To obtain a temporary residence permit, an application should be made for an MVV visa. Such visa allows to apply for a temporary residence permit once in the country of destination. If your future residence will be in the Netherlands, the application should be submitted at the Royal Netherlands Embassy. You will be required to submit certain authenticated documents. Please contact us for information about specific requirements.

The civic integration examination

As of 15 March 2006, certain categories of aliens seeking to settle in the Netherlands who need an authorization for temporary stay (MVV) to enter the country will have to take an integration test before coming to the Netherlands. This mainly concerns people who want to marry someone in the Netherlands or join family members. Religious leaders (such as imams or other clergy) coming to work in the Netherlands will also have to take the examination.

This requirement does not apply to MVV applications submitted to a Dutch mission or to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) in the Netherlands (through the advisory procedure) before 15 March 2006. Applications to take the civic integration examination can only be made as of that date.

What is the civic integration examination?

It is a test that an applicant must take at the Dutch embassy or consulate in his/her country of residence before traveling to the Netherlands. People applying for an MVV must first prove that they have passed the examination. You need an MVV to apply for a residence permit - which is necessary for a stay of over three months in the Netherlands. The civic integration examination is an oral test given in Dutch. Candidates will be tested on their knowledge of Dutch society and their command of the Dutch language. Anyone who prepares properly should be able to pass the examination.

It is not possible to take the examination at honorary consulates, nor are candidates who pass the examination able to submit an MVV application for family reunification/formation at honorary consulates.

Before arranging with the embassy to take the civic integration examination you have to pay the examination fee (EUR 350) into the bank account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands. To start this procedure, you first need to fill in the application form, which will be available here starting 15 March 2006.

To find out whether you have to take the civic integration examination, go to the Immigration and Naturalization Service website,  www.ind.nl/EN/index.asp, and click on 'Residence Wizard: planning to stay in the Netherlands'.

If you want to know more about the examination, you can order an information leaflet. Go to  www.ind.nl/EN/index.asp and click on 'Brochures/forms'

The embassy cannot provide teaching material or preparation material for the examination. If you want to know more about the examination and how to prepare for it, go to  www.naarnederland.nl.

FOR DETAILED INFORMATION WITH REGARD TO VISA REQUIREMENTS, PLEASE VISIT  www.immigratiedienst.nl or  www.minbuza.nl