Family reunification in the Netherlands: apply for an MVV through the entry and residence procedure

This guide covers regular Dutch-law applications for a partner or minor child who starts abroad. Adoption and foster-child applications use separate IND routes. Use the IND page for your exact route and seek qualified help for advice about your case.

Separate rules apply to asylum family reunification and verification under EU (European Union) law. A Dutch citizen returning under EU rights also uses a different route. This guide does not cover Chavez (residence with a minor Dutch child) or exceptional Article 8 cases under the EVRM (European Convention on Human Rights). Their conditions, fees and decision periods differ. For other routes, start with Dutch residence permits: choose the right route.

The relationship determines which application form, conditions, evidence and fee you use. Choose the row that matches your family member.

For an adult relative outside the partner route, check the IND Article 8 EVRM page (External site, opens in a new tab). It is a separate, exceptional route rather than a general way to bring any adult relative.

The referent (sponsor) signs the sponsor declaration. In a partner case, this is the Dutch citizen or residence-permit holder your partner will live with. In a child case, the parent is the sponsor, including when you apply for your partner’s child. If you apply for your partner’s child, obtain authorisation from the parent with parental authority. If the parent and child are coming together, submit their applications at the same time. The person in the Netherlands can apply online or by post.

The family member can instead apply for an MVV and residence permit from abroad (External site, opens in a new tab). They start at a Dutch embassy or consulate in their country of nationality or continuous residence (a country where they may legally stay for more than three months). Continuous residence can be based on a residence permit or a pending residence application.

For this applicant-abroad route, send the form and documents to the IND and pay within three weeks of the date entered by the embassy. Follow that route’s submission instructions.

For a partner residence permit (External site, opens in a new tab), check both passports, your relationship, the age rules and the plan to live and register together. Also check the sponsor’s status and any waiting period. Some temporary residence purposes do not allow you to bring a partner or child.

For a minor-child residence permit (External site, opens in a new tab), check that the child is under 18 and still part of your family. Also check who has parental authority and whether the other parent must consent. Use the child conditions as well as the sponsor conditions.

Unless an exemption applies, sponsor income must be independent, sustainable and sufficient (External site, opens in a new tab). The IND checks the income source, how long it will continue and its amount. Check that page for income exemptions and the rules for your income type.

The IND uses sv-loon (External site, opens in a new tab) (social security salary), the pay on which social insurance contributions and payroll tax are calculated. Find this amount on your payslip.

The IND income amounts (External site, opens in a new tab) below apply from 1 July through 31 December 2026. Compare the amount with or without holiday allowance on the same basis.

For example, in October 2026 a sponsor with monthly sv-loon of €2,400 excluding holiday allowance is €63 above the partner threshold. The IND still checks whether that income is independent and sustainable. The amounts change every January and July. Check the live amounts and income test when you apply.

Check the MVV requirement and the exam requirement separately. Certain nationalities do not need an MVV. The IND also assesses situation-based MVV exemptions (External site, opens in a new tab).

The Basisexamen inburgering in het buitenland (External site, opens in a new tab) (civic integration exam abroad) normally applies to an adult partner who needs an MVV. If it applies, pass before applying for the MVV. Children under 18 are exempt. Other exemptions and dispensations can depend on nationality, status, residence purpose or personal circumstances.

A full pass is valid for one year. After checking whether you need the exam, use the Basisexamen preparation guide for registration and study steps.

For saving your exam result, applying within its one-year window and checking inburgering (civic integration) duties after arrival, see After the basisexamen: MVV and inburgering steps.

Start with the document checklist on your chosen IND route. The documents below are examples; your checklist says which ones you need.

• Sponsor evidence: passport or permit copy, sponsor declaration and the required income evidence.
• Applicant evidence: passport, civil-status or relationship documents and an antecedentenverklaring (criminal-history declaration) when required.
• Child evidence: birth certificate, proof of parental authority and consent from the parent who remains abroad, when required.

Official foreign documents may need legalisatie (official check that a document was issued by the right authority). This can apply even when they are already written in Dutch, English, French or German. Check the requirements for your document and issuing country.

Documents in a language other than Dutch, English, French or German need translation into one of those languages. In the Netherlands, use a translator sworn in by a Dutch court. For translations made abroad, the original document and translation usually both need legalisatie.

Follow these steps to prepare and submit your application:

1. Arrange any required legalisatie and translation. Follow the IND translation and legalisation instructions (External site, opens in a new tab) for the document’s country.
2. Complete the application using the form for your chosen route.
3. Check that you have attached every required document.
4. Submit the application online, by post or through the applicant-abroad route described above.
5. Pay the route-specific fee following the submission instructions.
6. Save copies and the IND case number or V-nummer (foreign national’s number).

The legal decision period (External site, opens in a new tab) for a regular partner or minor-child TEV application is 90 days. The period starts when the IND receives the application. The IND can add several weeks, up to six months, to the decision period. The IND must notify you if it extends the period. Asylum family reunification has a separate legal period of nine months.

Check Mijn IND (External site, opens in a new tab) (the IND online portal) and the sponsor’s post for updates. Answer any request for information by the deadline in the letter. Keep travel and moving bookings refundable until approval.

The positive IND letter tells you where to obtain the MVV sticker. For the regular partner and child routes, follow these steps:

1. Make the embassy or consulate appointment within three months after the IND decision.
2. Check that your passport will remain valid for at least six months when the sticker is placed.
3. Bring the requested photo and passport to the appointment.
4. Provide biometric data (fingerprints and a signature) when required.
5. Travel to the Netherlands within the MVV’s validity period.
6. Make the residence-card collection appointment when the IND says the card is ready.
7. Collect the residence permit from the IND while the MVV is still valid.

The issued MVV sticker is valid for 90 days (External site, opens in a new tab). This is a separate period from the three months for making the embassy appointment. If no appointment is available before a deadline, contact the representation or the IND before it expires. Ask what to do; an extension is not automatic.

If you will live in the Netherlands for more than four months, register with your gemeente (municipality) within five days of arrival (External site, opens in a new tab). Arrange the appointment in advance. Register at your shared home address. An adult applicant must attend in person. As a parent, you arrange your child’s registration and bring the child with you.

Registration and residence-card collection are separate tasks. Collect the card when the IND says it is ready, within the MVV’s validity period. The gemeente gives you a BSN (burgerservicenummer, citizen service number) if you do not already have one. An existing BSN stays valid (External site, opens in a new tab).

Use the First 90 days in the Netherlands checklist for municipal registration, DigiD (External site, opens in a new tab) (digital identity), health insurance and banking.

If your application or decision says you need a tuberculosis test, arrange it with the GGD (External site, opens in a new tab) (Gemeentelijke Gezondheidsdienst, municipal health service). Do this within three months after receiving your residence permit. Exemptions apply; check the conditions on your IND route.

Your residence permit may also create an inburgering duty in the Netherlands. That duty is separate from the exam abroad. Check Who must integrate in the Netherlands? for the post-arrival rule.

If your income is close to the threshold, check both the live amount and the IND’s rules on how long it must continue. One payslip does not settle both questions.

If a certificate, legalisation or translation is delayed, respond to the IND letter by its deadline. If you cannot provide the item on time, use the contact instructions in that letter.

If the decision period has passed, check Mijn IND and any extension notice. Follow the IND late-decision guidance (External site, opens in a new tab) if the applicable period has ended.

If the IND refuses the application, you have four weeks to send a bezwaar (objection). Most other government decisions allow six weeks. The refusal letter gives the last date and explains how to object.

The family member or the sponsor can object. A lawyer can also object on your behalf. Any other adviser needs a letter from you that names them and says what they may do. Sign the letter and send it with the objection.

Three kinds of adviser can help with the objection. They differ in who qualifies and what you pay:

Het Juridisch Loket can refer you to an advocaat. If you object without one, you can use the sample objection letter on its website.

For a toevoeging, the advocaat applies to the Raad voor Rechtsbijstand (External site, opens in a new tab) (Legal Aid Board). The advocaat must be registered with the Board for immigration law. The toevoeging can be in the family member's name or the sponsor's. The Board checks that person's income and assets, and whether the case qualifies. For the application itself, the Board gives a toevoeging only in exceptional cases.

Free and subsidised legal help in the Netherlands gives the income limits and contributions. An immigration objection uses the contribution for most cases, not the higher rate for family cases such as divorce.

One example of a paid immigration adviser is Pathway Partners (External site, opens in a new tab) in Amsterdam. It helps with partner and child applications and with objections against the IND. Its advisers are juristen (legal advisers), not advocaten, so a toevoeging does not cover their fees. Its website is in English, Chinese and Russian. It lists fee ranges for applications and quotes the objection fee after assessing your case. Inburgering.org and Pathway Partners refer clients to each other.

The IND recommends waiting abroad while it decides your MVV application. If you have an urgent reason to be in the Netherlands, tell the IND before travelling and provide evidence. Permission for a short stay does not replace an MVV. Overstaying can lead to an entry ban, so keep within your permitted stay. Keep travel and housing plans reversible until the decision arrives.

Continue with the page that fits your stage:

• Documents to prepare before moving to the Netherlands
• BSN and gemeente registration in the Netherlands
• First 90 days in the Netherlands: arrival checklist