How to take the required TB test in NL

The IND attaches a tuberculosis test condition to many regular residence permits. It is an administrative condition on your permit rather than a health service you chose, and it is discharged by the GGD, the municipal public health service, sending a declaration back to the IND. This guide covers the process. It is not medical advice about tuberculosis, and the first thing to establish is whether the condition applies to you at all, because a large share of applicants are exempt by nationality alone.

Take out the IND letter or decision that granted your permit and look for what it says about the TB test. If a declaration of intent to undergo a TB test was part of your application, the condition applies to you. Note the date you received the residence permit, because the deadline runs from that date and not from your arrival, your application or your appointment.

The IND lists the exemptions on its requirements page. If any one of these describes you, there is nothing to arrange.

• Exempt by nationality

  The IND exempts holders of the nationality of a country named in its appendix on exemption from the obligation to undergo a tuberculosis test. The list changes, so open the current appendix on the IND site rather than relying on any list copied elsewhere, including this guide.

• Exempt by age or by birth in the Netherlands

  The IND exempts anyone aged 11 or younger, and anyone born in the Netherlands who has always lived here. Note the age: it is 11 or younger, not infants only.

• Exempt because of a permit you already hold, or a recent test

  The IND exempts you if you already hold a valid Dutch residence permit and are applying for a different one, and if you took a TB test in the Netherlands less than 6 months ago. Long-term EU resident status and certain family situations are also listed, with their own conditions.

• None of these applies

  The condition applies. You submit the declaration of intent with your application, and once the permit is granted you make your own appointment with the GGD and take the IND referral form with you. Nobody books it for you.

1. 1

   Check the exemption list before you arrange anything

   The IND publishes the exemptions on its requirements page. You are exempt if you hold the nationality of a country named in its appendix, if you already have a valid Dutch residence permit and are applying for a different one, if you were born in the Netherlands and have always lived here, if you are 11 years of age or younger, or if you took a TB test in the Netherlands less than 6 months ago. Long-term EU resident status and certain family situations are listed as well, with their own conditions.

   Do this: Open the IND appendix on exemption from the TB test obligation and check your own nationality against the current version of it.

   Documents needed

   • Your passport
   • Your current residence document, if you have one

   Processing time

   10 minutes

   Common mistake: The age exemption is 11 years or younger. Anyone repeating an older claim that it covers babies of a few months is describing a rule that is not the one the IND publishes.

   Official source

   IND · Appendix: exemption from the obligation to undergo a tuberculosis (TB) test
2. 2

   Sign the declaration of intent with your application

   Where the condition applies, the declaration of intent to undergo a TB test goes in with the residence permit application. The IND then grants the permit, if all the other conditions are met, on the express condition that you actually undergo the test within three months of receiving it. This is why the test is not something you arrange before you arrive: the clock does not start until the permit does.

   Do this: Complete and sign the IND declaration of intent and submit it with the residence permit application.

   Documents needed

   • The IND declaration of intent form
   • Your passport

   Processing time

   Submitted with the application

   Common mistake: If your sponsor files the application for you, check that the declaration went in with it. The condition still lands on you.

   Official source

   IND · Appendix: declaration of intent to undergo a TB test
3. 3

   Book the GGD appointment as soon as the permit arrives

   The test is carried out by the GGD, the municipal public health service for your region, and you make the appointment yourself. RIVM states that the immigrant makes the appointment with the GGD and that the IND provides the instructions and forms for the examination. Waiting times differ by region, which is the reason to book on the day the permit arrives rather than in the third month.

   Do this: Find the GGD for the municipality where you live and book a tuberculosis screening appointment, saying that it is for an IND residence permit condition.

   Documents needed

   • Your residence document or IND decision
   • Your BSN and address

   Cost

   What the GGD charges locally, which is not published as one national figure

   Processing time

   The appointment itself is usually under an hour

   Common mistake: Booking late is the common failure. The deadline covers the reporting as well as the test, so a slot in week eleven leaves no margin.

   Official source

   RIVM · TB screening policy for immigrants
4. 4

   Take the IND referral form to the appointment

   The GGD needs the IND referral form to report the result against your file. The examination is a chest X-ray in the ordinary case. RIVM states that the GGD issues a declaration to the IND confirming that the person has been examined, without disclosing medical data, so what reaches the IND is the fact that you attended and not your health information.

   Do this: Take the IND referral form, your passport and your residence document to the appointment, and check with the GGD that it will send the declaration to the IND.

   Documents needed

   • The IND TB test referral form
   • Your passport
   • Your residence document

   Processing time

   Under an hour at the GGD

   Common mistake: Arriving without the referral form can mean the GGD cannot link the examination to your IND file, so the test happens and the condition is not discharged.

   Official source

   IND · Appendix: TB test referral form for the GGD
5. 5

   Confirm the GGD has reported it, and follow up if asked

   The condition is discharged when the completed form signed by the GGD reaches the IND, within three months of you receiving the residence permit. If the GGD asks you back for a follow-up examination, that is part of the same obligation rather than a separate matter. Keep whatever the GGD gives you, because it is your evidence if the IND queries the file later.

   Do this: Ask the GGD when it sent the declaration to the IND, and keep the confirmation with your permit documents.

   Documents needed

   • The GGD confirmation or receipt

   Processing time

   Allow time inside the three months for the GGD to send the form

   Common mistake: Assuming the appointment was the end of it. The IND needs the signed form, and it is the arrival of that form inside the three months that counts.

   Official source

   IND · Requirements that apply to everyone, including the TB test condition

• Your residence document, or the IND decision granting the permit
• Your passport
• The IND TB test referral form, which the IND provides where the condition applies
• Your BSN and your address, so the GGD can identify you and report correctly
• Your health insurance details, if the GGD asks for them

• What the GGD charges for the screening, and whether any part of it is covered, is set locally and is not published as one national figure. Ask the GGD in your region when you book, rather than assuming it is free.
• Applying for the residence permit itself carries its own IND fee, which is separate from anything to do with the TB test.

The appointment is short. The lead time to get one is what varies, because it depends on the GGD in your region, so book as soon as the permit arrives rather than near the end of the three months. The GGD sends a declaration to the IND confirming that you were examined, and RIVM states that it does so without disclosing medical data.

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

• Assuming babies and small children are exempt because they are small. The IND exemption is 11 years of age or younger, and children older than that are not exempt on age.
• Working from a nationality exemption list found on a forum or in an older guide. The appendix on the IND site is the only current version, and nationalities move on and off it.
• Counting the three months from your arrival in the Netherlands, or from the appointment. It runs from the date you received your residence permit, and the signed GGD form has to reach the IND inside it.
• Booking the appointment and assuming that is the end of it. The obligation is discharged when the GGD's declaration reaches the IND, so allow for the post.
• Turning up at the GGD without the IND referral form. The GGD needs it to report the result back against your file.

• Keep the appointment confirmation and anything the GGD gives you, so you can show what you did if the IND queries the file.
• If the GGD asks you to come back for a follow-up, treat that as part of the same condition rather than as a separate matter.
• Check what else your permit requires of you, because the TB condition usually sits alongside other conditions such as keeping your sponsor informed.
• If your permit is coming up for renewal, note that the IND exempts anyone who already holds a valid Dutch residence permit and is applying for a different one.