Applying for a long-stay visa (MVV) for residents of Singapore

As of 28 May 2020 you can apply for certain categories of MVV at the Dutch embassy in Singapore:

Persons with an expired MVV sticker who were not able to travel due to COVID-19.
If your MVV appointment was cancelled due to COVID-19: you can only apply if your MVV fits into a certain categories.

Send an email to sin-ca@minbuza.nl to make an appointment and find out if you can apply.

Due to the coronavirus, the possibilities to apply for an MVV at an embassy or consulate general are limited. Please check if you can make an appointment via the online appointment system. Are there no dates available? Then it is not yet possible to submit an application.

Do I need an MVV and/or a residence permit?

You should check whether you need an MVV and/or a residence permit. This depends on things like your nationality and the purpose of your stay.

Applying for a residence permit and an MVV

You can apply for a residence permit and an MVV in two ways:

through a host in the Netherlands (such as an employer, family member or educational institution)
in person at a Dutch embassy or consulate.

If you have a host in the Netherlands, in most cases your host will have to submit the application to the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND).

First check whether you need to take the civic integration examination.

What is your situation?Click '+' to make your selection

Applying through a host in the Netherlands

Depending on the purpose of your stay, your host may have to submit the application in the Netherlands. This applies if the purpose of your stay is:

study
work
a work placement
co-habiting with or marrying someone who lives in the Netherlands
family reunification

In these cases your host will be an educational institution, your employer, a family member or your spouse or partner.

How does your host apply in the Netherlands?

Your host can submit the application directly to the IND. How they need to do this depends on why you need a residence permit and/or an MVV, for example for work or study. The IND website has a list of the documents your host will need to provide. It also explains how your host can apply for your residence permit. If you have any questions about this, you can contact the IND.

What do I need to do once the application is approved?

The IND will send your host a letter confirming that the application has been approved. The letter also explains how you can apply for an MVV and what documents you need.

Within 3 months of your host receiving the letter, make an appointment with the embassy or consulate to apply for your MVV. Take the following documents to your appointment:

the MVV issue form
your passport and a photocopy of the personal details page. Your passport must be valid for at least another 6 months
if you live in a country of which you are not a national: your residence permit and a photocopy of the permit
a photo that meets Dutch requirements
a copy of the letter stating that your application has been approved and what your alien registration number (V number) is
all other documents listed in the letter from the IND and a photocopy of each of these documents.

Your MVV will be ready for you to collect from the embassy or consulate within 10 working days.

You must travel to the Netherlands with the MVV in your passport. The IND will let your host know when your residence permit is ready. You can then make an appointment at the IND office to collect your permit.

Applying yourself at an embassy or consulate

In the following cases you should submit your application for an MVV and residence permit yourself:

orientation year as a highly skilled migrant seeking employment
independent entrepreneur
start-up
foreign investor

You should apply to the Dutch embassy or consulate in person. You should make the appointment yourself. Below you can read how to do this in your country.

You can also apply for a working holiday in the Netherlands at a Dutch embassy or consulate. See the information on the Working Holiday Programme (WHP) and Working Holiday Scheme (WHS) for details on the application procedure.

Which documents should I take to my appointment?

Take the following documents with you:

the MVV issue form
your passport and a photocopy of the personal details page. Your passport must be valid for at least another 6 months from the date on which the MVV is placed in your passport
a photo that meets Dutch requirements
if you live in a country of which you are not a national: your residence permit and a photocopy of the permit.

During your appointment the embassy or consulate will check your application and take your fingerprints. You do not pay for the application at this appointment.

What happens after the appointment?

The embassy or consulate will give you your alien registration number (V number) and an invoice. You will also be given forms that you need to fill in and send to the IND yourself by post. In many cases you will also have to send additional documents to the IND. These will be listed in the notification you receive from the embassy or consulate.

The IND will process your application within 90 days. If the IND’s decision is positive, you must hand over your passport at the embassy or consulate where you submitted the application. Your MVV will be placed in your passport within 10 working days.

You must travel to the Netherlands with the MVV in your passport. The IND will let you know when your residence permit is ready. You can then make an appointment at the IND office to collect your permit.

Long-stay visa for residents of this country or region

Make an appointment via our online appointment system to apply for your visa.

Check the status of your application.

MVV application for exchange students

Dutch universities and higher professional education institutions (hogescholen) together offer some 1,400 international study programmes and courses in English, making the Netherlands an attractive destination for students from all over the world.

Application process

When you have chosen a university for your exchange, bachelor or master's degree and your application has been accepted, the university will provide you with a list of required documents to apply for your visa at the Immigration Service in the Netherlands.

As soon as you have received the approval for the MVV visa from the IND through your university, you have to make an appointment via our online appointment system to schedule an appointment at the embassy to apply for your visa.

Please note

We strongly advise you not to book your flight before you have received the approval from the IND.
The Netherlands Embassy does not have influence on the decision making process at the Immigration Service (IND) in the Netherlands.

Requirements

Please bring the following documents:

one completed MVV application form
valid passport (original + photocopy: data and signature pages)
Singapore ID/NRIC (original + photocopy)
one recent coloured passport photo (important note: light background and mouth closed)

During the application at the Embassy we will take your fingerprints.
Contrary to what is mentioned above, the processing of the visa will take a maximum of 5 working days. We we will keep your passport during this period.

Registration in the Netherlands

In most cases you need a legalised extract of your birth certificate to register at the municipality in the Netherlands. Please check with your university if this is required as in some cases it is not.
People born in Singapore can get an extract of their birth certificate (not to be laminated) via the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority. It should then be legalised by the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then by the Netherlands Embassy in Singapore.
The cost for legalisation at the embassy is the Singapore Dollar equivalent of € 26,25.

If you were not born in Singapore, the legalisation needs to be done in the country of birth.

Please note

We advise you to bring the MFA legalised birth certificate when you come to have your visa processed so that you only have to come to the Embassy for the application and for pick up of your passport and legalised birth certificate.

Applying for a long-stay visa (MVV) for residents of Singapore

Do I need an MVV and/or a residence permit?

Applying for a residence permit and an MVV

What is your situation?Click '+' to make your selection

Applying through a host in the Netherlands

Applying yourself at an embassy or consulate

Long-stay visa for residents of this country or region

MVV application for exchange students

Application process

Please note

Requirements

Registration in the Netherlands

Please note

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