Amice Immigration Lawyers is a highly regarded immigration law firm based in the Netherlands, specializing in Dutch and EU immigration law. Our experienced immigration lawyers assist both private individuals and businesses in navigating complex immigration matters — efficiently, transparently, and with personal attention.
As trusted Dutch immigration lawyers, we provide legal assistance in multiple languages, including Dutch, English, Mandarin, Cantonese, and French. This multilingual approach ensures clear communication and a smooth process for clients relocating to or residing in the Netherlands.
Our immigration law services include:
Residence permits and work permits (for employees, entrepreneurs, and highly skilled migrants)
Family reunification and partner visas
Study and research residence permits
Permanent residence and long-term EU residence
Dutch citizenship and naturalization procedures
Legal representation in immigration appeals and complex procedures
Amice Advocaten combines deep knowledge of Dutch immigration procedures with a practical, solutions-oriented approach. We understand each client’s unique situation and provide fast, effective guidance to help you obtain the right permits and legal status in the Netherlands.
Whether you are moving to the Netherlands for work, family, or study — or representing a company that employs international staff — Amice Immigration Lawyers is your trusted legal partner for immigration law in the Netherlands.
We arrange work permits and residence permits fast and efficient.
Amice Dutch immigration lawyers in the Netherlands provide advice on, among other things, obtaining residence permits for labour, family reunification, study, long-term residence, naturalisation and jurisprudential procedures for individuals, corporates and their staff. With years of dedicated experience in immigration law, Amice Lawyers possesses comprehensive knowledge of this legal domain. We are equipped to provide assistance in Dutch, English, Mandarin, Cantonese, and French.
As an immigration lawyer we provide legal guidance on various matters, including the acquisition of residence permits for employment, family reunification, study, long-term residence, naturalization, and legal procedures for individuals, corporations, and their employees.
Foreign individuals intending to work and study in the Netherlands must meet specific visa criteria. In numerous instances, a work and/or study permit will be necessary. However, citizens from countries within the European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss nationals are exempt from this requirement. There are two categories of work permits: the employment permit (TWV) and the single permit (GVVA), which serves as a combined residence and work permit.
Foreigners who are not Dutch/Swiss/EEA citizens require a residence permit in the Netherlands
Generally, individuals from countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) are allowed to work in the Netherlands only if their employer has secured a work permit for them. This requirement does not extend to Swiss nationals, who are exempt from needing a work permit. The Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) issues work permits only when specific criteria are satisfied. For instance, the employer must demonstrate that they are unable to find a suitable candidate within the EU for the position. The criteria for obtaining a work permit are more lenient for certain categories of workers.
There are various kinds of Dutch residence permits that comprise the right to work in the Netherlands, such as:
Start up;
Orientation year (or as known as the search year visa);
Intra-corporate transferee (ICT);
Researcher;
Certain employment visas necessitate that the employer be a recognised sponsor prior to hiring international talents. Some visas mandate that applicants possess specific academic qualifications and/or relevant work experience. Amice Advocaten is equipped to assist in these matters and offer professional legal guidance on successfully applying for an employment visa in the Netherlands.
If you have a family member living in the Netherlands, you may apply for a Dutch residence permit to reside with them. Depending on the nationality and/or residence status of the referent who lives in the Netherlands, different conditions may apply. Generally speaking, the Dutch immigration law allows the following family member groups to apply for family reunification in the Netherlands:
Referents are required to prove that they possess adequate financial means to support the family reunification application in the Netherlands. Additionally, it is essential for referents to hold a valid residence status in the Netherlands prior to submitting the reunification application. For detailed information regarding the necessary qualifications and conditions for family visas, we encourage you to reach out to Amice Advocaten for expert guidance. We will evaluate your situation on a case-by-case basis.
This applies to foreigners who are coming to the Netherlands as a citizen of the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland or Turkey, or as a family member to live with that citizen in the Netherlands. The wide cooperation and treaty arrangement between the Netherlands and the EU and other certain countries have made visa applications easier. For instance, EU citizens can come to live and work in the Netherlands without restrictions that are applied to other nationals. Turkish citizens and their family members also enjoy certain privileges applying visas in the Netherlands, with lower application fees or more lenient application requirements. Below are some significant international treaties and/or legal basis that provide advantageous conditions when applying for Dutch residence permits for certain nationals.
If you have acquired the EU long-term residence in another EU country, you may also enjoy a more simplified residence permit application procedure in the Netherlands, because EU long-term residents should enjoy equality of treatments with citizens of the Member States in a wide range of economic and social matters, under the relevant conditions defined by the EU law.
(Former) diplomats, personnel of NGO and their family members (as known as the ‘privileged person’) are also granted special treatments when it comes to Dutch residence permit applications. Instead of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), the applications are likely handled by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, which entails a different set of rules and procedures.
To find out if you are subject to the certain special treatments for the visa application in the Netherlands, contact Amice Advocaten for more details and legal advice.
After a long journey of living in the Netherlands, with a sufficient understanding of the Dutch language and culture, you may be eligible for the long term residence. The long-term residence in the Netherlands can be Dutch based or EU based. The former is subject to the EU law and the latter the Dutch law. Albeit their same nature and purpose of granting the foreigners a more adventurous residence and social rights in the Netherlands, both EU and the Dutch permanent residence permits have different treatments and maintenance rules in terms of domicile requirements. That being said, the application conditions are quite similar between these two permits, namely:
For certain visa holder in another EU country (for instance, a EU blue card holder), the years that the person has lived and accumulated in that host country could be carried forward to a new host country in the EU, subject to certain condition laid out in the EU law. Whilst some other visa holder (for example, a privileged person), he may have to live in the Netherlands for 10 years instead prior to the application for the long-term residence.
To find out more about your eligibility of applying for the long-term residence in the Netherlands or the EU, please contact Amice Advocaten for a bespoke appointment.
The Dutch passport is recognised as one of the world’s most powerful passports as it grants access to almost 180 countries without needing to apply for a visa. With a Dutch passport, it is also possible to move and reside freely within other countries of the European Union. Subject to various conditions and nationality legal provisions, applicants can apply for the Dutch citizenship after three or five years living in the Netherlands without any interruption, with the fulfillment of civic integration requirements. In some situation, applicants can acquire the Dutch citizenship through ‘option’, which is often regarded as an expedited procedure to obtain the Dutch passport.
Dual citizenship
The Dutch nationality law prohibits dual citizenship or multiple nationalities at standard conditions. Exceptions are, nonetheless, still possible. Amice Advocaten can advise if you are eligible, and/or how to keep your original nationality and avoid the need of renouncing it.
Loss of Dutch citizenship
If you acquire another citizenship overseas whilst holding the Dutch nationality, you could lose the Dutch citizenship automatically. Likewise, if you have been living outside the Netherlands for decades without renewing your Dutch passport, it could entail the automatic loss of the Dutch citizenship. In other case, for instance, a child of a Dutch parent who was born overseas and never applied for a Dutch passport nor resided in the Netherlands, could also lose the right to be a Dutch citizen after he/she comes of age.
Reclaiming Dutch citizenship
If you have a Dutch ancestry, or if you have once obtained Dutch citizenship but have lost it due to various reasons, you might be able to regain the Dutch nationality depending on the tie between you and the Netherlands, as well as the impacts that the loss of Dutch citizenship have brought to you as a EU citizen.
Consult Amice immigration lawyers and our professional lawyer team can assess your situation and give you the advice on the (re-)acquirement of the Dutch citizenship that could impact your interests least possible.
Did you receive any letters from the Dutch government which your residence status in the Netherlands is being affected? In this case, you must take legal procedures to protect yourself from being deprived of the loss of the residence right in the Netherlands. The withdrawal of residence permits could result in a domino effect. For example, if you are highly skilled migrant and you are sponsoring your family who are living with you in the Netherlands, the withdrawal of your residence permit could also imply the loss of residence permits of your family as well. If no legal action is taken, you (and your family) could completely lose the rightful residence status in the Netherlands. Even though the residence permit is resumed later, there could be a residence gap (verblijfsgat). Having a residence gap means that all previous years that a person has lived in the Netherlands, will be void. If he wishes to apply for permanent residence or Dutch citizenship in future, he will have to accumulate the whole residence period from scratch again.
The jurisprudential procedures include submitting a legal opinion (zienswijze), an administrative petition review, or objection (bezwaar), (higher) appeal ((hoger) beroep), and interim measures (voorlopig voorziening, vovo). All these procedures come with a time limit. It means that if you are informed about the change of your residence status, you should react promptly or you may lose the right to argue before the IND or the court. If you are encountering difficulties with the Dutch authorities about the Dutch immigration issues, please contact Amice immigration lawyers.
Under certain circumstances, a foreigner could apply for a Dutch residence permit through laws that protect specific groups of people, in the name of human rights. At Amice Advocaten we often do immigration applications related to the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights). For example, if you are suffering from terminate diseases, domestic violence, or having an inseparable tie with your family who lives in the Netherlands, you can contact Amice immigration lawyers and we can assess your situation and advise whether you can apply for a residence permit in the Netherlands.
Amice immigration lawyers also assists clients in other fields that relate to the immigration issue, which includes but are not limited to:
For our clients, we have set up a special China desk and India desk. For more information, you can contact us via info@amice-advocaten.nl or call +31 (0) 302300230
