Bringing your “young adult child” to the Netherlands

Children over the age of 18 are not considered part of the core family. As a result, young adult children cannot apply for residence with their parent under the regular family reunification rules.

The only option available is to apply for a right of residence based on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Article 8 ECHR protects the right to respect private life and family life. However, applications for a residence permit based on Article 8 ECHR are assessed very strictly by the Dutch Immigration Authority (IND).

Article 8 ECHR: Two-Step Assessment

An assessment under Article 8 ECHR consists of two steps. First, it is examined whether family life exists between the young adult child and the parent. The IND only recognizes family life if there “additional elements of dependence, involving more than normal emotional ties” exist. In practice, this means that the young adult must be financially, emotionally, and practically or medically dependent on their parent.

Until recently, the IND also recognized family life between a parent and a young adult child if the child had never lived independently, was financially dependent on the parent, was under the age of 25, and had not started a family of their own. This was known as the young adult policy. However, this policy has been scrapped. Consequently, family life is now only recognized if “additional elements of dependence, involving more than normal emotional ties” are demonstrated. The threshold for meeting this requirement is exceptionally high.

If the IND concludes that the young adult is sufficiently dependent on the parent for family life to exist, then the second step is the balancing of interests. At this stage, all factors supporting the young adult’s wish to live with the parent in the Netherlands are weighed against the reasons put forward by the Dutch authorities for refusing residence. On the side of the young adult and the parent, the various forms of dependency are taken into account. The applicant’s ties to the Netherlands and to the country of origin are also considered. On the side of the Dutch authorities, general economic considerations often are given significant weight. The IND generally takes the position that granting residence permits to people who do not qualify under the regular immigration rules (meaning not article 8 ECHR) may have a negative impact on the economy. In practice, substantial weight is often attached to this general economic interest.

Legal Proceedings

There is currently considerable debate regarding Article 8 ECHR and the way in which the IND interprets and applies it. Courts regularly find that the IND has applied an excessively strict assessment.

However, it often takes a long time before a case reaches the Court. As a result, applications for residence rights based on Article 8 ECHR frequently involve lengthy procedures. This means that both the young adult and the parent may face a prolonged period of uncertainty.

Alternatives

For this reason, our advice for young adults is to first consider another type of residence permit, such as a student residence permit or a highly skilled migrant permit. A young adult is only in exceptional circumstances eligible for a residence permit for residence with a parent in the Netherlands.