zoekjaar-partner visa

Dex24 wrote:

Hi all,

I'm Mexican and I'm about to apply for a zoekjaar visa but I was thinking about some plans in the long term.

My boyfriend is Dutch, we've been together for 2 years and I would like to stay in The Netherlands after my zoekjaar (if granted) expires. I've heard that sometimes is quite difficult to get a job within the zoekjaar and I'm worried I don't get a job by then so I wouldn't be able change my visa to a highly skilled migrant one. This is why we've been thinking about alternatives, and the other option is to try with a partner visa but we are not married and I am not able to take the integration exam since I don't speak Dutch. However, I read in the IND website there are some exemptions; one of them is if I have a valid residence permit and the other is if I intend to apply for residence permit for a temporary purpose of stay.

So my questions are:
1. If I move there with a zoekjaar visa, do I have to return to my country to change my purpose of stay/visa?
2. Is it really possible not to take the integration exam and get the partner visa?
3. In any of these cases is it necessary to be married?
4. Approximately, How difficult/how much time does it take to get married?  (the tramit, application, etc)

Thanks a lot!

Saludos (:

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

To answer your questions:

1.  You do have to change your residence permit if the reason for you being in the Netherlands changes; this link will take you directly to the IND website that has the information you need.  You can apply for the change while you are still in the Netherlands.
2.  Depends on your situation. MVV is all about integration; there is a web page that lists all the possible exemptions to MVV; this link will take you straight there.  If you are not exempt; there is an online training video called Naar Nederland, some helpful person has put a copy on YouTube, so check it out, it's based around the MVV exams.
3.  No.
4.  I don't remember, it was a long time ago; my wife and her mother did all the leg work as I was living in Central America at the time; I just turned up on the day.  A quick look on the Internet tells me the admin takes 14 days, then you have 1 year to do the deed.

Hope this helps.

Have a great day.

Cynic
Expat Team