The IND revocation procedure explained

The IND is known as “the admission agency” of the Netherlands, as it issues residence permits to foreign nationals who qualify for residence in the Netherlands. At the same time, the IND is also responsible for revoking residence permits. The IND can be quite raring to curtail residence permits. This can be shown by some statistics. For example, in 2022, the IND curtailed 10220 regular residence permits. In other words, 196 residence permits got withdrawn every week (incl. Christmas week and holiday seasons). Let’s have a gander at a more recent example. In 2024, the IND issued 19670 highly skilled migrant (“arbeid als kennismigrant”) permits. Meanwhile, in the same year, the IND revoked 3840 highly skilled migrant permits. We may run the risk of comparing apples with pears, but it sounds like about 20% of the highly skilled migrant permits get revoked every year. These statistics demonstrate the importance of immigration compliance. Meanwhile, a permit holder should keep all their wits about them. 

The revocation grounds

In the following context, let’s delve into the various grounds on which the IND can revoke a residence permit. Article 18 of the Immigration Act 2000 mentions a myriad of legal grounds on which the IND can refuse a residence permit application. Pursuant to article 19 of the Act, a residence permit can be revoked on the same grounds as referred to in article 18 of the Act. The revocation grounds are as follows:

• the permit holder has moved their main residence outside the Netherlands;
• the foreign national is not in possession of a valid travel document;
• the foreign national provided incorrect information or withheld information that would have led to the rejection of the original application for issuance or renewal;
• the foreign national or their referent does not have independent, sufficient and sustainable funds to provide for themselves;
• the foreign national forms a threat to the public order or national security;
• the foreign national no longer fulfils the conditions under which their permit was issued;
• the foreign national has been working for an employer, without fulfilling the conditions of the Foreigner Employment Act;
• No declaration of sponsorship has been provided in the sense of article 2a(2) of the Immigration Act 2000;
• the foreign national does not fulfil the integration duty as referred to in article 6(1) of the Integration Act 2021.

It is worth mentioning that, depending on the purpose of stay (“visa type”), some of these grounds can be inapplicable. For example, the integration duty does not apply to a highly skilled migrant and their dependent family members. Thus, their permits cannot be revoked for failing to meet the integration duty. Moreover, subject to the nature of the permit, the IND may make use of some grounds more frequently than others. In the following context, we will elaborate on five of the commonly used grounds.

Not living together

If a foreign national holds a dependent family member visa and does not live together with their sponsoring family member, the IND will probably try to revoke their family member permit, as the IND often contends that a dependent family member must be registered together with their sponsoring partner. A dependent family member can be an (un)married partner or a dependent child.

Not meeting the salary requirement

As mentioned above, if a highly skilled migrant or a European blue card holder does not meet their salary threshold, the IND can potentially revoke their permit because of not meeting the salary threshold. When it comes to the salary threshold, the IND can be very strict, not taking mitigating circumstances into account.

Not being able to find a new job within the search period

When a highly skilled migrant or a European blue card holder loses their job, they need to find a new job. If they fail to find a new job within the search period, the IND will eventually revoke their permit as of the end of the search period. However, the length of the search period has recently become a bone of contention for the IND.

Moving their main residence outside the Netherlands

A residence permit holder must have their main residence within the territory of the Netherlands. If one deregisters from the Dutch city hall system (“BRP”), the IND will initiate a revocation procedure sooner or later.

Insufficient study progress

A student permit holder needs to achieve at least 50% of the nominal study load. Normally, it means that a student needs to obtain at least 30 ECTS every academic year. Should a student fail to achieve 30 ECTS a year, their school is obliged to report them to the IND. As a corollary, the IND will proceed to revoke their student visa.

Return decision and alert on return

Since 7 March 2023, when the IND revokes a residence permit, the IND will issue a return decision (“terugkeerbesluit”) as well. A return decision will be automatically registered as an alert on return in the Schengen Information System (“SIS”). As long as there is an active SIS alert, it will be difficult to travel back and forth between a third country (eg. the USA) and the Schengen Zone. Also, with an active alert on return in the SIS, it will be (very) difficult to obtain another visa or residence permit from another Member State of the Schengen Area. Furthermore, in the near future, an alert on return may have a negative impact on a (future) application for the ETIAS.

Procedure

Before the IND revokes a residence permit, it will send the permit holder an intention to revoke letter (“voornemen”). In the letter itself, the IND normally gives the foreign national a fortnight to reply. Normally, it is possible to ask the IND to give more time, with a view to preparing for a substantiated response. In general, the IND will be willing to put off the deadline too.
Thus, upon receipt of an intention to revoke letter, it is of crucial importance to take timely actions (eg. seeking legal advice from an experienced immigration lawyer). Depending on the nature of the case, it may be necessary to gather a plethora of documents (eg. chat history).

The foreign national will need to provide the IND with their written response (also known as “zienswijze” in Dutch). Upon receipt of their written response, the IND will most likely proceed to decide, which can be either a revocation decision (“beschikking”) or a brief letter saying that the IND has decided not to revoke (this time). If the result is negative, the foreign national can file an administrative review petition (“bezwaar”) within four weeks of the revocation decision.

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