3 April 2020 – PIRGROUP Corona updates

Last Tuesday, the Dutch Government announced that due to the coronavirus situation all current measures will be extended until the 28th of April. Today we also received new updates from the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) about the measures. In this post we would like to inform how this new final date also extends other measures such as the closure of embassies and IND desks.

International travel changes

All appointments at the Dutch embassies for MVV entry visas will not be possible until at least the 28th of April.

• Issuance of MVV entry visa – Dutch embassies will still not issue these visas sooner than the 28th of April 2020, unless there is an urgent case. There would be an urgent case if you are a highly skilled migrant, employee or researcher with work or research that falls under an essential profession or vital processes. In that case, you would only to be able to obtain the visa sooner if you can manage to travel to The Netherlands without restrictions and if you can explain the urgency which must be related to the essential profession or vital process.
• Collecting MVV entry visa – Currently it is not possible to collect the MVV before the 28th of April. When the appointment at the embassy already took place and the collecting of the passport with MVV was not possible within 3 months due to closure of the embassy, the period for collecting the MVV can be extended with another 3 months. We can assist with extending this period, by contacting the authorities.
• Expiry of MVV entry visa and flight restrictions – For those who have collected their MVV, but due to travel restrictions did not manage to travel to The Netherlands within 90 days after the issuance of the MVV, it is possible to get a new MVV. We can assist with extending this period, by contacting the authorities after which the embassy will issue a new MVV entry visa, also with a new 90-day period.

The IND communicated to us that arriving in The Netherlands with a valid MVV will not lead to a denial of entry.

Important immigration changes in the Netherlands

• IND APPOINTMENTS – The IND desks are still closed up to and including the 28th of April. However, until that date it may be possible to make an appointment for collecting residence permit cards if travelled to the Netherlands with an MVV, the residence permit would be a first card and when an urgent matter applies. Examples of urgent matters are the need of the actual card in order to apply for Dutch health insurance or to register at the city hall. Appointments for this should be made over the phone instead of via the online appointment system.

For more information, please visit the IND website which is updated daily. Please feel free to contact us at the phone number +31 (0) 345 580 381. We would be more than happy to answer your questions!