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Return route — Repatriation Act returnee or qualifying family member

NetherlandsAncestry and return

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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What family, citizenship, ethnic, historical or former-resident connection creates access to this route?

Returnees who used the Repatriation Act (Remigratiewet) to go and live in their country of origin, and their partner (who left with them after at least 3 years’ lawful residence in the Netherlands) or children who lived with them in the Netherlands.

See recorded sources
  • https://ind.nl/en/residence-permits/other-residence-permits/returning-to-the-netherlands
    You are a returnee. This means that you used the Repatriation Act (in Dutch: Remigratiewet or Rw) to go and live in your country of origin. You are the partner of a returnee and left the Netherlands together. Before you left, you lived in the Netherlands for at least 3 years with a valid residence permit, under EU law or as a Dutch citizen. You are the child of a returnee and live together with your parents in the Netherlands. You are submitting the application together with one or both of your parents. You are the child of a returnee and lived with your parents in the Netherlands when you were under 18.

How far back can the qualifying connection extend, and what important transmission limitations exist?

Reach is limited to the returnee, the partner and children: a child who turned 18 within 1 year of departure may return independently. The return (or application) must be within 1 year of departure, and the Repatriation Act must not have been used before to return.

See recorded sources
  • https://ind.nl/en/residence-permits/other-residence-permits/returning-to-the-netherlands
    You are the child of a returnee and lived with your parents in the Netherlands when you were under 18. You turned 18 years within 1 year of your departure from the Netherlands and want to return to the Netherlands independently. You are returning to the Netherlands within 1 year of your departure. Or you have submitted the application for the residence permit within 1 year of your departure. You have not used the Repatriation Act before to return to the Netherlands.

What records are central to proving the lineage or historical connection?

The checked official sources did not provide enough route-specific evidence to confirm the records needed to prove the lineage or historical connection.

Does the pathway result in a visa, residence permit, right of return, citizenship or another status?

A residence permit (applied for together with an MVV); the application is free of charge for those under Section 8 of the Repatriation Act. Holders may work without a work permit.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The specific permit type for Section 8 returnees is not named on the page.

What application progression, residence obligations, family consequences or further citizenship/residence possibilities follow?

Requires passing the Civic Integration Exam Abroad (or an exemption) and returning within 1 year of departure. The permit can be extended, and after 5 consecutive years with a residence permit a permanent residence permit can be applied for. Permit validity is not stated.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Permit validity for Section 8 returnees not stated.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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