Family Reunification Residence Permit
For family reunification (partners of Dutch/residents) joining in the Netherlands.
The full Dutch Family Reunification Residence Permit process
Obtain or Renew Passport
Check your passport's expiry date before anything else: if your nationality needs an MVV, the Dutch embassy or consulate will only place the MVV sticker in a passport that is still valid for at least 6 months at that moment. Renewal is handled by your own country's authority and can take weeks to months, so start here rather than after the permit is approved. The same passport number then runs through every later step -- the IND application, the MVV appointment, biometrics, and collecting the residence permit card in person -- so if you do renew part-way through, tell the IND, and keep the old passport as well. No fee or processing time is shown for this task because both are set by your own government, not by the Netherlands.
Apply for Partner (family reunification) permit
Dutch/resident partner sponsors family reunification residence permit.
⏱ ~90 days💶 €254🔗 Official linkTravel to the Netherlands
Fly with the documents in your hand luggage, not in a checked bag: passport, and the IND decision letter or MVV if your nationality needed one. If you travelled on an MVV, it is valid for 90 days and you must enter within that window. Notify the IND of your date of entry before you travel -- your residence permit card is normally ready for collection about a week after that notification, so telling them late simply delays the card. Two clocks start the moment you land, and they overlap: you must register at the municipality within 5 days of arrival, and you need a biometrics appointment and then a collection appointment at the IND, both of which are by appointment only and can be booked out. Book them from your first days, not your first free weekend. No airfare is shown here because it depends entirely on your origin and the season.
Submit biometrics at IND
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkPost-arrival steps are part of the full flow. Start free to track your pre-arrival progress, then unlock the 19 post-arrival steps when you land.Collect residence permit card
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkSearch for Housing
Search on the Dutch rental portals and through agents, but filter on one thing above price: whether you may register at the address in the Personal Records Database (BRP). A room let by a landlord who does not permit registration cannot give you a BSN, and without a BSN you cannot get DigiD, a bank account, health insurance or a salary -- so "inschrijving mogelijk" / registration allowed is a hard requirement, not a preference. Have your document pack ready before you view, because good listings are taken within days: passport, proof of income or a guarantor, an employer or university letter, and recent bank statements. Expect to be asked for a deposit of one to two months' rent, and note that agency fees charged to a tenant for finding a property are not permitted. No cost or lead time is shown because rent is a market price and the deposit and fees scale with it.
🔗 Official linkSecure housing (residential address)
Signing is the step that unlocks everything after arrival, because the municipality registers you to an address and the BSN follows from that registration -- so what you actually need is not just a roof but an address you are permitted to register at. Before you sign, check that the contract names you as tenant, states the rent and the service charges separately, and that registration in the Personal Records Database is allowed; if the landlord refuses registration, walk away however good the room is. Read the notice period and the minimum term, and photograph the meter readings and the condition of every room on the day you get the keys -- that is your evidence when the deposit is settled. Keep a PDF of the signed contract: the municipality, your employer, your insurer and the utility companies will each ask for it. No cost or lead time is shown because rent, deposit and fees are market prices.
🔗 Official linkRegister at municipality (BRP & BSN)
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkSet Up Energy & Water Contracts
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkSet Up Internet Contract
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkOpen a bank account
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkApply for DigiD
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkActivate MijnOverheid account
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkObtain health insurance
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkRegister with a GP (doctor)
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkSet up a Dutch SIM card
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkArrange home & liability insurance
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkEnroll children in school
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkApply for tax allowances (toeslagen)
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkExchange foreign driver’s license
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkApply for child benefit (kinderbijslag)
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkArrange childcare
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkLegalise and translate civil documents
Have your foreign civil-status documents — birth certificate, and marriage or registered-partnership certificate — legalised in the country that issued them, then translated into Dutch, English, French or German by a sworn translator. Legalisation proves the document is genuine. For countries in the Apostille Convention this is a single apostille stamp from the designated authority; for other countries it is a chain of stamps ending at the Dutch embassy or consulate. Which route applies depends on the issuing country, not on where you live now. Start this before you travel. Obtaining a certificate from a civil registry abroad, having it apostilled and then sworn-translated routinely takes several weeks, and it is much harder to arrange once you have left the country. The IND will not accept uncertified translations or plain photocopies. Cost and processing time vary by country and by translator, so no single figure applies. IND also publishes a per-situation document checklist — generate yours and confirm exactly which certificates your case needs before paying for translations.
🔗 Official linkCivic integration (inburgering)
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkUndergo TB test (if required)
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official link
Track this journey instead of reading about it
Turn this guide into a personal checklist: tick off steps, keep your documents together, and always know what comes next.