Visa for the family

Recently, a highly skilled migrant welcomed his partner in The Netherlands. Some highly skilled migrants come directly with their families, while others choose to arrange formalities in The Netherlands first before family arrives. What are the conditions for arranging visas for the family and how does the process proceed?

Definition of family

First of all, the definition of the word family in this context. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) will issue a visa to the family if it can be demonstrated that the family belongs to the highly skilled migrant. This can be proven by the birth certificates and the marriage certificate. If there is no marriage, it is possible to demonstrate through another procedure that there is an exclusive and lasting relationship.

With regard to the children, they can be included in these procedures up to the age of 18. If there are children older, it must be demonstrated that an adult child is largely dependent on the parents. Finally, it is important for blended families that there is formal consent from the biological parent(s) who stay in the country of origin to allow the children to emigrate.

The process

As soon as the IND has given approval for both the highly skilled 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 pick up the MVV and collecting their residence permit from the IND in The Netherlands.

Once in possession of the residence permits, the process is completed. For the partner, the residence permit is also a work visa. On the back is stated ‘free from work’, which means that the partner is separate from the IND conditions, such as a standard salary and working for a recognized sponsor.

Dependence

It is important to mention that the family is dependent on the highly skilled migrant. It’s a situation that hopefully won’t happen, but nobody has a crystal ball. If the highly skilled migrant and his family divorce, it may mean that the family has to return to the country of origin. That is why we discuss with both the highly skilled migrant and the partner the steps to be taken if an employment contract is signed.

The dependence can stop after having lived in The Netherlands for five years. Both the highly skilled migrant and the family can submit an application for a Dutch passport or permanent residence permit. Both require an integration course and pass a language exam.

More information

Curious about the possibilities that TailorMinds can have for you as a future highly skilled migrant? Please feel free to contact us. For the detailed articles, we refer you to the website of the IND.