Practical guide to extending your Dutch student residence permit
(April 2004)
If you are a national of a non-EU country, and you are spending more than three months in the Netherlands in order to study, then you will need a residence permit. This is a little credit card-sized document which confirms that you may legally stay in the Netherlands.
It looks like this:
Residence permits for the purpose of study are valid for only one year at a time. They have to be renewed annually. The expiry date can be found on the front of your residence permit (‘geldig tot’).
About three months before your student residence permit expires, you will usually receive a letter from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) in Zwolle, advising you to renew your residence permit. This letter is about ten pages long and is written entirely in Dutch. In the subject line, you will see the words ‘verblijfsvergunning vervalt’, which means ‘residence permit expires’.
This practical guide aims to help you to fill in the form to renew your student residence permit.
Please note that this guide does NOT have an official status; it is purely a help tool. (See footnote on page 6.)
Downloading the application form for renewal
If you received the reminder letter from the IND, it contains an application form to renew your residence permit.[1] Some of your personal details will already be filled in on the first page of the form. The application form is also available for download on the website of the IND. You can then print it yourself. This practical guide is based on the blank application form available on the website.
You can find the form as follows:
Go to the following Internet page: http://www.ind.nl. Click on the first of the three buttons: ‘Verblijfwijzer’ (residence wizard). Then click on ‘Brochures’, and then on ‘Formulieren’ (forms). Scroll down and click on the form ‘Aanvraag verlenging verblijfsvergunning’. This is the application form you need. Print the form.
Explanations on the cover page
Waarom dit formulier? - purpose of this form
Note that this form may only be used when asking for a simple extension of your residence permit, without any changes (i.e., you must be continuing your studies, neither your study programme nor your educational institute may have changed). In other words, if you would like to apply for a different residence permit than the one you had, then you cannot use this form. Call the IND in order to ask what to do in this situation (phone number: see p. 6)
Hoe vult u dit formulier in? – how to fill in this form
The application form comprises fourteen pages. It may not be necessary to complete every page. Which ones you have to fill in depends on your situation. You should complete a separate form for each person whose residence permit needs to be renewed. Where applicable, you should therefore complete a separate form for your spouse or partner and each child.
Once you have completed all sections of the application form, you should attach the photograph and sign in the space provided. Enclose all relevant documentation with your application.
Kosten voor aanvragen – application fee
The renewal of a residence permit usually costs 285. Do not send any money with your application. When your application has been received by the IND, they will send you a letter asking you to pay. Attached to the letter is an ‘acceptgiro’, a credit transfer slip. To pay the IND, simply enter your bank account number in the space provided on the slip, sign it and send it to your bank. Alternatively, take the form to your bank or any post office and pay in cash over the counter. No other payment options are available. Your application will only be dealt with once payment has been received. If your application is refused, the money is non-refundable.
Hoe dient u deze aanvraag in? – how to submit the application
The residence permit renewal procedure can take a long time. The IND recommends that you submit your renewal application at least eight weeks before you current permit expires. Delays in the renewal process could affect your immigration status and, in the worst case, might even mean that you have to leave the Netherlands.
Adres waar u de aanvraag naartoe moet sturen – Where to send your application
Send your application form and all the required documents in a stamped envelope to:
Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst
t.a.v. de afdeling verlengingen
Postbus 7029
8007 HA Zwolle
[1] It may happen that you do not receive such a reminder letter from the IND, for whatever reason. Please note that it is your own responsibility to make sure that you have a valid residence permit at all times. So even if the IND does not remind you, you need to take action to have your residence permit renewed. |