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Pick up your sticker from the IND within 4 weeks of arrival

Published at: 18/06/2024, 00:00

Have you fled Ukraine and registered with the municipality, but do not yet have proof of residence? Then you must pick up your sticker or O-document from the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) within 4 weeks.

Without proof of residence, you lose right to temporary protection

Have you just arrived in the Netherlands? Then you register with the municipality where you are staying. You will then be registered in the

Dutch population register (BRP)
. You have 4 weeks from then to make an appointment with the IND. The IND determines whether you are entitled to temporary protection in the Netherlands. If you are entitled to temporary protection, you get a sticker in your passport or O-document.

What happens if you do not make an appointment with the IND within 4 weeks? Then the IND can decide to stop the rights you have under temporary protection. This means you are no longer entitled to stay in the Netherlands, healthcare, education, shelter and living expenses.

Conditions of the Temporary Protection Directive

In this article you can read more about the conditions of the Temporary Protection Directive in the Netherlands.

You can also get a sticker with an expired passport

For registration in the municipality (BRP) and for your appointment with the IND, you must be able to show who you are. You can register at the municipality if the photo on the expired identity document matches. You can then also make an appointment at the IND.

Someone else may pick up your proof of residence

You can ask someone else to go to the IND in Amsterdam to get your sticker or O-document for you. This is called authorisation. You can only authorise someone if you cannot travel for medical reasons. Work or study is not a reason. If you authorise someone, you need a form from the IND.

This is what a valid proof of residence looks like

Do you fall under the

Temporary Protection Directive (TPD)
? Then you have a proof of residence valid until 4 March 2025. Does your sticker or pass show a different validity date? If so, you have received a letter from the IND with which your sticker or pass remains valid until the end of the TPD.

Your sticker or pass, together with the letter you received from the IND, constitutes your valid proof of residence. Here, only the letter with your personal information from the IND is valid proof. Translated versions of this letter are not valid as proof of residence.

Have you not received a letter from the IND? Then first check with your

DigiD
on 'MijnIND' to see if the letter has been uploaded there.

Even if you do not have Ukrainian citizenship you will get proof of residence

Do you not have Ukrainian citizenship, but are you entitled to temporary protection in the Netherlands for another reason? For example because:

  • You lived in Ukraine with a permanent residence permit

  • You had international protection in Ukraine (e.g. as a recognised refugee)

  • Your family member is covered by the directive

Then your temporary protection has been extended until 4 March 2025. In February 2024, you received a letter from the IND stating that you can make an appointment for a new O-document, valid until 4 March 2025.

Appointment planner of Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND)

You can use the appointment planner to make an appointment with the IND.

Contact with VluchtelingenWerk Nederland

On this page you will find contact options with RefugeeWerk Nederland (VWN). Do you have a question that is not answered on RefugeeHelp? VWN staff will be happy to help you.

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