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Source: VluchtelingenWerk Nederland
Article

Apply for (post-travel) asylum family reunification with the IND

Last updated: 03/12/2025, 09:30

Do your family members meet the conditions for family reunification? Then you can start an application for family reunification with the IND. In this step you will read what you need to do to do this.

You start your application within 3 months of receiving your asylum residence permit

By starting your application in advance within 3 months, you ensure that you can apply for asylum as a 'post-entry asylum' application. With an 'asylum post-travel' application you have to meet less strict requirements. And it is free of charge. So it is very important that you make the application within three months.

For your application, you will need many documents about your family members. Even if you do not yet have all the required documents, you can send the application for family reunification to the

. You can then later provide as many documents as possible that prove your family relationship.

You can submit your application online (through the IND website) or on paper by post

You will need an email address for this. With the online application you need to upload your documents and translations. Once you have completed all the questions and your documents have been uploaded, send the form via the send button. You will receive a digital receipt confirmation of your online application at your e-mail address.

If you wish to submit your application by post, you must download the application form for family reunification from the IND website in Dutch

or English. You must complete and submit an application form for each family member.

If you send the forms by post, you can fill them out digitally first and then print them out

You must complete one application form for each family member:

Once you have completed all the forms digitally, print the forms and sign each one with your signature. Then send the completed application forms with the copies of all documents and translations you need to send to the IND. So you do not send original documents with the application form, only copies.

Please note: it is important that you send the application with all copies of documents signed to the IND. The address of the IND is on the form. You can send registered mail at a PostNL point near you. This costs approximately 12 euros. Find a PostNL point near you

. If you send the request by registered post, you will receive proof that your package has been sent. You will also receive a confirmation when the package has been received by the IND. This way you know for sure that your application has arrived at the IND.

Receipt confirmation

After a few weeks you will receive a written confirmation of receipt at your home address. With this the IND confirms that your applications for family reunification have been received. It does not matter whether you sent the application online or by post. In the confirmation of receipt you will also see that the IND has given your family members a personal

. And that each family member's application has a case number. In the confirmation of receipt you will also see the deadline by which the IND must decide on your applications.

In the confirmation of receipt, you will also find an explanation from the IND for sending original documents with translations (the translation must be attached to a copy of the document) to

. This office of the IND will examine your original documents for authenticity. Always send your original documents to TOED by registered post, including the attachment from the confirmation of receipt that contains your information. Only with that attachment can TOED register, examine and process the documents in your file. After the examination, TOED will send the documents to the IND office so that you can pick them up there.

Please note: never send original IDs in the post. You and your family members need those to identify yourselves.

Support from VluchtelingenWerk Nederland (VWN) in applying for family reunification

From 1 December 2025,

can no longer help you apply for family reunification if you are still living in the reception centre. From that date, VWN will no longer receive money from the Dutch Ministry of Asylum & Migration to help you in the reception centre. You must apply for your family reunification on your own from 1 December if you are still living in the reception centre. Read more about this in this news article on RefugeeHelp.

It is understandable if you still have questions about the family reunification procedure. Perhaps it is necessary to request a postponement. Or it is necessary to specify another embassy because of travel issues. There may also be a medical emergency involving your family members. If you have questions or there are changes, contact the IND. As of 1 December 2025 there is a 'telefoonnummer gezinshereniging asiel' (phone number for asylum family reunification) that you can call: 088 - 043 04 00. You can find the number from 1 December on the page 'Bellen met de IND

' (call the IND).

Please note: Did you send your application for post-travel family reunification to the IND before 1 December 2025? And do you need support answering a letter from the IND or something else? If so, VWN can still support you temporarily (until June 2026). You can make an appointment via RefugeeHelp for the digital consultation hour of VWN.

Do you already have your own home in the municipality? If so, VWN or your social worker from another organisation can support you with family reunification.

Your contact at VWN in the municipality can:

  • Provide information on the family reunification procedure.

  • Help you in completing the application form.

  • Contact the IND on your behalf regarding family reunification.

  • Help you in answering questions from the IND about your relationship.

  • Sometimes VWN can help with a contribution from the

    . Then part of your family members' travel expenses will be reimbursed.

  • Support you in practical matters once your family members have arrived in the Netherlands and there is housing for you in the municipality. For example, when applying for benefits and

    . Or when buying health insurance and registering with a general practitioner, dentist and school.

  • If your application for family reunification has been rejected and you want to appeal, VWN can help you find a lawyer.

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