Residence with EU/EEA or Swiss Family Member
For non-EU nationals joining an EU, EEA or Swiss family member in the Netherlands. This route runs on EU free-movement law (verification against EU law), not Dutch national immigration law: there is no MVV, no income requirement on you, and no civic-integration exam. You apply from inside the Netherlands after you arrive, and the residence document is valid for 5 years and permits work without a work permit.
The full Dutch Residence with EU/EEA or Swiss Family Member 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.
Legalise 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 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.
Apply for EU verification (residence document)
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 8 post-arrival steps when you land.Get a residence endorsement sticker
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkSubmit biometrics at IND
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkCollect residence permit card
Detailed instructions, official links and progress tracking for this step are included in the full flow.
🔗 Official linkRegister at municipality (BRP & BSN)
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 linkObtain health insurance
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 link
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Turn this guide into a personal checklist: tick off steps, keep your documents together, and always know what comes next.