नेदरल्याण्ड्समा पारिवारिक पुनर्मिलन: आवश्यकताहरू र प्रक्रिया

Family reunification allows your spouse, registered or unmarried partner and minor children to join you in the Netherlands if you are a Dutch national or hold a non-temporary residence permit. As sponsor (referent) you must in principle show sufficient and sustainable income, at least the statutory minimum wage available for one more year, and partners must both be 21 or older. The main exception: holders of a refugee status whose family applies within three months of the asylum permit follow a separate asylum route without the income requirement.

The IND decides on the application. Your family member usually needs a provisional residence permit (machtiging tot voorlopig verblijf, MVV) to travel. This page explains who can sponsor, who counts as family, the income and other requirements, the procedure and what has changed for asylum permit holders.

Who can bring family to the Netherlands?

Under Article 3.15 of the Aliens Decree 2000 (Vreemdelingenbesluit, Vb), a Dutch national aged 21 or older, or a foreign national aged 21 or older with lawful residence of a non-temporary nature, can sponsor a partner or child. For partners, both sponsor and partner must be at least 21 (Article 3.14 Vb).

If your own permit is for a temporary purpose, the family member’s permit is in principle granted only after you have resided lawfully in the Netherlands for at least one year, with exceptions (Article 3.15(3) Vb). For some permits, such as the highly skilled migrant permit, more favourable rules apply to family members; check the conditions of your own permit first.

Family members of EU citizens who live in the Netherlands, and of Dutch nationals who have used their free movement rights in another EU country, fall under EU free movement rules with different conditions. This page covers the national route.

Who counts as family?

Article 3.14 Vb names three groups: a spouse or registered partner, an unmarried partner in a duly attested durable and exclusive relationship, and a minor biological or legal child who actually belongs to the sponsor’s family and is under the sponsor’s lawful authority.

Unmarried partners must show that the relationship is durable and exclusive, for example with a joint lease, shared finances and evidence of regular visits. Same-sex couples are treated in the same way as other couples.

Adult children and parents are not covered by Article 3.14 Vb. They can only be admitted in exceptional situations of more than normal emotional dependency, assessed under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the right to family life.

What are the income requirements?

Under Article 3.22 Vb, you must have sufficient and sustainable means of support yourself. Sufficient means at least the statutory minimum wage including holiday allowance (Article 3.74(1)(a) Vb); the amounts change every 1 January and 1 July, and the IND publishes the current figures on इन्ड.एनएल.

Under Article 3.75 Vb, income is sustainable if it is still available for one year on the date the application is received or the decision is taken. A permanent contract or a contract running for at least one more year therefore meets the test; there are alternative rules for employees with a sufficient income history. Self-employed sponsors show their income with annual accounts and tax returns.

The income requirement does not apply if you have reached the state pension age or are permanently and fully incapacitated for work (Article 3.22(2) Vb). It also does not apply to refugees whose family uses the asylum route within three months.

Are there other requirements?

Partners generally have to pass the civic integration exam abroad (basisexamen inburgering buitenland) at a Dutch embassy, unless an exemption applies; under Article 3.71a Vb the exam must have been passed within one year before the MVV application. Your family member must also have a valid passport and must not pose a danger to public order, and in most cases must undergo a tuberculosis test after arrival.

Under current national rules there is no minimum housing size for family reunification with a partner or child. Your family member must register at your address in the Personal Records Database (BRP), and municipal occupancy rules and your rental agreement still apply.

What applies to asylum permit holders?

Since 12 June 2026, the Aliens Act 2000 (Vreemdelingenwet, Vw) distinguishes between refugee status and subsidiary protection status for family reunification. The asylum route (nareis) is most favourable for refugees.

Under Article 29c Vw, family members of a refugee can receive an asylum residence permit if they belonged to the family when the refugee entered the Netherlands and the MVV is applied for within three months of the grant of the asylum permit. The route covers the adult spouse and minor biological or adopted children, and, for an unaccompanied minor, the parents and certain minor siblings. A late application is still accepted if the delay is objectively excusable.

For holders of subsidiary protection, Article 29d Vw allows refusal if less than two years have passed since their asylum permit was granted, if they do not have sufficient and sustainable income, or if they have no housing. The income and housing conditions do not apply to unaccompanied minors.

प्रक्रिया कसरी काम गर्छ?

In most cases you, as sponsor, file the combined application for entry and residence (TEV procedure) with the IND in the Netherlands. If the IND approves, your family member collects the MVV at the Dutch embassy or consulate, travels to the Netherlands and collects the residence document from the IND.

Under Article 2u Vw, the IND decides on an MVV application within 90 days, and can extend that period by up to three months. Applications for family of asylum permit holders often take longer in practice. The IND charges a fee per family member, except in the asylum route; check the current fees on ind.nl.

तपाईंलाई कुन कागजातहरू चाहिन्छ?

• valid passports of the sponsor and each family member;
• legalised or apostilled marriage, partnership and birth certificates, translated where required;
• for unmarried partners: evidence of a durable and exclusive relationship;
• the employment contract and recent payslips, or annual accounts for self-employed sponsors;
• proof that the partner passed the civic integration exam abroad, or of an exemption;
• a signed declaration on criminal history (antecedentenverklaring) where required.

If documents to prove a family relationship are missing, the IND can offer a DNA test, for example in the asylum route. Incomplete applications lead to delays or rejection, so check the IND checklist for your situation before filing.

आइपुगेपछि के हुन्छ?

Your family member collects the residence document at an IND desk, registers with the municipality in the BRP at your address and, in most cases, takes a tuberculosis test. Arrange health insurance and school enrolment in time.

If the IND rejects the application, you can file an objection (bezwaar) within four weeks of the decision under Article 69(1) Vw; after the decision on objection you can appeal to the court.

प्रायोजकको रूपमा तपाईंले के हेर्नुपर्छ?

• Is your own residence non-temporary, or have you lived here lawfully for at least one year?
• Does your income meet the minimum wage standard including holiday allowance, and is it available for one more year?
• Are you and your partner both 21 or older?
• If you hold refugee status: is the MVV application filed within three months of your asylum permit?
• Do you have all certificates legalised or apostilled, and translated where required?

What should you check as the family member abroad?

• Do you have a valid passport, and do your civil status documents match it?
• Have you passed the civic integration exam abroad within the past year, or do you qualify for an exemption?
• Can you prove the relationship, especially as an unmarried partner?
• Have you booked your appointment at the embassy and kept your case number?
• Do you plan your travel only after the MVV has been issued?

What can we do for you with family reunification?

हाम्रो आप्रवासन वकिलहरु guide sponsors and their families through the IND procedure; see also our डच आप्रवासन कानून गाइडहरूको सूचकांक.

• We check whether you meet the sponsor, age and income requirements before you apply.
• We review the documents and the evidence of a durable relationship.
• We prepare and file the TEV application with the IND.
• We assess an application under Article 8 ECHR for a parent or adult child.
• We draft the objection (bezwaar) against a rejection and file it within the four-week deadline.

सारांश

• A Dutch national or foreign national with non-temporary residence, aged 21 or older, can sponsor a partner or minor child (Articles 3.14 and 3.15 Vb).
• The sponsor needs income of at least the minimum wage including holiday allowance, available for one more year (Articles 3.74 and 3.75 Vb).
• Partners usually must pass the civic integration exam abroad within one year before the MVV application.
• Refugees’ families can use the asylum route within three months without income requirement; subsidiary protection holders face extra conditions since 12 June 2026.
• The IND decides within 90 days, extendable by three months; an objection must be filed within four weeks.

बारम्बार सोधिने प्रश्नहरू