On or after January 1, 2016, legalization by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs will no longer be required in order for Dutch authorities to accept supporting immigration application documents issued in certain countries, according to a recent policy amendment.
Documents issued in one of the following countries will no longer require legalization at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
- Benin
- Burma/Myanmar
- Burkina Faso
- Cambodia
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Republic of Congo
- Djibouti
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haiti
- Ivory Coast
- Cameroon
- Kenya
- Laos
- Mali
- Niger
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Philippines
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Sri Lanka
- Togo
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- Vietnam
- South Sudan
Documents issued in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic and Nigeria have been exempt from the requirement since 2013.
What This Means for Foreign Nationals
Documents that must be legalized for the purposes of an immigration application in the Netherlands must only be legalized by a foreign affairs ministry in the applicant’s home country if the document was issued in one of the above countries.