Colombia/The Netherlands: Legal and procedural requirements for obtaining permanent resident and citizenship status in Colombia for a male Dutch national; legal and procedural requirements for obtaining permanent resident and citizenship status in the Netherlands for a female Colombian national; citizenship rights in Colombia of a child born in the Netherlands to a Colombian mother and a Dutch father; rights and protection in the Netherlands for a woman born in Colombia and married to a Dutch national; whether the woman would lose her resident or citizenship status upon divorce

Further to the information provided in COL22870.E of 26 January 1996, COL20723.E of 16 May 1995, COL17066.E of 12 April 1994 and other Responses, a consular official at the Embassy of Colombia in Ottawa provided the information that follows during a 21 October 2002 telephone interview.

Colombia does not issue "permanent resident" visas. However, a foreigner can obtain a temporary stay or visitor visa to enter Colombia, and can later request and obtain resident status. If there is a legal personal relationship with a Colombian (for example, marriage or free union), a foreigner will usually be issued resident status that does not require renewal (in effect, permanent residence).

The residence requirement for acquiring Colombian nationality depends on the nationality of the foreigner: persons from Latin America and the Caribbean require two years of legal residence in Colombia in order to apply for naturalization, while all other foreigners require five years of legal residence in the country.

Both residence and naturalization applications have to be submitted to the Legal Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Oficina Jurídica del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores) in Colombia. Both procedures are usually very expeditious for foreign spouses of Colombian nationals.

Children with at least one Colombian parent have an inherent right to Colombian nationality.

During a 25 October 2002 telephone interview, a consular official of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ottawa stated that a woman married to a Dutch national can become a naturalized national of the Netherlands after three years of residence. If a naturalized woman divorces, she does not lose her Dutch nationality; however, a Colombian woman married to a Dutch national would be required to renounce her Colombian nationality upon naturalization.

The information that follows was provided by a consular officer at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands during 23 October telephone interviews. This adds to the information provided in ZZZ38655.E of 5 March 2002, NLD23294.E of 28 March 1996, NLD11250 of 14 July 1992, their attachments, and other previous Responses.

For a Colombian national to have entered and resided in the Netherlands, a visa and a residence permit would have been required. Being married to a Dutch national is no guarantee that a visa or a residence permit will be issued to an individual.

If a Colombian person is allowed into the country as a resident, the authorization would initially be valid for one year, after which, the person would have to go to the local police station to obtain an extension of the residence permit. There are certain requirements that must be met, and the issuing of the permit would ultimately depend on the police responsible for issuing and extending such a permit; consequently, another authority (e.g. a consular representative outside the Netherlands) cannot determine whether a person would qualify and be allowed an extension of a resident permit or how long such a permit would be extended for.

A foreigner must have been residing legally in the Netherlands for five years before being able to apply for naturalization; however, if the person is married to a Dutch national, the legal residence requirement is three years.

None of the above apply if the person entered and was residing illegally in the Netherlands.

Being born in the Netherlands does not automatically confer Dutch citizenship. If a child was born in the Netherlands after 1985, the child is entitled to Dutch citizenship only if at least one of the parents is a Dutch citizen. If the child was born in the Netherlands before 1985, the child was entitled to Dutch nationality only if the father was a Dutch citizen.

The information below was provided by the Immigration and Naturalization Directorate (IND) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and refers to the requirements and procedures specific to the case of a female Colombian national requesting residence in the Netherlands for longer than three months by reason of "partner reunification." Please note that there may be other circumstances to consider in determining the status of a female Colombian national in the Netherlands; the IND provides the information that follows as a guide, not a statement with definitive legal authority:

Your situation

You want to be reunited with a partner for a period of longer than 3 months. You come from a country where you are required to have an MVV (Colombia).

Partner reunion

Aliens and Dutch citizens who live in the Netherlands can get their partner in a foreign country to come to the Netherlands. This must involve a serious and permanent relationship. There is also the requirement that you are going to live together and share a joint household in the Netherlands.

In order to be eligible for partner reunification, you and your partner will both have to satisfy certain conditions.

Conditions

You will be eligible for residence in the Netherlands if you both satisfy certain conditions. The most important conditions for you are:

– You are at least 18 years old;

– You are unmarried. You can prove this with official documents.

– You do not represent a danger to public order or to national security.

The most important conditions for your partner who lives in the Netherlands are:

– Your partner is at least 18 years old;

– Your partner is unmarried and can prove this with official documents;

– Sufficient income. Your partner must have a minimum net income that is equal to or more than the family level set by the National Assistance Act He must be in long-lasting employment. That is to say he has an employment contract for at least 1 year at the time of the application;

– Your partner is prepared to sign a guarantee declaration.

In order to be eligible for family reunification, you must also be able to produce a number of documents.

Documents

You will in all cases need the following documents for your application:

– A valid passport (copy);

– 4 colour passport photographs;

– A notarized birth certificate (if necessary, translated into English, Dutch, German or French by a sworn translator);

– A notarized declaration that you are unmarried (if necessary, translated into English, Dutch, German or French by a sworn translator);

Your partner will also need a number of documents:

– A recent employer's declaration;

– An employment contract for at least 1 year;

– His last 3 payslips;

– An extract from the population register which shows that he is unmarried.

If you satisfy the conditions and you have all the documents, then you can begin the procedure.

MVV

The process for applications for provisional residence permits (MVV) has changed as of 1st July 2002. The process is laid out below...

Coming to the Netherlands with an MVV (Provisional Residence Permit)

If an alien wishes to reside in the Netherlands for more than 3 months, they require a residence permit. The alien requires a Provisional Residence Permit in order to submit an application for a residence permit. At the time of the MVV application, the IND will assess whether or not the alien complies with all admission criteria.

There are two methods of initiating an MVV application process:

– either the alien initiates the application with the Dutch embassy or the Consulate

– or the referee (spouse, partner, employer in the Netherlands etc.) submits a request for a recommendation to the Aliens Police.

The procedure in both cases is laid out below.

Method 1:

Request for an MVV recommendation from the Aliens Police submitted by the referee.

1 The Aliens Police informs the referee about the required documents and conditions;

2 The referee submits a request for a recommendation to the Aliens Police;

3 The Aliens Police inform the IND [Immigration and Naturalization Directorate] in relation to the request concerning the position of the referee;

4 The IND informs the referee of the outcome of recommendation. If the recommendation is positive the alien must submit an MVV application to the Dutch Embassy or the consulate within 6 months;

5 The alien submits the MVV application to the Dutch Embassy or consulate and pays the relevant costs;

6 The embassy determines whether or not the documents supplied by the alien are valid and authentic;

7 If the alien meets the criteria and the documents supplied are valid and authentic he/she will be informed by the embassy that they may collect the MVV.

An objection may be lodged if the ruling is negative.

Method 2:

The alien submits an MVV application to the Dutch Embassy or Consulate.

1 The Dutch Embassy informs the alien about the required documents and conditions;

2 The alien submits the MVV application to the Dutch Embassy or Consulate and pays the relevant costs;

3 The Dutch Embassy sends the application to the IND for assessment purposes;

4 If the alien's papers are all submitted and are valid and authentic, the IND will request that the referee in the Netherlands also submit his/her documents;

5 The Aliens Police will forward the information about the referee to the IND;

6 The IND make a decision and forward this to the Embassy;

7 The Embassy informs the alien of the decision. If the ruling is favourable the alien will also receive an invitation to collect their MVV from the Embassy.

An objection may be lodged if the ruling is negative.

The MVV

The alien must collect the MVV within six months of the issue date. Prior to issuing the MVV, the Embassy will carry out checks on a number of details, such as passport validity. It is therefore advisable to wait until the MVV has actually been issued before making and booking any travel arrangements.

The alien must travel to the Netherlands within 6 months of the MVV being inserted in their passport. The MVV is also a valid entry visa.

On arrival in the Netherlands, the alien must report directly to the Aliens Police in the region where they intend to live in order to submit an application for a residence permit. In a number of cases the alien may submit the application at the Civil Matters Department of the Municipality where they intend to live. The IND will inform the referee as to where the application for the residence permit is to be submitted.

Residence permit

After arrival in the Netherlands, you have to apply for a residence permit at the regional Aliens Police. Here you will have to sign a statement about your past.

Furthermore, you might be ordered to report to the local health service for a tuberculosis check.

The decision

The Immigration and Naturalization Service(IND) will make a decision. You will be informed about their decision by post.

If your application is approved, the residence permit can be collected from the Aliens Police.

The residence permit is valid for 1 year. The permit can be renewed on two occasions for a period of one year.

If the application is denied, the IND will inform you of their decision by post.

You can object and even make an appeal later if you do not agree with this decision. (Kingdom of the Netherlands 21 Oct. 2002).

Additional information that could be pertinent can be found in the January 2002 IND publication Family Reunification and Family Formation in the Netherlands, available in electronic format at . The document addresses procedures to obtain a visa, and what needs to be done to obtain and renew resident status. Under the heading "What should I do if my circumstances have changed or if my residence permit is about to expire?" the document states:

If the purpose of your residence changes, or if your residence permit is about to expire, this has consequences for your further stay in the Netherlands. If the purpose of your stay changes, then you must notify the Aliens Police in your region in advance (no later than four weeks before your residence permit expires).

If your residence permit is due to expire and you want to stay in the Netherlands, you will have to renew your residence permit with the Aliens Police in time (four weeks before the expiry date). Renewal is of course only possible if the conditions of your permit allow this.

There are no charges for renewal (ibid. Jan. 2002, 15).

The Aliens Act 2000 came into force on 1 April 2001, bringing changes mostly to the procedures related to asylum and asylum seekers (ibid. 9 Apr. 2001). In reference to residence permits, the IND stated:

It has been decided that the residence permits issued under the old Aliens Act will be legally converted into those under the new Aliens Act 2000. This means that as of 1 April 2001, an alien who has been granted an asylum residence permit will be given the same rights that are attached to a residence permit under the Aliens Act 2000. The exchange of the old documents for the new ones will take place in phases, but this will not affect the underlying entitlement to residence (ibid.).

Additional, detailed information on the requirements, conditions and limitations specific to the various categories of resident aliens in the Netherlands, can be found under the "Procedures" section of the IND website at .

For a general overview of the enjoyment and protection of rights for foreign residents and citizens in the Netherlands, please consult the latest issues of Country Reports available through Regional Documentation Centres.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Colombia. Embassy of Colombia, Ottawa. 21 October 2002. Telephone interview with consular officer.

Kingdom of the Netherlands. Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ottawa. 25 October 2002. Telephone interview with a consular officer.

_____. 23 October 2002. Telephone interviews with a consular officer.

_____. Immigration and Naturalization Directorate (IND), The Hague. 21 October 2002. "Procedure Guide." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2002]

_____. January 2002. Family Reunification and Family Formation in the Netherlands. [Accessed 18 Oct. 2002]

_____. 9 April 2001. "New Aliens Act in Force." [Accessed 18 Oct. 2002]