Third country nationals

If a citizen of the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland is
living in the Netherlands, their family members who are not EU/EEA or Swiss citizens
also have the right to live here.

If you intend to stay in the Netherlands for more than 90 days, and you are a family member of
an EU/ EEA or Swiss citizen and you yourself do not hold an EU/EEA or Swiss nationality, you may
apply for verification against EU Law and request the issue of a certificate of lawful residence. To
request this certificate (document) you must meet certain requirements.

A family member could be a partner, a registered partner or spouse, a child, grandchild, parent,
grandparent or a relative other than the family members mentioned. You may apply for the
certificate of lawful residence (proof of lawful stay) if:

You are the spouse, partner or registered partner of an EU citizen.

Conditions

You are the spouse, partner or registered partner of an EU citizen.

You must meet the following conditions:

You are the spouse, partner or registered partner of an EU citizen.

You are not a risk to public order or national security

You have a valid travel document (for example a passport)

Your spouse, partner or registered partner must meet the following conditions:

He has an EU/EEA or Swiss nationality

He has lawful residence in the Netherlands

Documents
To apply for the certificate of lawful residence (proof of lawful stay), you will need the following
documents:

A copy of your passport or identity document

Proof that you are registered in the Dutch Municipal Personal Records Database (BRP)

Proof of a family relationship between you and your sponsor who is an EU/EEA
or Swiss citizen

Proof of lawful residence (an EU registration or a permanent residence

document) of your sponsor who is an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen

Proof of sufficient and long-term means of support to prevent a situation in which you
have to rely on public funds during your stay in the Netherlands.
 o Income requirements
How much do you need to earn?

Wml standard per Per month excluding

Stay with spouse / partner
month holiday allowance
Married couples and unmarried 1646,57 1524,60
couples living together
In the specific cases you should provide the following documents:

In case of a relationship, your application must be accompanied by:

o Evidence demonstrating that you are in a long-term relationship. A relationship is
considered 'long-term' when you have lived together and have run a joint household for a
period of at least 6 months. If this joint household is not run, or has not been run in the
Netherlands, you can prove this by:
o Showing that you have lived together abroad. This can for example be done by
submitting a registration at a municipality abroad, a tenancy agreement entered into by
the both of you, a house sales agreement in both your names, or bank statements in
both your names, or
o The Appendix 'Declaration of Relationship for Partner of EU National' filled in completely
and signed by you and your sponsor.

Costs
The application for verification against EU law (proof of lawful residence) costs money.
The fees must be paid upon submitting the application and will not be refunded if your
application is rejected.

Residence with a family member who is a long-term resident (5) - 156

Application procedure
You can apply for a residence document (proof of lawful residence) at the IND desk in your region
by using the application form 'Application for verification against EU Community law (proof of
lawful residence)'.

https://ind.nl/EN/Documents/5005.pdf

Before you submit the application you must first make an appointment by calling the IND via 088-
0430430 (local call charges plus any additional costs charged by your operator when calling with
your mobile phone). The purpose of your stay and the documents required for this will then be
discussed. An appointment will be made for you at a regional IND desk.

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Right to work
As a family member of an EU/ EEA or Swiss citizen, you will receive a proof of lawful stay with an
indication of work status which entitles you to work without restriction within all Dutch sectors and
industries. This means that with this proof of lawful stay you can work without a work permit in
the Netherlands.

More information on living and working in the Netherlands available

in various EU languages can be found here.

Validity residence document

You will be issued a residence document that entitles you to the same rights as your family
member who holds an EU/ EEA or Swiss nationality.
If your EU/EEA or Swiss family member has a residence document with an end date, your
residence document will be issued with the same end date.

If your EU/ EEA or Swiss family member has lawful residence, a document with a validity of 5
years will be issued.