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Leaving the Netherlands

When leaving the Netherlands for more than 8 months it is mandatory to deregister with the municipality. The municipality automatically notifies other government authorities of the registered departure. Deregistration can be carried out up to 1 month before leaving the Netherlands, a date of departure must be specified. This can be done in person or via the website of the municipality.

Residence permit validity

If a residence permit is no longer valid or it is out of date, the holder (and their family) is no longer entitled to stay in the Netherlands. However, if the process of applying for a new permit has commenced when the old residence permit becomes invalid / out of date, and the Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst – IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Service) has sent a letter confirming that they are processing the application, a sticker
verblijfsaantekening
 (residence endorsement sticker) can be issued by the IND which proves the right to stay until the decision has been made and the new residence permit has been issued.

If having applied for a new residence permit, the old residence permit has expired and the new residence permit has not yet been received, the applicant is allowed to stay in the Netherlands until the decision has been made and the new residence permit has been issued. However, if the applicant wishes to travel outside of the Netherlands the applicant must apply for a terugkeervisum (return visa).

When leaving the Netherlands residence permits must be returned to the IND. How to do this can be found on the site IND.nl.