Dear Rob/Editor,
My Thai wife is hesitant to do the Dutch integration as part of bringing her to the Netherlands for a long-term stay.
Does anyone know, or does anyone have experience with it, whether there are other neighboring countries, for example Germany, where it would be (much) easier for a Dutchman to bring his Thai wife over for a long-term stay (so don't mean a tourist visa, but more what would be an MVV in NL)?
So, for example, would it be easier for a Dutch person living in Germany to do that, because the rules in Germany are easier, for example?
Thanks in advance for responses.
Regards,
Alex
Dear Alex,
A European citizen who wants to live with his or her (married) partner in a country other than their own European country falls under European migration rules. They are less strict than the Dutch migration rules. If you and your wife want to live in Germany (or Belgium, Spain, etc.) you will therefore fall under this scheme. This is best known under the name “EU route” or “Belgium route”. After some time, at least 3 months but preferably more, you could move to the Netherlands and fall under the more flexible EU rules (and not the Dutch rules). But of course you can also continue to live across the border.
The various options and matters involved, and what exactly is most desirable in your situation, cannot be described in a comment here on this blog. It is best to read up on the EU route on the forum of the Foreign Partner Foundation. There you will find several handbooks and many additional experiences and knowledge of people who have already traveled this route. So I advise you to consult that forum, specifically the part about the EU route. You can find them here:
https://www.buitenlandsepartner.nl/forumdisplay.php?22-Europa-route
I hope this gives you a good starting point.
Good luck and best regards,
Rob V
I brought my wife to the Netherlands on an MVV. Living abroad seems like quite a big step to me.
My wife studied with Richard van der Kieft, he will help you and your wife through the entire process towards the MVV. Highly recommended.
For more information, take a look at his website http://www.nederlandslerenbangkok.com
Good luck
Louis
Alex,
It also very much depends on what your end goal is.
If you want your wife to get a Dutch passport, this route will not work.
Naturalization is necessary for this and this includes the integration exam in the Netherlands, currently A2, but probably soon B1.
If you are solely interested in avoiding the integration exam abroad at the low A1 level, I would advise you to let your wife try it first before you decide to move to Germany.
The level of the exam is not too bad. If your wife is not really good at self-study, I can recommend Richard van der Kieft's school (Dutch Learning in Bangkok).https://www.nederlandslerenbangkok.com/nl/)
On the Facebook group MVV to the Netherlands you can also read many experiences with the MVV procedure.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/608310976198034
But the strange fact remains that in many EU countries, EU citizens from other countries have much more flexible rules, so this applies equally to Germany. If you, as a Dutch person living in Germany, bring your wife over, the rules are more flexible for you than for the Germans themselves.