Residence Permit Gap: What is the "residence permit gap" and the consequences if I have a gap in the residence permit period?
(Last edited: Tuesday, 9 March 2021, 10:59 AM)
Answer:
A residence gap is an interruption in your continuous stay and
may cause problems later on if you want to apply for a Dutch
permanent residence. In general, a residence permit gap has affects
in the longer term, if you decide to apply for a Dutch permanent residence
permit in the future. In order to apply for a permanent residence
permit, one of the requirements is that you have legally resided in
the Netherlands for an uninterrupted period of five years or more before
you make the permanent residence permit application. This means
that you require to have had a valid residence permit for the full
five years, without interruptions or gaps within this period. You have
thus always applied for extension of your residence permit
on time. Another requirement is that within
these five consecutive years you have not stayed outside the
Netherlands for six or more consecutive months, or three years in a row for
four or more consecutive months.
The
consequence of a residence permit gap is that the period of legal
residence in the Netherlands before this gap will not be taken into
consideration. This means that you will have to start again building up a
five-year uninterrupted period in the Netherlands to obtain permanent
residency.
For example: If your first residence permit is issued
from 01-09-2009 till 31-08-2013, and if you apply for residence permit
extension later than your expiration date (31-08-2013), then residency gap is
created, and the IND starts counting from that day onwards -- that day your application
form is received by the IND. Even a single day difference is recognised as a
residency gap.