Marrying a Dutch citizen or a Dutch resident does not make you Dutch, and it does not by itself let you move. What it opens is an application for a residence permit to live with your partner. This is the permit people usually mean by a Dutch spouse visa, partner visa or dependent visa. Here is what that application actually requires, what it costs, and the conditions people most often get wrong.
Residence, not citizenship
This is the distinction to start with, because the two are often run together. Marriage gives you a route to a residence permit. Dutch nationality is a separate process, applied for later, with its own conditions including a period of legal residence and an integration requirement.
So the realistic goal of the application below is the right to live in the Netherlands with your spouse or registered partner. Everything else follows from that, years later.
Spouse visa requirements: the conditions both of you have to meet
The requirements are not complicated, but they are strict.
- Both partners must be 21 or older. This is a hard threshold, not a guideline.
- The relationship has to be genuine. A marriage entered into to obtain residence is refused, and that refusal is difficult to argue with.
- Neither of you may be married to, or in a registered partnership with, anyone else. A previous marriage that has legally ended is not an obstacle.
- The partner in the Netherlands has to have sufficient, stable income to support you.
- You need a valid passport or other travel document.
You do not have to be married. A registered partnership counts the same as a marriage, and an unmarried partner can apply if the relationship is lasting and exclusive. The partner in the Netherlands can be a Dutch citizen or a foreign national living there with a residence permit. If your partner is a citizen of another EU or EEA country or of Switzerland, EU rules apply instead, through the IND’s verification against EU law.
The income condition is the one that most often decides a case, because it is assessed against the sponsor’s actual, documented earnings rather than an estimate.
The income requirement in figures
The sponsor has to earn at least the IND’s required amount: from 1 July to 31 December 2026, €2,337.00 gross a month, or €2,523.96 if part of the holiday allowance is paid monthly. The IND looks at the social security (SV) salary on the payslip and revises the amount on 1 January and 1 July.
The income must also be sustainable. For an employee, that normally means a contract with at least 12 more months to run. With 6 to 12 months left, the sponsor also needs enough average income over the past 12 months or the past 3 years. With less than 6 months left, or with a flexible contract, the sponsor needs enough average income over the past 3 years. Self-employed income counts once it has been earned for 18 months.
Only the sponsor’s income counts, not yours. The requirement does not apply if, for example, the sponsor has reached state pension (AOW) age or is fully and permanently unable to work. A sponsor on a study permit may also count a grant, a bank balance or financing from someone else.
The MVV: the first step for most applicants
If you are coming from outside the EU and intend to stay longer than 90 days, you will normally need an MVV — a provisional residence permit, effectively the entry visa that lets you come and collect the residence permit itself.
Not everyone needs one. Citizens of Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Vatican City, the UK, the USA, South Korea, Switzerland and the EU/EEA are exempt. Iranian nationals are not on that list, so for most readers of this page the MVV is the first step rather than an optional one.
The MVV and the residence permit are applied for together, and the partner in the Netherlands usually files the application. The IND’s legal decision period is 90 days from the day it receives the application, and it can be extended by up to 6 months if the IND needs more information.
Documents for the MVV application
- Passport and biometric photographs.
- Evidence that the relationship is genuine.
- The sponsor’s proof of income. For an employee whose contract runs at least another year: the contract, an employer’s declaration no more than 3 months old, and payslips for the last 3 months.
- Birth certificate, translated and legalised.
- The marriage certificate, if you married outside the Netherlands.
- Proof that the fees have been paid.
- A signed antecedents certificate (a statement about any criminal record) from everyone aged 12 or over.
- For unmarried partners: a declaration of relationship signed by both of you, the IND questionnaire completed by the sponsor, and a certificate of unmarried status no more than 6 months old for each of you. A sponsor who is Dutch or has a permanent or asylum residence permit does not need one.
Translation and legalisation take longer than people expect, and they sit on the critical path. Start them before you start anything else.
Iranian documents are translated into English and legalised in Iran, with the final step at the Dutch embassy in Tehran (NetherlandsWorldwide). Our guide to legalising Iranian documents for the Netherlands covers each step.
The civic integration exam abroad
Depending on your nationality and situation, you may have to pass the civic integration exam abroad at a Dutch embassy or consulate before the MVV application can be filed. It covers Dutch language at a basic level and knowledge of Dutch society, and it carries its own fee, set separately from the IND’s.
Check whether it applies to you before you budget, because it is a separate cost and a separate timetable.
The exam costs €150, €50 for each of its three parts (reading, speaking and knowledge of Dutch society), paid to DUO when you register. The result comes within 8 weeks and stays valid for 1 year, so the MVV application has to be filed within that year. Iranian nationals are not exempt, and the Dutch embassy in Tehran has offered the exam again since October 2026. You do not need the exam if the partner in the Netherlands is there for a temporary purpose, such as study or work, including as a highly skilled migrant or EU Blue Card holder.
Fees and other costs
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| IND application, residence with a partner (married or unmarried) | €254 |
| Extension of the same permit | €254 |
| Civic integration exam abroad (three parts, paid to DUO) | €150 |
IND fees are revised on 1 January each year. Translation, legalisation and insurance are on top, and they are frequently larger in total than the fee itself.
After a positive decision
Once the IND approves the application, you have 3 months to apply for the MVV sticker at the Dutch embassy named in its decision letter. In Tehran this is by online appointment, and the sticker can take up to 10 working days.
With the MVV you travel to the Netherlands, register with your municipality and collect the residence card; the permit itself was applied for together with the MVV.
The IND requires a tuberculosis test after arrival unless you are exempt, and Iranian nationals are on its exemption list. Everyone who lives in the Netherlands must take out Dutch basic health insurance. You may also have a civic integration obligation from your first permit, with 3 years to complete it through your municipality and DUO.
The permit is granted for a set period and renewed while the conditions still hold. After a continuous period of legal residence — normally five years — permanent residence becomes a separate application, which usually requires a civic integration diploma. The IND sets the validity and renewal terms, so confirm the current rules with them rather than relying on a figure from an article.
Benefits of residence through marriage
- The right to live in the Netherlands with your partner.
- Access to work, in most cases without a separate work permit for the employer.
- Access to Dutch healthcare and the social system.
- A path towards permanent residence, and later towards naturalisation, each with its own conditions.
Marriage does shorten the route to Dutch nationality. Under the IND’s current rules, you can apply for naturalisation after 3 years instead of 5 once you have lived in the Netherlands with the same Dutch spouse or registered partner for 3 consecutive years, with a valid residence permit throughout. You also need the civic integration exam at level A2 or higher. You do not have to give up your current nationality if you are still married to, or the registered partner of, a Dutch citizen when the naturalisation decree is signed. The IND fee is €1,139 for one person in 2026.
Before you start
Two things are worth knowing before anyone spends money. The income requirement is assessed on the sponsor, so it is the Dutch partner’s paperwork that usually determines the outcome. And the process is documentary throughout: the IND decides on what is filed, and the most common reason for delay is a document that is missing, untranslated or inconsistent with another one.
Check the current fee and conditions on the IND’s own pages before committing to anything.
Common questions
- Does marriage give me Dutch citizenship? No. It opens a residence application. Nationality is a separate process. After 3 years of living together in the Netherlands with a Dutch spouse or registered partner, you can apply for naturalisation.
- How old do we have to be? Both partners must be at least 21.
- Do I need an MVV? If you are staying longer than 90 days and your nationality is not on the exemption list, yes. Iranian nationals are not exempt.
- What does the IND application cost? €254 for residence with a partner, revised each 1 January, plus €150 for the civic integration exam abroad if you have to take it.
- How much does the partner in the Netherlands have to earn? At least €2,337.00 gross a month (€2,523.96 if holiday allowance is paid monthly) from 1 July to 31 December 2026. The IND revises the amount each 1 January and 1 July.
- How long does the IND take to decide? The legal decision period is 90 days from the day the IND receives the application, and the IND can extend it by up to 6 months.
- Can unmarried partners apply? Yes, if the relationship is lasting and exclusive. Both of you sign a declaration of relationship, and the sponsor completes the IND’s questionnaire.
- Can a student in the Netherlands bring a spouse? Yes, if the income requirement is met. A student may count a grant, a bank balance or outside financing, and the partner does not need the exam abroad.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and it describes published official rules rather than any individual case.
