Today the IND announced that as of 1 july 2012, they will no longer accept residence permit applications for unmarried partners. Continued residence will only be available after five years, not three. Leaving NL for over six months (instead of the present nine months) will result in the loss of a residence permit. Residence permits will no longer be issued for 'family visits'.
These new rules are part of the present government's anti-immigrant stance announced in 2010. It remains to be seen if these rules will survive judicial challenge. Applications filed before 1 july 2012 will be judged on the existing rules.
Christian Barth, Attorney
Thank Christian.
I am not clear though.
1) they will no longer accept residence permit applications for unmarried partners. So are you saying that you have to be married to sponsor a partner (wife/husband) now? This is how they have always done it in The States.
2) Continued residence will only be available after five years, not three. Are you saying that if you are married you can only get a Dutch passport after 5 years ... not t he current 3 years? So 'Continued Residency' is really a Dutch passport?
Hi Christian, What about the extension for un-married partner who come to Netherlands in 2009 and to extended their resident permit? If they also must marry or can keep un-married?
I just find below information,
please kindly see if it means the Person who currently hold a unmarried partner resident permit, can continue to apply extension without change.
Is this right?
Wanneer van toepassing?
Vreemdelingen die op dit moment in het bezit zijn van een verblijfsvergunning voor een verblijfsdoel dat met ingang van 1 juli 2012 komt te vervallen, behouden deze verblijfsvergunning en kunnen deze ook met ingang van 1 juli 2012 verlengen.
Full translation (by me, with a little help from Lazarus translation):
"Publication of Family Migration Measures (Effective 1 July 2012)
Introduction
In the coalition and tolerance agreement of 30 September 2010, a number of measures have been added in the field of family migration. These measures have been published on 11 April 2012 in the Staatsblad and will go into effect on 1 July 2012.
The Measures
The measures are as follows:
Family Reunification and Family Formation
Other
When
The measures will take effect on 1 July 2012. Applications which are turned in before 1 July 2012 (also requests about the issuing of MVVs) will be tested against the current policy. The new rules will not yet be effectual. For applications which are turned in after 30 June 2012, the new measures will be effective.
Foreigners who currently are in the possession of a residence permit for a purpose of stay which will expire starting on 1 July 2012 will retain their residence permits and can still lengthen expired permits after 1 July 2012.
The Temporary Marriage Permit
Unmarried partners will no longer be applicable for family reunification or formation, unless they may not marry due to the laws in their country of origin. If it is not possible to marry in their land of origin then it is possible to send in an application for a residence permit for a fixed period of time with the aim of 'entering into a marriage or registered partnership'. This permit is valid for six months and is only meant to be used to marry in the Netherlands. If the partners are married or enter into a registered partnership within those six alotted months, then the residence permit can be exchanged for a residence permit with the aim of staying with a spouse or registered partner.
The temporary marriage license can be applied for starting on 1 July 2012. It must be noted and made completely clear that one must not be legally able to marry in their country of origin. It must be a legal impossibility. For exampl,e if under legislation in the land of origin that it is not possible to conduct a marriage between two partners of the same sex.
Further conditions apply to the temporary marriage permit:
Getting married at the municipality
The partners who have received a temporary marriage permit and want to get married or enter into a registered partnership must do this within six months in the Netherlands. In order to complete the marriage fully, or to fully register the partnership, the municipality will ask for documents. It can cost a lot of time to gather these (foreign) documents. Inform the foreigner in advance, before they come to the Netherlands, what the municipality requires and which conditions the documents need to comply with.
Costs
The cost of the application for temporary marriage permit (MVV and VVR without MVV) comes to the amount of €1.250,-.
If the partner travels with a knowledge migrant, then the partner pays €250.
The cost of an application VVR after MVV always costs €300.
An application for the modification of the limitation of residence by one's spouse must be submitted before the expiration of the validity of the temporary marriage permit."
sabetsu said:
Full translation (by me, with a little help from Lazarus translation):
"Publication of Family Migration Measures (Effective 1 July 2012)
Introduction
In the coalition and tolerance agreement of 30 September 2010, a number of measures have been added in the field of family migration. These measures have been published on 11 April 2012 in the Staatsblad and will go into effect on 1 July 2012.
The Measures
The measures are as follows:
Family Reunification and Family Formation
- Family Reunification and formation are only possible if both partners are married (to each other). Unmarried partners cannot submit an application for family reunification or formation. An exception applies for partners who, in their country of origin, may not marry (see 'temporary marriage permit').
- The residence purpose 'extended family reunification' ceases to exist.
Other
- The period over which one becomes eligible for continued residence (or permanent residence) will be changed from 3 to 5 years.
- The period after which it will be assumed that relocation will have taken place/been completed, will be shortened from 9 to 6 months.
- It is no longer possible to ask for residency for the purpose of 'family visit'.
When
The measures will take effect on 1 July 2012. Applications which are turned in before 1 July 2012 (also requests about the issuing of MVVs) will be tested against the current policy. The new rules will not yet be effectual. For applications which are turned in after 30 June 2012, the new measures will be effective.
Foreigners who currently are in the possession of a residence permit for a purpose of stay which will expire starting on 1 July 2012 will retain their residence permits and can still lengthen expired permits after 1 July 2012.
The Temporary Marriage Permit
Unmarried partners will no longer be applicable for family reunification or formation, unless they may not marry due to the laws in their country of origin. If it is not possible to marry in their land of origin then it is possible to send in an application for a residence permit for a fixed period of time with the aim of 'entering into a marriage or registered partnership'. This permit is valid for six months and is only meant to be used to marry in the Netherlands. If the partners are married or enter into a registered partnership within those six alotted months, then the residence permit can be exchanged for a residence permit with the aim of staying with a spouse or registered partner.
The temporary marriage license can be applied for starting on 1 July 2012. It must be noted and made completely clear that one must not be legally able to marry in their country of origin. It must be a legal impossibility. For exampl,e if under legislation in the land of origin that it is not possible to conduct a marriage between two partners of the same sex.
Further conditions apply to the temporary marriage permit:
- Both partners are 21 years of age or older.
- Both partners must demonstrate that they are not currently married to anyone else.
- The partners have a valid travel document (for example, a passport).
- The partner (foreign) who is coming to the Netherlands will not be a danger to the public order and is prepared to cooperate in a tuberculosis test (if necessary).
- The sponsor has sufficient and sustainable income (see tables on IND website).
Getting married at the municipality
The partners who have received a temporary marriage permit and want to get married or enter into a registered partnership must do this within six months in the Netherlands. In order to complete the marriage fully, or to fully register the partnership, the municipality will ask for documents. It can cost a lot of time to gather these (foreign) documents. Inform the foreigner in advance, before they come to the Netherlands, what the municipality requires and which conditions the documents need to comply with.
Costs
The cost of the application for temporary marriage permit (MVV and VVR without MVV) comes to the amount of €1.250,-.
If the partner travels with a knowledge migrant, then the partner pays €250.
The cost of an application VVR after MVV always costs €300.
An application for the modification of the limitation of residence by one's spouse must be submitted before the expiration of the validity of the temporary marriage permit."
Okay so it is saying that you have to wait for 5 years to get a Dutch Passport or a Permanent Residence permit. Otherwise when you renew your residence permit ... it will just be yet another ´temporary´ residence permit. 
This hurts you in terms of gaining social services like housing and money if something goes wrong.
This is because they only give you a ´bit´ of money .. if that ... if you are only here on a temporary Residence Permit.
If you are on a Permanent residence permit or a Dutch passport .. you get the works.
Thats the drawback that I see.
The part about being married in order to get a residence permit .. honestly, sounds fair to me. They have the same system in The States and in other parts of the world for immigration.
I know several gay married couples .. so I don´t think being gay has anything to do with this. They just want some proof of permanence.
sabetsu
Thank you Sabetsu.
But I want to know currently I have a un-married partner resident permit, and when I will apply to extension if I can still not change anything and just same as Current Condition or I must marry?
ouloveit3 said:
2) Continued residence will only be available after five years, not three. Are you saying that if you are married you can only get a Dutch passport after 5 years ... not t he current 3 years? So 'Continued Residency' is really a Dutch passport?
Continued residence = voortgezet verblijf. No, it is not the same as Dutch nationality. It is an independent immigration status (i.e. a different kind of residence permit) that until now, you have been eligible for after 3 years of being someone's partner or spouse. This is a particularly sad change in immigration policy. The point of voortgezet verblijf was to give foreign spouses and partners a way out from tyrannical Dutch spouses and partners who held it over their heads that they were dependent on them for staying in the Netherlands. While voortgezet verblijf was (and is) available to documented victims of domestic violence, it was also available to anyone after 3 years, whether or not the relationship was over. So the foreign partner could quietly go out and get voortgezet verblijf, and then know that they were safe from deportation if they needed to get away from their Dutch partner. Now that's not possible anymore (although it was already made more impractical a few years ago by the introduction of a requirement of passing an integration exam-- the foreign partners most in need of an independent status are often the ones whose Dutch partners most get in the way of them learning Dutch).
As to the abolition of immigration for unmarried cohabitation, indeed, it's not particularly damaging to gay couples, but it's a sad development for everyone. Simply saying that 'it makes sense to ask people get married' and 'they make people do it everywhere else' is not a good justification. The point is that people should be free to determine the form of their relationships themselves-- huge numbers of Dutch people live together and have kids without ever getting married. Now that same freedom is being taken away from mixed-nationallity couples. And ironically, this possibility is not being abolished for EU citizens and their unmarried partners, because that's a matter of EU law. Unmarried partners of EU citizens in the Netherlands can still get legal residence after living together for six months.
Jeremy Bierbach, LLM
www.immigrate.nl
Tony2012 said:
So what about the person already have the un-married partner resident permit and live in Netherlands now. What about the apply extension?
You will be grandfathered in. In other words, people who already have an immigration status based on being someone's cohabiting partner will not be required to get married or get a registered partnership.
osita said:
The overwhelming majority of those affected by this new law would be educated Westerners wanting to testdrive their dutchies.
very funny, but also true. Thats about the only group affected by this new law - I guess Wilders takes what he can get.
