Relocate Quest

Humanitarian Grounds

Residence permit on humanitarian grounds

📋 8 steps total✅ 2 free pre-arrival steps🔒 6 post-arrival steps

The full Dutch Humanitarian Grounds process

  1. 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.

  2. Apply for Humanitarian Grounds permit

    Apply for residence permit on humanitarian grounds (asylum or other humanitarian reasons)

    ⏱ ~180 days🔗 Official link

  3. Submit biometrics at IND

    Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.

    🔗 Official link
    Post-arrival steps are part of the full flow. Start free to track your pre-arrival progress, then unlock the 6 post-arrival steps when you land.
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  4. Collect residence permit card

    Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.

    🔗 Official link

  5. Register at municipality (BRP & BSN)

    Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.

    🔗 Official link

  6. Open a bank account

    Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.

    🔗 Official link

  7. Obtain health insurance

    Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.

    🔗 Official link

  8. Apply for DigiD

    Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.

    🔗 Official link

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Other routes to the Netherlands