IND procedures: how to prepare a strong residence permit application

The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst, IND) decides whether you can obtain a Dutch residence permit or Dutch citizenship, based on fixed legal conditions and the documents you submit. A strong application to the IND is one that fits the right residence permit category, meets every condition for that category on the day of the decision, and is complete when you submit it. Most refusals and delays come from missing or unauthenticated documents, an income that falls just below the threshold, or a permit that expired before the new application was filed.

The IND applies fixed statutory conditions, so there is little room for discretion when a condition is not met. If your application is refused, you can object, but for residence permits the deadline is only four weeks. Below we explain how IND procedures work, which requirements apply to the main permit categories, how to prepare your file and what to do after a decision. Law & More handles regular migration; we do not handle asylum cases.

What does the IND decide?

The IND decides on applications from foreign nationals who want to live in the Netherlands or become Dutch: residence permits for work, study and family, permanent residence, and naturalisation. It is an agency of the Ministry of Justice and Security (Ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid).

Its decisions are based on the Aliens Act 2000 (Vreemdelingenwet 2000), the Aliens Decree 2000 (Vreemdelingenbesluit 2000), the policy rules in the Aliens Act Implementation Guidelines, and EU law, such as the directives on highly qualified workers, students and researchers, and family reunification. Applications for Dutch citizenship fall under the Dutch Nationality Act (Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap). For the wider framework, see our overview of Dutch immigration law.

Not every permit is decided by the IND alone. A work permit (tewerkstellingsvergunning, TWV) for regular employment is issued by the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV). For a combined residence and work permit (GVVA), the IND decides after advice from the UWV. Short-stay Schengen visas are handled by the Dutch embassy or consulate abroad. For the steps to move here as a whole, see our guide on how to immigrate to the Netherlands.

Which residence permit category applies to you?

Your purpose of stay (verblijfsdoel) determines the category, and each category has its own conditions; the purposes are listed in Article 3.4 of the Aliens Decree 2000. Choose the category that reflects what you will actually do in the Netherlands: a permit for one purpose does not automatically allow another activity.

Highly skilled migrants

The highly skilled migrant permit (kennismigrant) is the most common route for professionals. Your employer must be a recognised sponsor (erkend referent) with the IND, and your salary must meet the income threshold. There is no labour market test.

For 2026, the IND applies the following gross monthly salaries, excluding holiday allowance:

• EUR 5,942 if you are 30 or older
• EUR 4,357 if you are younger than 30
• EUR 3,122 under the reduced criterion, for example for recent graduates of certain programmes

The EU Blue Card has its own threshold of EUR 5,942, or EUR 4,754 under the reduced criterion, and requires a higher education qualification. The thresholds are adjusted every year on 1 January, so check the current minimum salary thresholds before a contract is signed. The employer submits the application and, as recognised sponsor, must report relevant changes, such as the end of your employment, to the IND.

The permit is tied to work as a highly skilled migrant, not to one specific employer. If you change jobs, your new employer must also be a recognised sponsor and must report you as a highly skilled migrant. If you lose your job, you have a search period of three months to find a new position that meets the conditions.

Regular employment and work permits

For other employment, your employer usually needs a work permit. The UWV then checks whether suitable candidates are available in the Netherlands or the European Economic Area (labour market test) and whether the salary is in line with the market. This route takes longer and is harder to meet.

Employers without recognised sponsor status can sometimes still bring an employee to the Netherlands on another basis; we explain the options in our article on working without a recognised sponsor.

Study and the orientation year

For a study permit, your educational institution must be a recognised sponsor. In practice, the institution starts the application and checks that you have sufficient funds. During your studies you may work, provided your employer has a work permit for you, up to 16 hours per week or full-time in June, July and August.

After graduating, you can apply for an orientation year permit (zoekjaar hoogopgeleiden). It gives you 12 months to look for work, during which you may work without a work permit. A job found in that year can qualify for the reduced salary threshold for highly skilled migrants.

Family reunification

Your partner or child can join you if you, as the sponsor (referent), live lawfully in the Netherlands and meet the conditions for family reunification. The main conditions concern your income, the relationship, and, for some nationalities, the civic integration exam abroad.

As a rule, the sponsor must have a sustainable and sufficient income at the level of the statutory minimum wage. From 1 July to 31 December 2026, the IND applies EUR 2,337 gross per month, excluding holiday allowance, for a partner. Lower amounts apply in some situations, and the rules differ when the sponsor is a highly skilled migrant, whose family members generally follow the main applicant’s permit.

Partners must prove a durable, exclusive relationship; unmarried partners usually by showing that they have lived together or have a child together. Depending on nationality, the partner must pass the basic civic integration exam abroad at language level A1 before an entry visa (MVV) is issued.

Short-stay visas

A Schengen visa allows you to visit the Netherlands and the other Schengen countries for up to 90 days within any 180-day period. You apply at the Dutch embassy or consulate, and you need, among other things, travel medical insurance with coverage of at least EUR 30,000 and proof of sufficient means. The decision period is normally 15 calendar days and can be extended to 45 days.

A short-stay visa does not allow you to work and is not a residence permit. For a longer stay you need a separate application, and nationals of many countries must first obtain an entry visa (MVV) abroad. Our article on common errors in visa applications covers the pitfalls.

How do you prepare a strong application?

Start by listing every condition for your permit category and the document that proves each one. Then check that each document is valid, complete, authenticated where necessary and translated if it is not in Dutch, English, French or German.

Documents

Every application requires a valid passport. For most permits you also need documents that prove the purpose of stay, such as an employment contract, a letter of admission or a marriage certificate. Foreign civil status documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, must usually be legalised or provided with an apostille, depending on the country that issued them. Documents in another language must be translated by a sworn translator.

Many applicants must also sign an antecedents certificate (antecedentenverklaring), a statement about any criminal record. Some nationalities must take a tuberculosis test at the Municipal Public Health Service (GGD) after arrival. Keep copies of everything you submit and note when you sent it.

For family reunification, the relationship is often the weak point. A marriage certificate is only accepted if the marriage is valid and recognised in the Netherlands. For unmarried partners, the IND wants objective evidence of a durable relationship, such as a joint rental agreement, joint registration in the Personal Records Database (BRP) or a child together. Photos and chat records alone are rarely enough.

Income

If income is a condition, the IND checks whether it is both sufficient and sustainable. For employed sponsors, that usually means an employment contract that runs for at least one more year from the date of the application, or a history of sufficient income over a longer period, supported by payslips and an employer’s declaration.

Self-employed sponsors must show sustainable income through annual accounts, tax returns and a Chamber of Commerce (KVK) registration. Their income is assessed over a longer period and is more often the subject of questions. Savings cannot as a rule replace a regular income. Borrowed money, or an income that depends on social assistance under the Participation Act (Participatiewet), does not count.

Timing and fees

The IND must decide on a regular application within 90 days, and it can extend that period by up to 90 days (Article 25 of the Aliens Act 2000). Applications through a recognised sponsor are often decided much faster.

Apply for an extension of your permit before it expires. If you apply too late, there may be a gap in your lawful residence, which can affect a later application for permanent residence or naturalisation after five years. The IND charges a fee for each application, which is not refunded if the application is refused. Check the current amounts on the IND website before you apply.

Biometrics and collecting your permit

For most permits you must visit an IND desk or, abroad, the embassy, to have your photograph and fingerprints taken. After a positive decision, you collect your residence document in person. Your residence card shows your right to reside and, where relevant, whether you may work. Keep it valid and apply for a new one in time; more about the card and entry visas is in our guide on Dutch visas and residence cards.

What must you do after you receive a permit?

You must keep meeting the conditions of your permit for as long as you hold it. If they are no longer met, the IND can withdraw the permit or refuse an extension under Article 18 or 19 of the Aliens Act 2000.

Report changes that affect your permit, such as the end of your employment, a divorce or a move abroad. For highly skilled migrants and students, the recognised sponsor must also report certain changes to the IND. A sponsor that fails to do so risks a fine and loss of its recognition.

After five years of lawful residence, you can apply for a permanent residence permit or EU long-term resident status. Conditions include, among others, sufficient income and, in principle, a civic integration diploma. Pay attention to permit validity during that period, because a gap resets the count.

What can you do if the IND refuses your application?

For a residence permit, you can lodge an objection (bezwaar) with the IND within four weeks of the date of the decision (Article 69 of the Aliens Act 2000). After a decision on your objection, you can appeal to the court, also within four weeks.

The four-week period is shorter than the usual six weeks in Dutch administrative law, and it is strict: a late objection is declared inadmissible unless you have a good reason for the delay. If you cannot complete your grounds in time, submit a timely objection and ask for a period to add the grounds later.

In your objection, explain why the decision is wrong and add the evidence that was missing, such as a document that addresses the reason for refusal. The IND usually invites you to a hearing. Whether you may stay in the Netherlands while your objection is pending depends on your situation; our article on suspensive effect in Dutch immigration law explains when an objection allows you to await the outcome here and when you must ask the court for an interim measure (voorlopige voorziening). How to file an objection is explained step by step in a separate article.

If the IND does not decide on time, you can send it a written notice of default (ingebrekestelling). If the IND still does not decide within two weeks, you can appeal to the court against the failure to decide in time (beroep niet tijdig beslissen). Since 15 April 2025, the IND no longer owes an administrative penalty payment (dwangsom) for late decisions in immigration cases. The court can still order the IND to decide within a set period and can attach a penalty to that order.

For decisions on Dutch citizenship, different rules apply: the objection period is six weeks. More on that route is in our guide to the naturalisation process.

What should you check as an applicant?

Most refusals can be traced back to a small number of checks that were skipped. Go through these before you or your sponsor submit the application to the IND:

• Your passport is valid and every foreign civil status document is legalised or apostilled.
• Documents that are not in Dutch, English, French or German have a sworn translation.
• Your salary or your sponsor’s income meets the IND amount that applies on the date of the decision.
• Your employment contract runs for at least one more year, or you can show a longer income history.
• You file your extension before the end date on your residence card.
• You note the date of every IND decision, so you can object within four weeks.

What should you check as an employer?

As an employer, you carry part of the procedure yourself, and your mistakes affect the employee’s permit. Check these points before you hire a foreign national:

• You are a recognised sponsor with the IND if you want to hire a highly skilled migrant.
• The gross monthly salary in the contract meets the 2026 threshold for the employee’s age, excluding holiday allowance.
• For other employment, you hold a work permit (TWV) from the UWV or a combined permit (GVVA) before the employee starts.
• You report changes, such as the end of employment, to the IND within four weeks.
• You keep copies of the employee’s identity document and the permit in your records, as the Foreign Nationals Employment Act (Wet arbeid vreemdelingen) requires.

When should you involve a lawyer?

Many straightforward applications, such as a highly skilled migrant permit filed by an experienced recognised sponsor, do not need a lawyer. Legal advice is useful when your situation does not fit a standard category, when the IND asks critical questions, or when you receive a refusal with a four-week objection deadline.

Typical examples are a gap in your residence history, an income that depends on self-employment, a relationship that is hard to document, a criminal record, or an intention to withdraw your permit. In those cases, a well-prepared file is worth more than an objection afterwards. Our article on whether to apply to the IND yourself helps you decide. When you choose a lawyer, check that he or she is registered with the Netherlands Bar (Nederlandse orde van advocaten) and practises immigration law.

Law & More does not handle asylum cases. If you want to apply for asylum, the Dutch Council for Refugees (VluchtelingenWerk Nederland) can support you, and a lawyer is assigned through the Legal Aid Board (Raad voor Rechtsbijstand).

What can we do for you with IND procedures?

Our immigration lawyers assist applicants, partners and employers at every stage of a regular IND procedure.

• We determine which permit category fits your purpose of stay and list the conditions and documents it requires.
• We review your file, including legalisations, apostilles and translations, before it is submitted to the IND.
• We check whether your income meets the current IND amount and counts as sustainable.
• We draft the objection (bezwaar) and file it with the IND within the four-week deadline.
• We send a notice of default (ingebrekestelling) and start an appeal if the IND does not decide on time.
• We advise employers on recognised sponsor status and their reporting duties towards the IND.

Summary

• Choose the permit category that matches your actual purpose of stay; each category has its own fixed conditions.
• For highly skilled migrants in 2026, the salary threshold is EUR 5,942 (30 and older), EUR 4,357 (under 30) or EUR 3,122 (reduced criterion), excluding holiday allowance.
• Submit a complete file with authenticated and translated documents, and apply for an extension before your permit expires.
• The IND decides within 90 days, which can be extended by 90 days (Article 25 Aliens Act 2000).
• Against a refusal of a residence permit, you can object within four weeks (Article 69 Aliens Act 2000).

Frequently asked questions