You may consider the following points before deciding to buy or rent a house:
The Civic Integration Act stipulates that most people from non-EU countries who immigrate to the Netherlands and live in the Netherlands must learn Dutch and understand how the Dutch society works. This is referred to as inburgering (civic integration). The aim of the Dutch integration policy is to have everyone in the Netherlands, including newcomers, feel a sense of community with each other and involvement with the Netherlands. The government wants people who settle in the Netherlands to take part in Dutch society regardless of where they come from or what they believe in.
The requirements and exemptions for taking the inburgeringsexamen (civic integration examination) are amended on regular basis, you should always check the latest information provided on www.inburgeren.nl/en.
For more information about this topic visit the ACCESS FAQ’s Learning Dutch for civic integration.
Whether you need a work permit depends on your residency status and nationality. Dutch work and residence permits are closely linked so your reason for moving to the Netherlands – for example, as a highly skilled worker, employee, student or family member – will determine what kind of permit you need to legally work in The Netherlands. More information can be found on the section ‘Work permits‘ of the ACCESS FAQ’s.
If you want to stay in the Netherlands for longer than three months and you are not an EU/EEA or Switzerland citizen, you need to apply for a verblijfsvergunning (residence permit).
To obtain a residence permit, you will need to contact the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst – IND). Please note that the requirements for a residence permit are dependent on your personal situation and circumstances. You will also find details on: ind.nl/en/stay-or-live-in-the-Netherlands.
Diplomats and international organisations’ employees obtain a special residence document, which is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken). These are for people who are working on Dutch soil as a diplomatic or consular official, or who are employed at an international organisation. They enjoy a special ‘privileged’ status, are not considered foreigners under the auspices of the vreemdelingenwet (immigration law) and are entitled to a special residency status by law. Check out the protocol guide for international organisations published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
If your children are minors, living here in the Netherlands and both of you die, then a legal guardian will be appointed by the Dutch court according to either a wish by the parent(s) stated in a will/deed or filed by them with the Gezagsregister (Dutch custody register).
This law will apply from the day you move to the Netherlands and become a resident. If you are not married, live together and have children, a will and a co-habitation agreement are recommended.
You can appoint a guardian in a deed drawn up by a civil law notary or in your will or by registering your choice of guardian at the Dutch custody register. The guardian who could be a family member or someone else is the person who has authority regarding minor children and he/she raises them and represents them. He/she also administers the children’s inheritance, but in case you think that this person doesn’t have the required expertise, you can appoint an administrator. You can also appoint an executor who will take care of winding up the estate on behalf of the heirs (e.g. taking care of the funeral, paying taxes, selling the house, etc.).
Marriage and registered partnership are both relationships formalised by law. The most important differences between the two kinds of arrangements have been eliminated. What remains is primarily the absence of a religious ceremony in the case of a registered partnership, and the fact that a registered partnership and its legal consequences may not always be accepted in other countries. Furthermore, how to dissolve a marriage and a registered partnership differs in that a registered partnership can be ended without the involvement of the courts if you have no children under the age of 18. A marriage can only be dissolved by a court.
In principle, as in marriage, all possessions and debts are generally shared jointly in the registered partnership, but different arrangements can be made by instructing a notary to draw up a pre-partnership agreement, similar to a prenuptial one.
If you plan to get married, you first need to notify the municipality. This is called ondertrouw (notice of intent to marry). This must be made at the gemeente (municipality) of residence of one of the partners involved. You need to do this at least two weeks before the intended wedding date and the wedding must take place within one year of the ondertrouw. If the one-year period expires, then another submission is required. Make an appointment with the ambtenaar van de burgerlijke stand (registrar) in the municipality in which you wish to marry or enter into partnership. The registrar will tell you which documents to bring for the meeting.
Furthermore, you will need to appoint at least two and no more than four witnesses. The witnesses must be 18 years or older.
Once the documents have been presented to the gemeente a date and venue for the ceremony may be selected. During this period the couple will meet with the official who will perform the marriage ceremony. In some areas, arrangements can be made with a marrying official for the ceremony to be held in English. However, the vows are legally required to be in Dutch.
The civil ceremony may take place in a gemeente other than that of residence but the municipality of residence must be informed so that arrangements for transferring documents can be made.
The ondertrouw is provided free of charge. However, there could be other costs involved such as an appointment at the ambtenaar van de burgerlijke stand and for various documents where costs are specific to certain situations. Please contact your municipality for more details.
The documents needed may vary depending on nationality, previous marriages and residence status in the Netherlands. It is advisable to find out well in advance what documents you need and whether they meet the requirements.
Usually you need to bring the following documents:
Documents from abroad that are not written in Dutch, French, German or English must be translated into Dutch by a sworn translator in the Netherlands. Furthermore, documents from certain countries must be legalised or provided with an ‘apostille’ stamp. More information about this is available on the Dutch government’s website:https://www.government.nl/topics/marriage-cohabitation-agreement-civil-partnership
The registered partnership provides almost the same rights and responsibilities as marriage and they both have similar steps.
If you plan to register your partnership, you first need to inform the gemeente (municipality) of the city of residence of one of the partners involved. This is called ondertrouw (notice of intent to marry). You need to do this at least two weeks before the intended date of the partnership registration which must take place within one year of submitting the notice. If the one-year period expires, then you need to resubmit another notice of intent to marry.
The documents needed may vary depending on nationality, previous marriages and residence status in the Netherlands. It is advisable to find out well in advance what documents you need to meet the requirements by contacting your local municipality. Required documents for both partners are similar to the documents requested for the marriage.
In the Netherlands, marriages may only be blessed by religious institutions after the civil marriage has taken place. It is up to the institutions to bless or solemnise the marriage. They are not obliged to do so. It is advisable to check with the religious institution of your choice.
Unlike a marriage, a registered partnership may not be blessed in a religious institution.
For every divorce element, different rulings determine which law is applicable. The most important divorce elements are: the divorce itself , child and spousal support, division of assets and property, children (parental authority, access rights) and pension. These rules are found in European Union regulations, conventions and the Dutch Civil Law. In most regulations, there are possibilities to opt for a certain law (for example on the divorce itself or the matrimonial regime), so be sure to get solid advice from a competent lawyer on this matter. Even if you share the same nationality, an international divorce will most likely incorporate aspects that may be subject to different national laws.
Sometimes filing a divorce in the Netherlands will suit you best; in other cases filing it abroad might be a better option.
If your partner has already filed for a divorce in any country, you cannot file for divorce anywhere else.
If you decide to file for divorce in the Netherlands, make sure that it will be recognized in your home country.
For two Dutch nationals, it is always possible to divorce in the Netherlands.
The Dutch Court has international competence when the two spouses live in the Netherlands, regardless of their nationality.
If only one of the spouses lives in the Netherlands and they don’t have a common Dutch nationality, the Dutch court is authorised as well, but in some cases it is necessary that one of the spouses has lived here at least one year. With ‘live’ is meant habitual residence. Only being registered in the Netherlands is insufficient to file for a divorce.
Once the Dutch Court is authorised regarding the divorce itself, the Dutch Court is also authorised regarding other divorce elements (assets, alimony, pension, etc.), except when it comes to children. Only when the children ‘live’ in the Netherlands does the Dutch Court have international competence. If not, the Dutch Court cannot make decisions about parental authority, access rights, etc.
