Immigration

Immigrants in the Netherlands

The Netherlands, the most densely populated country in Europe, has a population of sixteen million inhabitants. More than three million of them have a non-Dutch background. Little more than half of these three million immigrants, i.e. 1.7 million people, is of non-Western origin.

The Netherlands and the five most important (non-Western) migration countries.  The majority of non-Western immigrants come originally from Turkey, Surinam, Morocco and the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba (people from the former Dutch Indies and Japan are considered Western immigrants). Together they make up 67% of non-Western immigrants. The non-Western immigrant groups are unequally spread over the country. Most immigrants live in the West of the country. While only 12.5% of all inhabitants live in one of the four major cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht), 40% of non-Western immigrants live there. For that reason, in cities like Amsterdam or Rotterdam, almost one in three people is of non-Western origin.

Spread non-Western immigrants in the Netherlands

 

Little less than half of all immigrants in the Netherlands (1.4 million people) have a Western background. These so-called Western immigrants originally come from other European countries (except Turkey), the United States, Indonesia, Japan and Australia.

Another way to classify immigrants is to describe them as first generation immigrants or second generation immigrants. First generation immigrants are born outside the Netherlands, whilst second generation immigrants are born in the Netherlands and have at least one foreign-born parent. There are several disadvantages to this classification or definition. A first disadvantage is that people who are born in the Netherlands, have lived there for their entire life, and are fully integrated will continue to be viewed as (second, third etc generation) immigrants. Another disadvantage of this classification is that it is very broad. Following this definition, even the current queen on the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Queen Beatrix, is a second generation immigrant. Even though Beatrix herself was born in the Netherlands, the queen’s father, Prince Bernhard, a first generation immigrant, was born in the German town of Jena.

Labour migration

After the Second World War, the Netherlands was in ruins: all industry was destroyed, houses were devastated, and unemployment was sky-high. The country needed rebuilding and industrialisation. This reconstruction process led to an acute shortage on the labour market by the end of the 1950s and early ’60s. Initially individual companies, but soon afterwards also the Dutch government, recruited workers with few qualifications from Southern Europe (especially Spain and Italy) to work in the new industrial sector. Many of these ‘guest workers’ (in Dutch: ‘gastarbeiders’) returned after a few years to their country of origin.

In the middle of the 1960s the Dutch economy boomed. The Dutch government decided to invite guest workers from Turkey and Morocco. Many (male) workers, often married with children, moved to the Netherlands. They hoped to earn a lot of money in a short time in order to be able to provide a better future for their family back home. ‘Leaving to stay’ was the paradox.

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Family reunification

The oil crisis of the 1970s caused serious problems for the Dutch economy. The unemployment rate increased sharply and in all industries workers lost their jobs. As a result of this economic crisis, the labour migration was stopped in 1973. However, the number of the original guest labourers continued to rise as a result of the introduction of the law on family reunification (1974). This law, which gives families the right to live together, enabled the families left behind by many former guest labourers to move to the Netherlands. From that moment onwards, many women and children, especially of Moroccan or Turkish origin, began to arrive in the Netherlands.

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Migration from former colonies

In the 17th century the Netherlands established a colonial empire, which would last until the decline of imperialism following World War II. Since the middle of the 20th century large groups of people from these (former) colonial territories have moved to the Netherlands.

The ##Dutch East Indies (today’s Indonesia) were the most important colony of the Netherlands. Between 1945 and ’65 around 300,000 Dutch, Mollucans and Indo people, the descendants of mixed Dutch and Indonesian parents, left Indonesia for the Netherlands. The majority arrived around the time of Indonesia’s struggle for independence in the second half of the 1940s.

Another important colony was ##Surinam which gained independence in 1975. Just before the declaration of independence many Surinamese people started to emigrate to the Netherlands. Currently more than 300,000 people from Surinam live in the country.

Since the ’90s large migrant groups from the ##Netherlands Antilles (officially still a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) have been arriving in the Netherlands. About 130,000 Antillians, a third of the total population of the Netherlands Antilles, now reside in the Netherlands.

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Asylum migration

Since the 1980s new groups of refugees have been making their way to the Netherlands. These asylum seekers flee their country of origin for political, humanitarian or economic reasons and arrive in the Netherlands from all parts of the world. Currently most political refugees come from Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan. In 2000 the Netherlands accepted about 40,000 asylum seekers into the country, while today (i.e. 2008) that number has fallen to only 10,000. Because most refugees are recent arrivals in the country, most of them are considered first generation immigrants.

Immigration to the Netherlands

Introducing the Kingdom of the Netherlands which can be described as the most densely populated country in the whole European Union (EU) despite being a rather small country. It is located between Belgium and Germany in Western Europe. It has a population of 17 283 008 as recorded in 2018. The total GDP is 1,019 trillion USD.

The Official language of the Netherlands is Dutch. The largest city is Amsterdam. The official currency of the country is Euro (EUR). The Netherlands is a founding member of the Eurozone, EU, G10, OECD, NATO and WTO, as well as a part of the trilateral Benelux Union and Schengen Area. The country governs a few intergovernmental organizations, international courts, which altogether provides numerous benefits for its residents.

The Netherlands currently offers a legal residency program, allowing a direct path to citizenship or residence permit with no residency requirements for individuals and their families, provided the applicants are capable to make a financial contribution to the country’s government. If entering the country for a short stay, a certain type of visa will be required for the third-country nationals.

Immigration services

The Immigration and Citizenship Office is responsible for immigration services in the Netherlands, which are provided through at their local municipality (gemeente) and at the Dutch embassy or consulate. There are several different legal documents in the Netherlands, granting its holder temporary or permanent rights of immigration: short stay visa, temporary residence permit, provisional residence permit, EU Blue Card. There are many different reasons for seeking residence in the Netherlands. Therefore, it is essential to choose the purpose that best fits your situation as this influences which permit application you select and submit. There are also certain benefits while having criteria for its acquisition. However, citizens of EU / EEA countries, as well as Switzerland do not need a residence permit to work and live in the Netherlands. Although, expats from the before mentioned countries are not required to register with the IND.

Immigration service providers

Here are three email address of companies which offer immigration services in the Netherlands:

  • E-mail: residency@baltic-legal.com
  • E-mail: europe@forsetico.com
  • E-mail: info@ahl-advocaten.nl

Lawful immigration

In order to visit the Netherlands legally, a residence permit and short stay visa are required if one is staying in the Netherlands for more than 90 days. Moreover, if one’s country of citizenship has a non-visa agreement with the Netherlands, then no visa is required. Even more, a visa-requiring foreigner needs to be in possession of a valid Schengen visa issued by either the Netherlands or another Schengen member state. Netherland’s legal regulations on the immigration of non-EU citizens entering the country set out the requirements for an individual to have such a visa issued by the state of the Netherlands, as well as defining ‘visa free’ countries, citizens of which do not require a visa for short term visits.

If you need to apply for such visa, the following country’s public government institutions are responsible for immigration to the Netherlands and issuing visas to the third country nationals:

  • the MVV (Machtiging tot Voorlopig Verblijf),
  • the IND (Imigratie-en Naturalisatiedienst),
  • the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice.

Government immigration office site for the Netherlands.

Immigration statistics

According to statistics, the majority of non-European immigrants come from Suriname, Turkey, Morocco. Most immigrants live in the West of the country and around 12.5% of all inhabitants live in one of the four major cities such as Rotterdam and Amsterdam as well as the Hague and Utrecht. Therefore, in cities like Amsterdam or Rotterdam, almost one in three people are of non-European origin.

Migration in and out of Schengen area

The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a Western-European country, which is a member state of the European Union and Schengen area. Member states of the Schengen Agreement have abolished passport control as well as any immigration restricting procedures at their internal borders, therefore, one may move freely within the territory of the EU. Passport controls and immigration checks still remain at the external borders. Member states also do recognize Schengen visas issued by other Schengen states. On the external border or upon first entry to the Schengen area member state, normal immigration control procedures still apply, however, admission to any Schengen country is generally recognized as an admission to the entire Schengen, without any further passport and visa control.

So far the Kingdom of the Netherlands hosted 186 thousand immigrants back in the year 2018 alone, representing a year-on-year increase of 1.5 thousand. Net migration has also increased by around 3 thousand in comparison with the year 2017.

Visa types in the Netherlands

Third-country national entering the Kingdom of the Netherlands for a short-stay (up to 90 days) is required to apply for a Schengen short stay visa (C-type visa). Depending on the circumstances and purpose of a visit to the Netherlands, one is obliged to apply for one of the following types of visas:

Airport Transit Visa

For those who need to transit through one of the country’s airports, to reach their travel destination country, outside the Schengen Area.

Orange Carpet Visa

For those wishing to visit the Netherlands for holidays or sightseeing.

Long-stay Visa

also called an authorisation for temporary stay (MVV).

Short-stay Visa

For a maximum of 90 days, valid in the other Schengen countries.

Caribbean Visa

Allows visiting Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St Eustatius and St Maarten.

Citizens of non-EU countries wishing to stay in the Netherlands for more than three months must apply for a residence permit.

Residence permit

In order to stay in the Netherlands in excess of 90 days, you need to obtain a residence permit. The country’s immigration policy is quite strict. All Dutch residence permit applications are processed by the IND, therefore, the applications lodged in the Netherlands can be directly submitted with the IND, however, the applications from abroad can either be submitted at the Dutch embassy or consulate in one’s own country of residence, or at the IND by one’s sponsor who is already in the Netherlands.

In order to support one’s residence permit application he or she might need to gather documents – birth certificate and others, depending on which application form one is submitting. However, the official foreign documents need to be legalized and apostilled with the stamp. Also, the documents must be in English, Dutch, German or French. Other languages will need to be translated by a sworn translator in the Netherlands. Also, third country national may apply for an Orange Carpet Visa or Caribbean Visa, if the following criteria are met:

  • have completed a course of study at a university or any other educational institution with a minimum duration of 3 years,
  • have received a binding job offer for at least one year in the Netherlands and the employment corresponds to your education,
  • will earn a gross annual income of at least one and a half times the average gross annual income of full-time employees,

If staying for a shorter period of time (up to 3 months), third-country nationals need to apply for a visa.

Currently, the Netherlands offer a Golden Investor Visa investment program, allowing to apply for a residence permit, by investing €1.25 million which must be invested in a Dutch company.