The Bottom Line
- A residence permit based on a relationship can be revoked retroactively to the date of the breakup, creating an immediate period of illegal stay for the permit holder.
- This “residence gap“—even if just for a few months—is fatal for applications for long-term or permanent residency, which require years of uninterrupted legal status.
- Dutch authorities and courts give significant weight to a sponsoring partner’s declaration about when a relationship ended, even if the former couple continued to live together for a period afterward.
The Details
This case involved a Nigerian national whose Dutch residence permit was sponsored by his partner. When the relationship ended, his partner notified the immigration authorities that the breakup occurred in January 2023. Based on this notification, the authorities revoked the individual’s permit, making the revocation effective retroactively from January 1, 2023. The individual, who had since applied for an EU long-term residence permit in August 2023, argued that the relationship truly ended when he moved out in September 2023. This timeline was critical, as the retroactive revocation created a seven-month residence gap during which he was deemed to have been in the country illegally.
The District Court of The Hague sided squarely with the immigration authorities. The core of the judgment rests on the strict requirement for five years of uninterrupted legal residence to qualify for an EU long-term permit. By upholding the retroactive revocation to January 1, 2023, the court confirmed that a residence gap had been created, breaking the continuous five-year chain. The court found the ex-partner’s formal declaration of the breakup date to be a decisive piece of evidence. The fact that the individual continued to cohabit or contribute to household expenses after that date was deemed insufficient to prove the romantic and family relationship—the legal basis for the permit—had continued.
The court also dismissed the individual’s other arguments, including a dispute over the start date of a previous residence right and the claim that he should have been granted a formal hearing. The ruling underscores a critical risk for non-EU employees whose right to work is tied to a relationship-based permit. The validity of that permit is not determined by their employment status but by personal circumstances over which a company has no control. The court’s decision reinforces that Dutch immigration law is applied strictly, and the formal declarations of a sponsoring partner carry significant legal weight, creating potential instability for employees and their employers.
Source
Rechtbank Den Haag (District Court of The Hague)
