Visa for the Netherlands: The Schengen visa

The Netherlands is part of the Schengen Area: 26 European countries of the European Union with no border controls between them. These countries issue a common visa, the Schengen visa.

The 26 Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein , Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

A Schengen visa’s validity may be limited to only one country (for instance the Netherlands) or a specified number of countries (for instance Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands). In such cases, the visa holder may visit only the countries for which the Schengen visa is valid.

Who needs a Schengen visa?

Whether you need a Schengen visa depends on your nationality. If you are a national of one of these countries, you need a Schengen visa for a stay of up to 90 days.

You do NOT need a Schengen visa for a stay of up to 90 days if you are a national of one of these countries.

If you do not need a visa, you may enter the Netherlands as long as you meet the following conditions:

• you have a valid passport;
• you have enough money; (€34 per day);
• you have a bona fide reason for visiting the Netherlands;
• you are not considered a threat to public order, national security or international relations.

Family members of EU/EEA nationals

If you are a family member of an EU/EEA or Swiss national, you may qualify for an accelerated free visa procedure as long as you meet the following criteria:

• you are a first-degree family member (this includes a spouse, partner or child who is under 21) of an EU/EEA or Swiss national; and
• that EU/EEA national is travelling to or is residing in a member state other than that of which he/she is a national; and
• you are accompanying the EU/EEA national or planning to join him/her.

If you think you qualify for visa facilitation you will need to show proof that you meet these criteria when you submit your visa application.

Airport transit visas

Nationals of the following countries need an airport transit visa to change aircraft at an airport in a Schengen country:
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka

Countries whose citizens are required by the Netherlands to possess an airport transit visa when they are in the international transit area of airports in Dutch territory:
Angola, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Syria and South Sudan

The following persons are exempted from the requirement to possess an airport transit visa:

• holders of a valid uniform visa, national long-stay visa or residence permit issued by a member state;
• third-country nationals holding the valid residence permits issued by Andorra, Canada, Japan, San Marino or the United States of America guaranteeing the holder’s unconditional readmission;
• third-country nationals holding a valid visa for a member state or for a state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area of 2 May 1992, Canada, Japan or the United States of America, or when they return from those countries after having used the visa;
• family members of citizens of the Union;
• holders of diplomatic passports;
• flight crew members who are nationals of a contracting party to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.

Multiple nationalities

If you have more than one nationality, whether you need a visa will depend on the passport you intend to travel on. If it is a passport of a country whose nationals need a visa, you will also need a visa, even if you have another nationality for which no visa is required. The country in which you are residing is irrelevant to whether you need a visa, although you must be residing legally in the country in which you submit your application.

A stay longer than 90 days (MVV procedure)

If you want to visit the Netherlands for an uninterrupted stay longer than 90 days, you must apply for an authorisation for temporary stay (an MVV).