Dear Rob/Editor,
Who has experience with bringing a Thai family member to the Netherlands? My Thai girlfriend has been in the Netherlands for almost 5 years now. In 2018, her son (now 11) came to live with us. Now we would like her 23 year old sister to come over for good as well.
Is this possible and what are the steps we need to take?
Regards,
Epp
Dear Eppe,
The short answer is: you can't. The immigration procedure is only for the partner and minor children of the Dutch national. The sister is not included. If she does want to come to the Netherlands, she will either have to have a European partner or migrate to the Netherlands on other grounds.
Those other options are limited: if she is a chef, a restaurant can hire her and start a procedure to bring in an employee with skills that are not easy to find in Europe. Or if the girlfriend is highly educated, a company with high skilled workers can hire her and start a procedure for Knowledge Workers.
A final option is that she will study at a university of applied sciences or university in the Netherlands. That costs thousands of euros in study costs, but as long as she studies she can stay here, after which she could stay here for another year looking for a job for knowledge workers. An employer can then employ her and obtain a residence permit on that basis.
If the sister happens to be a political activist and the authorities threaten her, she could still come to the Netherlands as a refugee and apply for asylum. The few Thai political refugees are mainly in France. Good chance that all these other options do not really apply to her, but I just wanted to mention the options.
Most realistic is simply hoping that she will find a nice Dutch or European partner, start a sincere, exclusive and lasting relationship with her and can therefore immigrate on that basis.
Yours faithfully,
Rob V