Residence for ukrainian citizans in The Netherlands

The Dutch government is currently working on a special regulation in order to make an application for a (temporary) residence permit easier for Ukrainian citizens. Below you will find the current information about the new regulation which will be applicable for Ukrainians coming to the Netherlands. 

Applying for asylum is not mandatory

In case a Ukrainian citizen comes to the Netherlands during a period of 90 days within 180 days or with a short-stay visa or in case a Ukrainian citizen has a residence permit in the Netherlands, no application for asylum is required. The period of 90 days can be extended with another 90 days. An application should be made with the Dutch Immigration Services. Ukrainian citizens may simply stay in the Netherlands if the above is applicable. Kindly note that the IND temporarily does not currently make any decisions regarding the asylum applications for Ukrainian nationals. This means that the IND extends the decision period of current and new asylum applications with one year.

New regulation based on the Directive Temporary Protection

Last week EU commission launched a new regulation based on the Directive Temporary Protection. Based on this directive, Ukrainian nationals will get a residence permit for a period of 1 year while being allowed to work. The so called ‘priority clause’ (employer has to prove that he is not able to hire EU nationals) will not be applicable. Depending on the situation in the Ukraine, the residence permit may be extended up to 3 years.  

Basically the Directive offers the following facilities: 

• Possibility to work as an employee or self-employed professional;  
• access to education, vocational training and work experience;  
• possibility to obtain decent accommodation or means to find housing;
• possibility to obtain social assistance, financial support and medical care in the event of insufficient own resources;  
• young people under the age of 18 must have access to at least public education.  

Various countries can elaborate the aforementioned regulation in different ways. The Dutch Immigration Services are working on special procedure for Ukrainian citizens based on the previously mentioned directive. Dutch Immigration Services expect to provide more information about the application procedure within one to two  weeks. 

Please be informed that this new regulation will not be applicable to Ukrainian nationals only, it will be also applicable to other nationalities with a permanent residence permit in Ukraine and their family members. 

Applying for a residence permit without an MVV

A provisional residence permit (hereinafter “MVV”) is in principle one of the conditions required for a residence permit during the application process. However, it is currently possible for Ukrainian citizens to apply for a residence permit without the MVV visa. This is a temporary rule and is only applicable if the below listed conditions are met:

• The individual has a residence permit in the Netherlands with a short-stay visa or during the free period. The individual cannot travel back to Ukraine due to the current situation; 
• The individual and his/her sponsor meet all the conditions for the residence permit, with exception of the basic civil integration exam abroad. In this case the passing of the basic civic integration exam is not required.

Exemption for collecting the MVV visa in the Netherlands

It is not necessary to collect the MVV visa from the Dutch embassy in Poland if the following conditions are met: 

• there is a positive decision regarding the MVV visa – application; 
• there is a short stay visa or there is a free term period. 

Stay in the Netherlands after the residence permit has expired or after visa free period

It is important to apply for an extension of the visa if it is about to expire or to apply for an “extension visa” if the visa free period is about to expire. The Dutch government makes it possible for Ukrainian citizens to stay in the Netherlands even if the extension of a current visa is not possible due to the current situation or even if the visa free period is about to end. This temporary rule will not have any consequences for an application of a visa or residence permit in the future. 

Assessment application for residence permit or naturalization

The IND will take the situation in Ukraine and the personal situation of the individual into account when assessing the visa or permit application. This also applies to Ukrainian citizens currently unable to send documents about their identity or marriage due to the current situation in Ukraine. The same applies to the naturalization process.

Want to know more?

If you have any additional questions please do not hesitate to contact our Global Mobility Team.