Soon, one of our highly skilled migrants can welcome his partner to the Netherlands. Some highly skilled migrants come directly with the family while others choose to move forward to start working and already arrange some things in the Netherlands. What are the requirements to arrange visas for the partner or family and how does this process work?
Definition of a family
It is important to start with the definition of the word “family”. The Immigration Department (IND) releases a visa to the family if it can be proved that the family belongs to the knowledge migrant. If there is a marriage, this can be proved through birth and marriage certificates. If there is no marriage, it is possible to prove an exclusive relationship through other means.
Regarding children, they can be included in these procedures up to the age of 18. If there are children over 18, then it must be shown that an adult child is almost completely dependent on the parent(s). Finally, for combined families, it is important that there is formal consent from the biological parent(s) to allow the children to emigrate.
The process
Once the IND has given approval for both the knowledge migrant and the family, the family goes through the same process as the highly skilled migrant. This means, for example, making an appointment at the embassy to collect the MVV as well as collecting the residence permit from the IND in the Netherlands after arrival.
Once in possession of the residence permits, this completes the process. For the partner, the residence permit is also a work visa. On the back it says ‘work freely permitted’ which means that the partner is free from IND conditions such as meeting a standard salary and only allowed to work for or through a recognised sponsor.
Dependency
It is important to note that the family does depend on the highly skilled migrant. Should the relationship with the highly skilled migrant and his or her family end, it may mean that the family has to return to country of origin. Therefore, we discuss this informatively with both the highly skilled migrant and partner when signing the employment contract.
Dependency can stop after living in the Netherlands for five years. Both the highly skilled migrant and the family can apply for a Dutch passport or a permanent residence permit. Both do require an integration course.
More information
Curious about the opportunities TailorMinds can have for you as a future knowledge migrant? Feel free to contact us. For detailed articles, please refer to the IND website.
