Netherlands / Application guide
How to Apply for Asylum in the Netherlands as a Nigerian
A first asylum application begins in person at the correct application centre. For applications made on or after 12 June 2026, screening and a preparation phase of no more than three days come before the IND selects the procedure and examines the protection claim.
Official rules checked: 7 September 2026
Asylum is protection from a qualifying danger
The IND can grant an asylum residence permit where the applicant is a refugee under the Refugee Convention, faces a qualifying risk of serious harm, or meets the current family condition linked to a recent asylum permit holder. Refugee grounds concern race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group. Serious harm includes the death penalty, torture or inhuman treatment, and a serious personal threat arising from indiscriminate violence in armed conflict.
A difficult economy, insecurity described only at a general level, an expired Dutch visa or a wish to remain with friends does not establish the legal test. The applicant must give a truthful personal account and help the IND understand who caused or may cause the harm, why state protection is not available, and why return is unsafe now.
Report in person at the correct application centre
A person who enters the Netherlands by land reports at the application centre in Ter Apel. An unaccompanied child under 18 also reports there. A person arriving by plane or boat who has not passed border control applies at the application centre at Schiphol.
Tell the authority clearly that you want asylum and follow the reporting instruction given at the border or application centre. Applying is free. Bring any passport, identity paper, travel record and protection evidence that is safely available. Children and other family members may have facts of their own and should not be treated as if one adult’s account automatically covers everyone.
Do not hide an earlier visa, fingerprint, residence permit or asylum application in another European country. The authorities check these records. The information may affect which country is responsible and which Dutch procedure applies.
New applications begin with screening and OVA
For an application made on or after 12 June 2026, the Netherlands first carries out screening. At Ter Apel the IND performs it. At Schiphol it is performed by the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. Identity, data, safety, health and vulnerability are checked.
At Ter Apel, the Reception and Preparation for Asylum Application phase, called OVA, lasts no more than three days. The IND asks for personal details, nationality, documents, biometric data, family information, living environment, travel and stays in other countries, and the main reason for the application. The IND also checks whether extra medical care or procedural support is required.
The applicant receives a screening form and can point out errors during the final OVA conversation. The IND issues confirmation of the application and, pending the Type W card, a temporary document. Keep these papers safe and check names, dates, nationality and family details carefully.
During OVA, COA assesses entitlement to reception. Eligible applicants may receive a place to sleep, food, medical care and support. A health examination or tuberculosis test may also be required.
Legal counselling and a lawyer are not the same service
In Ter Apel, free legal counselling is available through designated IND staff. They explain the procedure, rights and obligations, and general legal questions. They do not give personal advice and cannot review the individual protection account. Once a person has a lawyer, the legal counselling service is no longer available.
For the standard procedure, the Legal Aid Board arranges a lawyer shortly before the personal interview. This is usually free. The lawyer helps during the asylum procedure. In the border and AMMR procedures, a lawyer is assigned earlier because the process and deadlines are different.
Give the lawyer complete papers and disclose difficult facts. The lawyer needs to see earlier applications, criminal or immigration history, travel through Europe, medical or psychological needs and any concern about an interpreter. Concealing a problem from the lawyer makes it harder to deal with properly.
The IND chooses one of five procedures
Standard procedure
This applies where no special procedure fits. The IND conducts the personal interview and must normally decide within six months. A defined extension of up to six months is possible in specified circumstances.
AMMR procedure
The Asylum and Migration Management Regulation procedure asks whether another EU or EEA country or Switzerland must decide the substance. Family links, a previous application, irregular entry, a visa, a residence permit or certain study history may matter.
Admissibility procedure
The IND considers whether it will examine the substance at all. Prior international protection or a safe third country connection can be relevant. The current IND page states a usual two month decision period, with a possible further two months.
Accelerated procedure
This may apply for reasons listed by the IND, including a claim unrelated to protection, deliberate deception, an application made only to delay removal, a safe country or low grant rate category, public order concerns, or an unexplained failure to apply promptly. The decision period is three months.
Border procedure
This applies at an airport or seaport where entry has not been granted. The applicant stays in a closed reception facility near Schiphol unless the procedure is unsuitable for the person’s situation. The IND must decide within five weeks or move the case to another procedure where further investigation is required.
The IND may decide an interview is unnecessary in some responsibility or admissibility cases. If that happens, the applicant and lawyer must use the response opportunity stated in the letter.
The personal interview is the main protection examination
In the standard procedure, the applicant receives a written invitation. An IND employee asks about the reasons for asylum and any unclear point. An independent and impartial interpreter translates into a language the applicant understands.
Say immediately if a question or interpretation is unclear. Do not guess to appear precise. Distinguish what was personally seen from what another person reported. Give dates as accurately as memory allows and explain uncertainty. Trauma can affect recall, but it should be raised honestly rather than used as a prepared explanation for every inconsistency.
The IND prepares a written report and makes an audio recording. The applicant and lawyer receive the report. The lawyer checks it with the applicant and can send corrections or additions. The lawyer can also listen to the recording.
Prepare a chronological note for the lawyer, not a memorised performance. Include the people involved, locations, key dates, attempts to obtain protection, injuries or treatment, threats after departure and reasons internal relocation would not be safe or reasonable. Never rehearse a false answer.
Submit genuine documents as early as possible
The IND says identity and origin documents, and records supporting the asylum reason, should be provided where possible. Examples may include a passport, driving licence, family record, arrest warrant, police or court paper, medical material, membership evidence, messages, photographs and witness details.
For a post-12 June 2026 application, provide available documents during OVA. If a relevant document becomes available later, submit it as soon as possible through the route identified by the IND or lawyer. Keep copies and proof of delivery. A document in a foreign language may need a Dutch, English, French or German translation for the procedure.
Explain what each document is, how it was obtained and what fact it proves. Do not crop a message so heavily that context disappears. Do not alter metadata, signatures or dates. If a Nigerian document needs a certified copy, verification, authentication or legalization, first obtain the receiving authority’s written requirement.
The decision is positive or negative
A positive decision grants an asylum residence permit based on refugee status, subsidiary protection or the relevant family status. Under the current post-12 June rules, the residence document is Type III and is valid for three years. The permit itself continues until the IND withdraws it. The holder may work without an employer work permit.
A negative decision may include a return decision and an entry ban. With a lawyer, the applicant can appeal to a Dutch court. Read every page immediately. The decision states the deadline and whether the person may wait for the appeal in the Netherlands.
If the decision says the appeal cannot be awaited in the Netherlands, the IND’s current guidance states that an application for provisional relief must be made to the court within 24 hours of receiving the decision. This is an emergency point for a Dutch lawyer. Do not assume that lodging an appeal always stops departure.
Applications made before 12 June 2026 remain separate
The IND has a dedicated page for people who applied before 12 June 2026. It describes the earlier interview structure and longer waiting position for pending files. The IND says it has three years to decide all such applications and cannot say exactly when an individual file will be reached.
Withdrawing an older application and submitting a new application does not move the person forward. The date of the previous application still determines when it is processed. A person with an older pending file should use the transition page and the lawyer’s case specific advice, not the timeline for a new OVA application.
What to prepare now
Take your application confirmation, identity material, travel records, current address, dated chronology, genuine evidence, medical or vulnerability information and all IND letters to the lawyer or authorised adviser.
Antarch Consulting can help identify and process genuine Nigerian records requested for the file. It cannot decide the protection ground, write a protection story, coach an interview or represent the applicant.
Check the current official Netherlands sources
- Application processIND first application guidanceReporting, screening, OVA, interview, decision and permit.
- Procedure selectionIND asylum proceduresAMMR, admissibility, accelerated and border details.
- Supporting recordsIND document guidanceWhat to provide and how post-12 June documents are submitted.
- 2026 legal changeIND migration pact updateCurrent procedure and residence changes from 12 June 2026.
- Older pending filesIND transition guidanceSeparate process, interviews and waiting position.
- AppealIND objection and appeal pageCourt challenge and whether the appeal may be awaited in the Netherlands.