The Netherlands updates its timetable for asylum family reunification

Check which date the timetable uses

The Dutch immigration service, or IND, updated its asylum family reunification timetable on 10 November. Use the receipt letter for your family application to find the month it was filed. For files submitted before 12 June, the IND is pausing decisions where the new rules affect the case.

The IND’s June pilot announcement explains what happens behind that distinction. The agency continues work on cases unaffected by the new law. In affected cases outside the pilot, it may still take steps to complete the file when it comes up for processing. A request for evidence can therefore arrive even while the final decision remains deferred. Follow the instructions in the letter and keep its deadline with the application record.

Choose the row for your family circumstances

The faster group includes refugees applying only for a married partner and biological children who were under 18 when the sponsor sought asylum. A partner without children falls in the other group. Check the timetable for applications by sponsors who were minors when they sought asylum.

For illustration, the faster table puts August through October 2026 applications in December 2026. The other table puts May through October 2026 applications in April 2027. These are estimated starts. The IND lists a nine-month legal decision period separately. An applicant should check the receipt and any later extension letter before drawing conclusions about the legal deadline for their file. Keep both letters together for reference.

Check which protection category the IND granted

The IND’s family reunification guide explains where to find this information. For a decision before 12 June, it identifies Article 29(1)(a) of the Aliens Act as refugee status and Article 29(1)(b) as subsidiary protection. For later decisions it directs readers to the status on the back of the card. Use the actual decision or card when asking about a pending application.

The transitional-law background explains why this matters. New rules narrowed the family categories, while people with subsidiary protection face additional conditions. In its pilot notice the IND lists a two-year wait, suitable accommodation and sufficient means. Whether those requirements can be applied to affected pending files is the question the IND says it is awaiting clarification on. Sponsors should keep evidence of when they applied and whom they included.

Respond to document requests through the existing case

The application guide separates documents establishing identity from documents establishing the family relationship. A passport may help with the first question, while a marriage or birth record can address the second. If the primary records are unavailable, the guide asks for an explanation and other available evidence. Keep copies of replies to the IND and use the case number from the receipt letter. If the IND asks for official foreign documents in translation, its application guide specifies Dutch, English, French or German and says the translator must have been sworn in by a Dutch court.

The IND’s medical examination guidance describes a DNA procedure that can be used in family reunification, with sampling for family in the Netherlands at a desk in The Hague. The IND determines whether that investigation is needed. An applicant who receives a request should follow its instructions before arranging any test independently.

Follow the file and ask about any outstanding action

The IND lists a dedicated asylum family reunification number, 088 043 04 00, on weekdays from 09:00 to 17:00. Have the case number or foreign nationals number ready. Use My IND to view available status information. If the published month passes without a letter, ask whether the application is affected by the court-dependent pause or is awaiting another step. The update concerns pending cases and announces no new fee or replacement filing requirement. A request for documents should be answered by the deadline in the request even if the public timetable still gives a later month.