Partner Visa Netherlands: Complete Guide 2026

The Dutch family reunification process is demanding, and documentation gaps cause delays. This guide summarises the IND’s own rules for bringing a partner to the Netherlands in 2026 and points you to the IND pages for details, because the rules and amounts change.

If you are still working through your own immigration status in the Netherlands, read the highly skilled migrant visa guide first. And once your partner is here, the complete guide to moving to the Netherlands covers the practical steps.

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Who needs an MVV (machtiging tot voorlopig verblijf)?

The MVV is an entry visa (a Type D visa sticker in your passport) for people who want to stay in the Netherlands for more than 90 days. With it you travel to the Netherlands and pick up your residence permit. You apply for the MVV and the residence permit at the same time, and the sponsor in the Netherlands usually submits the application (IND).

You do not need an MVV if you have the nationality of Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Vatican City, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Korea, Switzerland or an EU/EEA Member State. There are further exemptions in specific situations, such as holding a valid residence permit in the Netherlands, so check the IND’s list of MVV exemptions (IND, updated 6 May 2026). Even if you do not need an MVV, you may still need a residence permit.

The IND does not recommend staying in the Netherlands during the MVV procedure. If you have an urgent reason to be in the Netherlands, report it to the IND before you come.

EU and EEA partners

If your partner has the nationality of an EU or EEA country, or Switzerland, they do not need a residence permit to live in the Netherlands. A valid passport or ID card is proof of lawful residence, and they do not need to register with the IND. They are free to work, and their employer does not need a work permit (IND).

If they will stay longer than 4 months, they register with the municipality (BRP) within 5 days of arriving (RvIG). That gives them a BSN. See the BSN registration guide. The income requirement below does not apply to someone who has EU/EEA nationality, because they do not need a residence permit.

The income requirement for non-EU partners

For a residence permit to stay with a partner, the IND required amount is a gross social security salary of €2,337 per month excluding holiday allowance (€2,523.96 including it), valid from 1 July to 31 December 2026 (IND). The amount is adjusted twice a year. The IND uses the social security salary on your payslip, and also counts holiday allowance and irregular income under conditions.

The income must be:

• Independent: you pay taxes and national insurance contributions on it
• Sustainable: you receive it for long enough. For a contract, this generally means that it is valid for at least another 12 months. For an application to stay with a partner, there are alternatives for shorter contracts, for example a contract of at least 6 months combined with sufficient average income in the last 12 months or 3 years
• Sufficient: at least the required amount

Self-employed income

For self-employed income, the IND treats income as independent if you earn it from legally permitted work and pay tax on the profit, and as sustainable if you have already earned it for 18 months at the time of the application. Check the IND page on income requirements for the evidence it asks for.

The Civic Integration Exam Abroad

Before you apply for an MVV to live with a partner, you must first pass the Civic Integration Exam Abroad (Basisexamen inburgering buitenland), a test about Dutch language and culture, unless an exemption applies (IND, updated 7 May 2026).

• You register with DUO first, then contact the Dutch embassy or consulate in the country where you want to take the exam
• You receive the result from DUO within 8 weeks. If you did not pass all sections, you resit only the sections you failed and pay for them again
• The result is valid for 1 year, so apply for the MVV within 1 year of passing

Who is exempt

The IND lists these exemptions, among others: you are under 18, you have reached state pension age, you have the nationality of an EU/EEA country, Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Vatican City, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Korea or Switzerland, or you apply for a residence permit to stay with a family member who has a residence permit for a temporary residence purpose. Check the IND page to see which exemption applies to your partner. See our inburgeringsexamen guide for the integration system after arrival.

Documents

The documents you need depend on the application and on whether you are married. The IND publishes the checklist in its application form, so use the current form and check it for apostille and translation requirements before you start.

For a married partner you enclose a copy of the marriage certificate. For an unmarried partner the IND asks for a declaration of relationship that you and your partner have fully completed and signed, a questionnaire about living together, evidence of the sponsor’s income and an unmarried-status declaration from the country of origin that is not more than six months old (IND application form). For the sponsor’s income, the IND asks for evidence of income as listed in its appendix.

The application process

1. The sponsor submits the application to the IND. You apply for the MVV and the residence permit at the same time, and your sponsor in the Netherlands usually submits it. The IND fee for a residence permit to stay with a partner is €254. Check the IND website for the current amount.
2. The IND assesses the application. The legal decision period for a regular temporary residence permit, including one with an MVV, is 90 days, and it starts on the day the IND receives the application (IND). If the application is incomplete the IND can ask for more information, which can take longer.
3. Your partner takes the exam abroad if needed, and applies for the MVV within 1 year of passing.
4. Your partner collects the MVV and travels to the Netherlands. The MVV is a visa sticker in your partner’s name, and it is valid for all Schengen countries.
5. Your partner collects the residence permit in the Netherlands and registers with the municipality.

After arrival

Registration and BSN: if your partner will stay for more than 4 months, they register with the municipality (BRP) within 5 days of arriving, which leads to a BSN (RvIG). See the BSN registration guide.

Work: check the residence permit, which states whether work is allowed. For the wider picture of work permits, see the Netherlands work permit guide for non-EU nationals.

Health insurance: if you come to live in the Netherlands, you must take out Dutch health insurance as soon as possible and no later than 4 months after arriving, with cover from the day you arrive (government.nl). The average premium in 2026 is €157 a month. See the Dutch health insurance guide for expats and, for zorgtoeslag, the toeslagen guide.

DigiD: apply once you have a BSN. See the DigiD guide.

Bank account: with a BSN and passport your partner can open a Dutch bank account. Wise is an option for managing money in several currencies while you sort out your Dutch account: Wise.

Housing: see the finding housing in the Netherlands guide.

Health cover while the application is processed

While your partner is waiting abroad, they need cover for the time before the Dutch policy starts. SafetyWing Nomad Insurance is a travel medical policy on a subscription. It is not a Dutch basisverzekering and does not satisfy the Dutch insurance obligation once your partner lives in the Netherlands, and travel medical policies often exclude pre-existing conditions, so read the policy document if that applies.

Check SafetyWing coverage →

When to get immigration advice

Consider advice from an immigration lawyer if your income history is short or variable, your relationship documentation is thin, a previous application was refused, or your own permit has specific conditions. The IND’s own pages are the reference for the rules.

Bottom line

Bringing your partner to the Netherlands is demanding but manageable if you work methodically from the IND’s pages. Check the income requirement, the MVV and exam exemptions for your partner’s nationality, and the current application form, and plan for the 90-day decision period.