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Short stay visa
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PDF fileshort stay visa.  This is an external web link, which will open a new browser window.Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Department (IND)   This is an external web link, which will open a new browser window.Dutch embassies and consulates  


If you are planning to stay in Holland for a period of up to three months, you do not need to apply for a residence permit. Most people, however, need a visa for temporary stay or visum voor kort verblijf. This is a sticker in your passport that states that you are entitled to stay in the country for a specified period (up to three months).

Note that you cannot apply for a residence permit when you are in the Netherlands on a tourist visa.
If you wish to stay for more than three months, you have to apply for a special type of visa, a so-called MVV. Without this MVV, you cannot apply for a residence permit.

You have to file your visa application at the This is a web link, which will open a new browser window.Dutch embassy or consulate in your country of residence.

If you apply for a Dutch visa, you are applying for a so-called Schengen visa. This visa allows you access to the countries that signed the This is a web link, which will open a new browser window.Schengen Agreement in 1985: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.

In some cases, a visa is limited to only one or two Schengen countries. This will be explicitly mentioned on the visa.

You can read more about this type of visa in the official IND brochure PDF file visa for temporary stay.


Nationals of the following countries need a visa to enter the Netherlands:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Belarus, Benin, Bhutan, Burma (see Myanmar), Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, China (People’s Republic), Columbia, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire), Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Serbia-Montenegro (former Federative Republic of Yugoslavia), Fiji, Philippines, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Cape Verde, Kazakhstan, Cameroon, Kenya, Kirghizia, Kiribati, Kuwait, North Korea, Laos, Lesotho, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia (former Republic of Yugoslavia), Madagascar, Maldives, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Moldavia, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar (former Burma), Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Mariana Islands, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Qatar, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Solomon Islands, Samoa (West), Saudi Arabia, Sâo Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, St. Christopher and Nevis (St. Kitts), St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Taiwan (Republic of China), Tanzania, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe