How to apply for permanent residence in NL

After five years of legal residence you can ask the IND for a status that does not expire. There are two of them, and the IND handles both on the same application form: the Dutch permanent residence permit (verblijfsvergunning regulier voor onbepaalde tijd, permit type II) and the EU long-term resident permit (EU-langdurig ingezetene, permit type V). Both require five consecutive years of residence on a valid Dutch permit, civic integration, and an independent, sustainable and sufficient income. Neither is Dutch citizenship.

This guide is for non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals holding a Dutch residence permit. Different rules apply to EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and to their family members, whose right of residence is governed by EU free movement law rather than by this application: check the IND's pages for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens before using this guide. Before you do anything else, check whether your current permit is for a temporary or a non-temporary purpose of residence, because the IND states plainly that you cannot obtain permanent residence with a residence permit for a temporary purpose. Study, au pair, orientation year, seasonal labour, intra-corporate transfer, cross-border services, medical treatment, exchange, trainee, seafaring service as a crew member, temporary humanitarian grounds and residence with a family member who holds a temporary-purpose permit are all temporary purposes. You must also be registered in the Personal Records Database (Basisregistratie Personen, BRP) of the municipality (gemeente) where you live.

The IND issues two different permanent statuses on one form, and a third route exists for people who would rather become Dutch.

• Dutch permanent residence permit (onbepaalde tijd regulier)

  The national permit, type II. You need a valid Dutch residence permit for at least 5 consecutive years and your main residence in the Netherlands throughout, you must always have extended your permit in time, and only years from the age of 8 onwards count. A child can only apply from the age of 13, and only if they have held a valid residence permit since the age of 8. It is withdrawn if the IND concludes you have moved your main residence: more than 6 continuous months outside the Netherlands in a calendar year, or more than 4 continuous months outside the Netherlands in each of 3 years in a row.

• EU long-term resident permit (EU-langdurig ingezetene)

  Permit type V, granted under EU law. The absence test is stated numerically: across the 5 years you must not have been outside the Netherlands for more than 6 consecutive months, and not more than 10 months in total. Time on a study permit counts at 50 per cent of its duration. It is withdrawn after more than 12 continuous months outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland, or more than 6 continuous years outside the Netherlands but within them. The IND publishes a list of the EU countries that issue this status and the name each uses, but it does not set out on its own pages what the status gives you in those countries, so check the immigration authority of the country you want to move to.

• European Blue Card holder

  Blue Card holders have three alternative routes to EU long-term resident status. One is 2 consecutive years with a valid Blue Card in the Netherlands preceded by 12 consecutive months with a Blue Card in another EU country. One is 5 consecutive years of valid residence permits across EU countries, with at most 12 consecutive months and 18 months in total outside the EU. The third is 5 consecutive years in the Netherlands on valid residence permits while currently holding a valid Blue Card. Check the IND page for the exact combination that fits your history.

• Dutch citizenship instead

  Naturalisation is a different application and a different outcome. It also asks for at least 5 consecutive years in the Kingdom of the Netherlands with a valid residence permit and the civic integration exam at at least level A2, but you must be 18 or over and you must in principle renounce your current nationality, with exemptions. The IND must decide within 12 months rather than 6.

1. 1

   Check whether your permit purpose can lead to permanent residence

   The IND divides purposes of residence into temporary and non-temporary and states that you cannot obtain permanent residence with a permit for a temporary purpose: paid employment, work as a self-employed person, highly skilled migrant, European Blue Card, research, foreign investor and non-temporary humanitarian grounds are non-temporary. Study, au pair, orientation year for highly educated persons, seasonal labour, intra-corporate transfer, cross-border services, medical treatment, exchange, trainee or apprentice, seafaring service as a crew member and temporary humanitarian grounds are temporary. Two purposes are classified by whose permit you derive from: residence with a family member or relative, and residence as an adoptive or foster child, are temporary if that family member holds a permit for a temporary purpose and non-temporary if they are Dutch, an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, or hold a permanent or non-temporary permit. For the EU long-term resident route only, time on a study permit still counts, but at 50 per cent of its duration.

   Do this: Look up your current residence purpose on the IND's temporary and non-temporary purposes page and confirm it is non-temporary.

   Documents needed

   • Your current residence permit card, which states the purpose of residence

   Common mistake: People on an orientation year or a study permit routinely count those years towards five and are refused. For the national permanent permit they count for nothing at all.

   Official source

   IND · Temporary and non-temporary purposes of residence
2. 2

   Work out your five years and add up your absences

   Both statuses require at least 5 consecutive years on a valid Dutch residence permit with your main residence in the Netherlands throughout, and you must be registered in the Personal Records Database (Basisregistratie Personen, BRP) of the municipality (gemeente) where you live. For the national permanent permit only years from the age of 8 onwards count, and a child can only apply from the age of 13, having held a valid residence permit since the age of 8. The EU long-term resident route states its absence limits as numbers: no single absence longer than 6 consecutive months, and no more than 10 months outside the Netherlands in total across the five years. A small set of exceptions to the five-year term exists, for example for Belgian and Luxembourgian nationals, for (ex-)privileged persons and their dependent family members, and for former Dutch nationals or people who lived here for long periods before turning 18.

   Do this: Build a dated timeline of every permit you have held and every period you spent outside the Netherlands, then test it against both sets of limits.

   Documents needed

   • Copies of all previous residence permits
   • Passport stamps, tickets or employer records evidencing periods abroad

   Common mistake: The IND makes it a separate condition that you have always extended your residence permit in time. If you let an extension slip and applied only after your previous permit expired, the IND may find the five consecutive years are not met, so check your permit history for late extensions before you apply.

   Official source

   IND · Apply for a residence permit for long-term EU residents
3. 3

   Pass the civic integration exam or claim an exemption

   For a permanent regular permit, an EU long-term resident permit or a non-temporary humanitarian permit you normally need a civic integration diploma (inburgeringsdiploma), obtained by passing the civic integration examination. The IND states the A2 level on its permanent residence permit page; the EU long-term resident page states the civic integration condition without naming a level. The IND lists grounds for exemption or dispensation, including already holding the diploma, holding the Civic Integration Act 2021 (Wi 2021) certificate, Belgian or Luxembourg nationality, being under 18 or of statutory pensionable age or older, having lived in the Netherlands for 8 years or more during your school-age years, a document exemption, medical grounds, being able to prove you are sufficiently integrated, and particular individual circumstances. Each ground has to be claimed on the IND's appendix, with evidence.

   Do this: Either book and pass the civic integration examination, or complete the IND's exemption appendix with your supporting evidence.

   Documents needed

   • Civic integration diploma or Wi 2021 certificate
   • The IND appendix requesting exemption or dispensation, with evidence

   Cost

   The IND does not publish the cost of the civic integration examination and refers applicants to inburgeren.nl for information about the exam

   Processing time

   Allow several months if you still need to sit the examination.

   Common mistake: An exemption is not automatic because you think you qualify. You must submit the formal appendix with evidence, or the IND assesses you as not having met the requirement.

   Official source

   IND · Permanent residence permit: conditions including civic integration at level A2
4. 4

   Evidence an independent, sustainable and sufficient income

   The IND applies three separate tests: income is independent if you pay tax and national insurance contributions on it, sustainable if you receive it long enough, and sufficient if it reaches the required amount (normbedrag) the IND publishes and updates twice a year, measured as gross SV salary. For applications for a permanent residence permit or EU long-term resident permit, the amounts valid from 1 July 2026 up to and including 31 December 2026 are €1,635.90 per month excluding holiday allowance, or €1,766.77 including holiday allowance, where you show your own income. The IND publishes exemptions from the income requirement for the Dutch permanent residence permit only, and states that these exemptions do not apply to the EU long-term resident permit. They include holding a residence permit for 10 or more years continuously, and three grounds based on having lived in the Netherlands since birth, since before the age of 3, or as a minor with your parents, so if you are applying for EU long-term resident status you must meet the income requirement in every case.

   Do this: Check the current normbedrag on the IND page and gather payslips or accounts that show your gross SV salary against it.

   Documents needed

   • Employment contract
   • Recent payslips showing gross SV salary
   • Annual accounts and tax returns if you are self-employed

   Common mistake: Benefits and other income you pay no tax or national insurance on are not independent income, so a household living partly on support can fall short even when the total looks sufficient.

   Official source

   IND · Required amounts income requirements
5. 5

   Submit the application and pay the IND fee

   The IND uses a single application for both statuses. You can apply online, logging in with DigiD and paying by iDEAL or Wero, or on paper using form 6009, which the IND publishes in Dutch only. The fee is €254 for an adult, €85 for an applicant under 18 and €85 for a Turkish citizen, with €46 for a Turkish citizen under 18. You also meet the requirements that apply to every applicant: a valid passport or other travel document, and an antecedents certificate from everyone aged over 12, with tuberculosis screening for some applicants, though long-term EU residents and their family members are among those exempt.

   Do this: Apply online with your DigiD from the IND permanent residence page, or post form 6009 to the IND, and pay the fee.

   Documents needed

   • Valid passport or other travel document
   • Antecedents certificate
   • Civic integration diploma or exemption appendix
   • Income evidence

   Cost

   €254 IND application fee (2026)

   Common mistake: The fee is charged for handling the application, not for a positive outcome. Applying before you hold the civic integration diploma or before your fifth year is complete spends the fee on a refusal.

   Official source

   IND · Fees: costs of an application
6. 6

   Collect the document, then keep your status alive

   The IND must take a decision within 6 months, and can extend that if the application is incomplete or further investigation is needed. If it is granted, the permit has no end date, but the residence document is valid for 5 years and you renew it every 5 years, from 3 months before it expires, with a decision period of 8 weeks. The status itself is lost if the IND concludes you have moved your main residence: for the national permanent permit, more than 6 continuous months outside the Netherlands in a calendar year, or more than 4 continuous months in each of 3 consecutive years; for the EU long-term resident permit, more than 12 continuous months outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland, or more than 6 continuous years outside the Netherlands but within them.

   Do this: Attend the appointment to collect your residence document, and set a reminder for the five-yearly renewal.

   Documents needed

   • The IND's letter about the decision
   • Your current residence document

   Cost

   €85 to renew the residence document after 5 years (2026)

   Processing time

   Decision within 6 months on the application; 8 weeks on a renewal of the document.

   Common mistake: A long posting abroad can quietly cost you the status. The national permanent permit tolerates far less absence than the EU long-term resident permit, so check which limits apply to you before you accept one.

   Official source

   IND · Main residency

• A valid passport or other travel document
• A completed antecedents certificate (declaration on criminal record), required from everyone aged over 12
• Your civic integration diploma, or the appendix and evidence for an exemption or dispensation
• Evidence of income: employment contract, recent payslips showing gross SV salary, or accounts if you are self-employed
• Copies of your previous residence permits or an overview of your residence history
• Evidence of any absences from the Netherlands during the five-year period
• IND application form 6009 if you apply on paper rather than online

• €254 IND application fee for a permanent residence permit or an EU long-term resident permit (2026)
• €85 for applicants under 18 and for Turkish citizens; €46 for Turkish citizens under 18 (2026)
• €85 to renew the residence document after 5 years; €46 for applicants under 18 (2026)
• The IND does not publish the cost of the civic integration examination and refers applicants to inburgeren.nl for information about the exam

The IND must take a decision within 6 months, and may extend that period if your application is incomplete or needs further investigation. Renewal of the residence document every 5 years has a shorter decision period of 8 weeks.

Requirements depend on your situation. Check the latest requirements with the relevant authority.

• Counting years spent on a temporary purpose of residence. Time on a study, au pair, orientation year, seasonal labour or intra-corporate transfer permit does not build entitlement to the Dutch permanent permit, and a study permit counts at only 50 per cent towards EU long-term resident status.
• Treating the two absence tests as the same. The EU long-term route caps total absence at 10 months across the five years and any single absence at 6 consecutive months, which is stricter and more precisely counted than the main residency test applied to the national permit.
• Assuming the income requirement disappears once you are settled. The IND wants income that is independent, meaning you pay tax and national insurance on it, and sustainable, meaning you receive it long enough. The 10-year exemption applies only to the Dutch permanent residence permit, and the IND states that it does not apply to the EU long-term resident permit at all.
• Leaving the civic integration diploma until after you apply. Without the diploma or a granted exemption the application fails on the merits, and the €254 fee has already been paid.
• Thinking permanent means untouchable. Both statuses are withdrawn if you move your main residence abroad for long enough, and the residence document still expires every 5 years even though the permit itself does not.

• Book the appointment to collect your residence document once the IND writes to you with the decision.
• Put a reminder in your calendar for 3 months before the residence document expires, so you can start the €85 renewal in time.
• If your goal is a Dutch passport, check the naturalisation conditions on the IND site and work out whether renouncing your current nationality applies to you.
• Tell your employer about the change of permit type: with either status you are free to work and your employer no longer needs a work permit, and the back of the document says "Free to work. Work permit not required".