Alhough Holland has a good reputation in terms of swiftness in making decisions, some local authorities, judges and the immigration services put your patience to the test. The loads of work the immigration service has to do make it hard to decide on your case in time.

Judges have, generally speaking, 6 weeks to decide. A public office 10 weeks. The Immigration office 6 months.

What are your rights if these terms are not respected?

First of all is the formal complaint, which is not more than a request to 'hurry up'. More formal and far more effective is the claim of damages due to the fact the decision is not made in time.

You should be able to have some damages reports. For example failing to give you in time a drivers licence results in you having to take a taxi. These cost a related to the retarded decision.

Guapa legal has made a format to complain on late decision-making. This format is specified to the Immigration and Naturalisation service, as they tend to be late in making a decision on the permissions every time.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask us: e-mail

© Guapa 2003
David Nauta