner and qualifying descendants/ascendants; an unmarried durable partner and dependent extended family require branch-specific proof. A Dutch citizen uses EU law only after genuine qualifying free movement or another recognised EU-law basis.

Create one selector page per person with the evidence supporting and contradicting the route. If two routes appear possible, compare protection, fee, entry, work, dependency and consequences of separation before filing. Never select asylum family reunification just because a sponsor once sought asylum, or national partner simply because the couple is married. Use the current decision/card wording, residence history and relationship facts.

For a national-law partner route, confirm sponsor status, any one-year prior-residence waiting rule, both partners' ages where relevant, shared Dutch address, exclusive and lasting relationship, public-order conditions and sponsor declaration. Married, registered and unmarried partners use different evidence but all facts must be genuine. For a child, prove age, legal parentage, custody, consent of the non-moving parent and actual family relationship. Do not manufacture chat logs or submit intimate material unrelated to the legal test.

Test income as independent, sufficient and sustainable, not merely a current bank balance. From 1 July–31 December 2026 the regular partner amount is €2,337 gross SV wage without holiday allowance or €2,523.96 with it. Match payslips, contract, employer statement and UWV payroll record. A permanent contract is different from a short fixed term; flexible/on-call work may need history and future availability; self-employed income requires tax accounts and the IND's specified period. Some benefits qualify and others do not. Apply exact exemptions for age, permanent incapacity or route rather than asserting that every benefit or sponsor is exempt.

For EU law, prove the Union citizen's genuine and effective work or alternative lawful-residence basis, insurance and resources where required. For an unmarried partner, document durable relationship through cohabitation, shared finances, travel, children or other objective continuity. Direct descendants under 21 have different dependency treatment from older descendants; dependent parents and extended relatives must show real material or personal-care dependency, household membership or serious health need as the branch requires. Returning Dutch sponsors document genuine joint residence in the other Member State, normally with housing, bills, insurance, work and day-to-day transactions - not a paper address.

Build a proportionate relationship file: timeline; civil records; visits/cohabitation; shared household/financial responsibilities; communications samples across time; children/care; future plan; explanations for periods apart, cultural naming or missing records. Obtain the other parent's valid consent/custody evidence for a moving child. Translate and legalise only according to the issuing-country checker and IND checklist. Alternative evidence, interview or DNA can be considered where official records are unavailable; never pay an unofficial fixer.

Budget per person: IND/visa/exam, passport, certificates, apostille/legalisation, sworn translation, embassy travel/hotel, biometrics/photo, courier, flight, insurance, TB, registration and housing setup. Record who pays and what is refundable. Regular application fees are generally not refunded merely because IND refuses. Keep a relationship-evidence minimisation log: why each sensitive item is necessary, consent to share, secure transfer and retention. If domestic violence, coercion or abandonment exists, prioritise safety and obtain specialist advice about independent/continued residence before the sponsor withdraws support.

Determine whether the relative needs an MVV. National partner applicants from MVV-required nationalities generally pass the Basic Civic Integration Examination Abroad before the combined MVV/residence application unless a statutory exemption or medical dispensation applies. The 2026 full exam costs €150: €50 each for Knowledge of Dutch Society, Reading A1 and Speaking A1. The official digital self-study package is free; a physical package is €25. Results take up to eight weeks, failed components are retaken/paid separately, and after passing all components the MVV application must be filed within one year.

Register with DUO, pay through the official process, then book the specified embassy/consulate. For disability or illness, use the IND dispensation evidence process before assuming absence excuses the exam. Check nationality, age, permit and family-route exemptions exactly. A pending national application does not itself grant permission to enter, reside or work; wait abroad unless the route and current lawful stay clearly allow otherwise.

After a positive national partner decision, make the embassy appointment within three months. The passport must generally have at least six months' validity when the sticker is placed. Provide biometrics/photo, collect the MVV and travel within its 90-day validity. Confirm transit visa, insurance and whether the residence card is ready. Do not buy a non-refundable ticket before the sticker and details are correct.

Under EU law, a visa-required qualifying family member can request a facilitated entry visa with accelerated treatment and no ordinary visa fee when travelling with or joining the Union citizen and proving the relationship. After arrival, submit EU verification in the Netherlands; the adult fee is €85 and child fee €46, with a six-month legal decision period. Obtain the residence endorsement/sticker showing the pending position and work wording. An EU-family residence document permits work without TWV, but do not rely on a generic receipt: show the employer the actual document/endorsement.

For regular permits, work rights depend on the sponsor and the card wording; a family member of a Dutch sponsor often has free labour-market access, while another sponsor route can differ. Read the back of the card before work starts. Keep proof of lawful stay during processing and ask IND before foreign travel; a pending application does not guarantee re-entry. If a relationship, sponsor employment or lawful EU basis changes while pending, report and obtain advice rather than concealing it.

Use the live IND online questionnaire/form for the selected route and generate a file index. Core items are passports, sponsor status, civil/relationship/custody evidence, legalisation/translation, income or EU-law residence proof, address/housing where required, antecedents and TB declarations, and route-specific appendices with original signatures. An institution, lawyer or sponsor submits only where the route says so. Pay online applications through iDEAL/Wero or follow the IND payment letter; never transfer a fee to an agent's private account.

For regular partnership, reconcile 12 months of payslips/bank credits where relevant, contract duration, employer statement and benefit/self-employment evidence against the current income rules. For EU verification, show the Union citizen's lawful Dutch basis and exact family branch. For children, include custody and non-moving-parent consent. For a returning Dutch citizen, document at least the required genuine residence together in the other EU/EEA country or Switzerland with lease, paid bills, insurance, work, travel and everyday account activity.

Create an evidence table: requirement, document, issuer, date, translation/legalisation, file name and explanation. Foreign civil documents normally need to be in Dutch, English, French or German and follow the country-specific legalisation checker; EU public-document exemptions and multilingual forms can apply. Do not submit every message or an entire phone backup. Select representative evidence across the relationship, redact unrelated third-party data where acceptable and preserve originals.

Budget each member separately. Example regular partner: €254 IND plus €150 full exam, €25 optional physical study pack, passport/certificates, translation/legalisation, embassy travel/accommodation, photo, courier, flight, insurance and first housing costs. A child commonly has €85 IND, but documents/travel remain. EU verification is €85 adult/€46 child and facilitated visa should not carry the ordinary visa fee. Asylum-family and Article 8 branches have different fee rules; verify the exact form before paying. DNA is not a private shortcut - use it only through the authorised process.

After submission, save the full form, attachments, payment, delivery confirmation and IND case number. Track the statutory clock and every request-for-information deadline. Answer exactly, explain unavailable evidence and request a reasonable extension before expiry if supported; do not silently miss it. Correct interview minutes or factual mistakes promptly in writing. Calls do not change the file unless confirmed.

If IND is late, use the current notice-of-default/appeal route only after checking whether the legal period was extended or suspended. For refusal, follow the objection deadline printed in the decision - often four weeks, but never assume - and verify whether the person may wait in the Netherlands. Request the file, address each refusal ground and obtain immigration-law help; an informal reconsideration request does not preserve the deadline.

First identify the sponsor's status from the decision or card. For decisions before 12 June 2026, Article 29(1)(a) means refugee and 29(1)(b) subsidiary protection. For later decisions, the back of the card states vluchteling or subsidiair beschermde. Do not infer status from nationality or the general word “asylum”. If the decision has disappeared from My IND, call the asylum-family information line and obtain confirmation.

A refugee generally files the designated asylum-family application within three months of the positive asylum decision, even if a relative is missing or documents are incomplete; preserve the filing date and explain gaps. Under the post-12-June law, the listed core route covers a married partner and biological/adopted children under 18, plus the specific parents/minor-siblings branch where the sponsor was an unaccompanied minor during the asylum application. Other relatives, including an unmarried partner, adult child or foster child, now generally require the separate Article 8 ECHR assessment and rare-case proof.

A subsidiary-protection sponsor faces three additional requirements: sufficient independent long-term income, suitable housing, and a two-year waiting period from the positive asylum decision until IND decides the family application. If less than two years have elapsed at decision, refusal can follow. The live IND form/page determines what housing and income documents to provide. For a sponsor who was an unaccompanied minor during the asylum application, IND states only the waiting requirement applies. Obtain specialist advice on child-aging and family-composition timing.

The 2026 reform is being applied by IND to many applications and objections pending before 12 June, including the narrowed family definition and subsidiary conditions. IND has processed a small test cohort and temporarily paused affected decisions while courts consider retroactive application. This is active legal uncertainty, not permission to miss a deadline. Preserve original application date/status, monitor the live IND waiting page and seek a specialist lawyer for a pending or refused affected case.

Use form B07009E for the listed refugee route, B07010E for subsidiary protection, and B07011E/online Article 8 route for other relatives as currently directed. Submit identity, original relationship proof, custody/consent and age-specific declarations/questionnaires; explain unobtainable documents. IND may interview or arrange DNA through safeguards. Do not buy private DNA or forged civil records.

The legal decision period is nine months, but the live start-month queue can be much longer before substantive handling and affected cohorts may be paused. The current asylum-family route generally costs no fee for the designated asylum route, while an Article 8 application may list €254 adult/€85 child or an applicable exemption. After approval, collect the MVV within three months (ask about a permitted extension where live rules allow), travel within 90 days, and coordinate COA reception before travel if sponsor housing is unsuitable. Preserve every appointment and travel constraint.

Before travel, confirm the MVV/visa names, validity, passport, destination, sponsor address, insurance bridge, medicines and who will meet the family. After arrival, collect the IND residence document by appointment and check name, birth date, type, expiry and the labour-market wording on the back. Complete municipal BRP registration, BSN, and any required TB test - often within three months where the route requires it. Arrange Dutch health insurance from the legal obligation date or the correct alternative cover; register children at school and the household with a GP.

Work rights come from the residence document/endorsement, not family relationship alone. An EU-family document permits work without TWV. A national family card's wording depends on the sponsor; show it to the employer before starting. Record employment, housing and public-funds effects on the sponsor's EU lawful-residence basis. Apply for DigiD only after BRP/BSN works and keep IND letters and card scans secure.

Check civic-integration duties in the Netherlands through the municipality/DUO. Passing the exam abroad does not complete later integration. Record invitation, personal integration plan, deadlines, exemptions, course/exam costs and childcare/accessibility needs. Enrol children promptly and transfer vaccination, special-needs and custody records. Build a first-month budget for rent/deposit, furnishing, insurance premiums, food, transport, school, phone and document costs; immigration approval does not provide housing or income.

Report changes through the correct owner and deadline: address through municipality, sponsor/relationship/employment or other relevant immigration changes to IND as required, and income/household changes to Toeslagen, municipality and insurers. Keep proof. A separation, death, domestic violence, sponsor status loss or departure can create retained EU rights, independent/continued residence or humanitarian options. Get confidential advice before withdrawing an application, signing deregistration or leaving; safety takes priority and shelters/police can help in immediate danger.

At 30 days verify card, BRP/BSN, work wording, insurance, school, GP and TB. At 90 days verify sponsor reporting, income/housing conditions, integration, benefits and pending document corrections. Before any card expiry, apply through the exact extension/independent route rather than assuming family status renews automatically.

If the decision is wrong, use the objection deadline printed in it and determine whether waiting in-country is allowed. Correct card printing separately from challenging the legal decision. If IND is late, verify the statutory clock, pauses and notice-of-default route. For help, use IND's family/asylum line, RefugeeHelp or MyCOA where relevant, municipality, Juridisch Loket, VluchtelingenWerk within its current remit, and a specialist immigration lawyer; ask about subsidised legal aid and contribution. Calls and social-worker notes do not replace a timely formal objection.