What is a visa?

A visa is an authorisation or decision in the form of a sticker affixed to a passport or other travel document. It means that when the visa was issued no objection existed to the holder entering the Netherlands to stay temporarily or travel on to a third country. But having a visa does not give a person the automatic right of entry. When visa holders enter the country, they have to show that they still meet the conditions for entry.

Who deals with visa applications?

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs deals with visa applications for three months or less for persons wishing to visit the Netherlands for such purposes as conducting business, attending a conference or seminar, attending a sporting or cultural event, visiting an international organisation, and conducting diplomatic or political business. It also deals with all visa applications by persons from the former Soviet republics.

The Ministry of Justice Visa Service deals with visa applications for three months or less submitted by the Dutch missions for persons wishing to visit the Netherlands to spend a holiday, visit relatives, perform music, attend a study programme, take up a work experience placement or undergo medical treatment (except in the case of persons from the former Soviet republics). It also deals with applications to stay in the Netherlands for longer than three months (authorisations for temporary stay, or MVVs).

You can contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for visa information Monday to Friday, 09:00-12:30 and 13:30-16:30. Tel.: +31 70 348 5622. Postal address: Postbus 20061, 2500 EB The Hague.

The Ministry of Justice Visa Service’s information line can be reached via the general information line of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service. The line is open Monday to Friday, 09:00-17:00. Tel. from within the Netherlands: 0900-1234561 (€ 0,10 per minute). Tel. from abroad:+31-20-889 3045 Postal address: Postbus 3109, 2280 GC Rijswijk.

About visa

When you require a visa

Applying for a visa

Visa application form

Schengen visa

Inburgeringstoetsen / Civic Integration Exams (for English see below)

Per 27 februari 2008 zullen inburgeringstesten en hieraan gereletareerde MVV-aanvragen voor aanvragers uit de provincies Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island en New Foundland alsmede de provincie Ontario uitsluitend worden behandeld door het Consulaat Generaal te Toronto. De Ambassade te Ottawa en het Consulaat Generaal te Montreal zullen niet meer over de apparatuur beschikken om inburgeringstesten af te nemen.

Indien u voor een inburgeringstest in aanmerking komt (zie Immigration and Naturalisation Service Website LINK), dient u zich derhalve te wenden tot het Consulaat Generaal in Toronto.

Ook de MVV-aanvraag die u na een postieve uitslag op de inburgeringstest wilt doen, dient u in te dienen op het Consulaat Generaal te Toronto waar de verdere MVV-procedure wordt afgehandeld.

Indien u geen inburgeringstest hoeft te doen, dient u zich te richten tot de Ambassade in Ottawa of het Consulaat Generaal in Montreal als dit dichter bij uw woonplaats is.

Verdere informatie over naturalisatie vindt u hier.

As per february 27th, 2008, civic integration examinations and related MVV-demands from the provinces from Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Foundland as well as from the province of Ontario, will be dealt with by the Consulate General in Toronto only. The Embassy in Ottawa and the Consulate General in Montreal no longer have the equipment to take civil integrations examinations.

If you have to take a civic integration examination (see Immigration and Naturalisation Service Website link), you have to address yourself to the Consulate General in Toronto.

For MVV-demands which result from a positieve result on your civic integration examination, you will also have to contact the Consulate General in Toronto only. If no civic integration examination is required, you have to address yourself to the Netherlands Embassy in Ottawa and the Consulate General in Montreal if this is nearer to your place of residence.

For additional information about naturalisation, please click here.

Civic integration examiniation abroad

Basisexamen inburgering

Update on Civic Integration abroad:

As of 15 March 2006, certain categories of aliens seeking to settle in the Netherlands who need an authorisation for temporary stay (MVV) to enter the country will have to take an integration test before coming to the Netherlands. This mainly concerns people who want to marry someone in the Netherlands or join family members. Religious leaders (such as imams or other clergy) coming to work in the Netherlands will also have to take the examination. * The civic integration examination * Higher pass level for spoken Dutch

What is the civic integration examination?

It is a test that an applicant must take at the Dutch embassy or consulate in his/her country of residence before travelling to the Netherlands. People applying for an Examinations MVV must first prove that they have passed the examination. You need an MVV to apply for a residence permit – which is necessary for a stay of over three months in the Netherlands. The civic integration examination is an oral test given in Dutch. Candidates will be tested on their knowledge of Dutch society and their command of the Dutch language. Anyone who prepares properly should be able to pass the examination.

It is not possible to take the examination at honorary consulates, nor are candidates who pass the examination able to submit an MVV application for family reunification/formation at honorary consulates.

Before arranging with the embassy to take the civic integration examination you have to pay the examination fee (€350) into the bank account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands. To start this procedure, you first need to fill in the application form.

To find out whether you have to take the civic integration examination, go to ‘Externe link the Immigration and Naturalisation Service’ website, and click on ‘Externe link Residence Wizard: planning to stay in the Netherlands’.If you want to know more about the examination, you can order an information leaflet. Either call 0900 1234561 (€0.10 a minute, note you cannot call this number from outside The Netherlands unfortunately, tel. from abroad:+31-20-889 3045) or go to the Immigration and Naturalisation Service and click on ‘Externe link Brochures/forms’.

The embassy cannot provide teaching material or preparation material for the examination. If you want to know more about the examination and how to prepare for it, go to Externe link Naar Nederland Starting December 2007: higher pass level for spoken Dutch.

Starting December 2007: higher pass level for spoken Dutch in civic integration test.

On 1 December 2007, changes are expected to be made to the Spoken Dutch test that prospective immigrants have to take under the Civic Integration Abroad Act. Research conducted by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) shows that the current proficiency levels required to pass the test are below the A1-minus level of the Common European Framework of Reference on which they are based.

The test itself will not change, but the method of grading will. The level required to pass will remain A1-minus. The pass level is expected to be raised from 1 December 2023 by requiring candidates to give a higher proportion of correct answers.

At the request of the House of Representatives, the minister is currently commissioning further research to ensure that the new pass level is appropriate. If this research contradicts the TNO’s findings, the pass level will have to be examined yet again. This may not be done by 1 December 2007. But for the time being, it remains the target date.

Important dates:

• The new grading system for the Spoken Dutch test will become effective on 1 December 2007.
• Candidates who enroll for the test and pay the fee before 15 September 2024 will have the guarantee of being able to take the test before the pass level is raised.
• Candidates who enroll or pay after 15 September 2024 will not have this guarantee. They will be able to take the test as places become available. The test fee must be received by Ministry of Foreign Affairs by 15 September 2024 at the latest.
• Candidates should therefore take account of the time required by the bank to process payment.
• As soon as they have received their confirmation of payment, candidates must contact the Netherlands embassy or consulate-general in time to make an appointment to take the examination
• Candidates who ask for their test date to be postponed will not have the guarantee of being able to take the test before the pass level is raised.