Applying for a Dutch passport or identity card if you live in Switzerland

You must prove that you are legally resident in Switzerland. You can do this by providing one of the following documents:

• A valid residence permit (‘C’).
• A certificate of residence (wohnsitzbescheidigung or attestation de domicile).
• If you also have Swiss nationality: a valid Swiss passport or ID card.
• If you are applying for a Dutch passport or ID card for your child for the first time, use their birth certificate as proof of legal residence.
• If you are applying for a Dutch passport or ID card for a minor, please use the proof of legal residence of the Dutch parent(s).

If you live in Germany, you can prove legal residence by providing one of the following documents:

• an extract from the population register for your place of residence bearing your nationality (Erweiterte Meldebescheinigung mit Angabe der Staatsangehörigkeit). You can apply for this document via the municipality where you are registered.

If the passport or ID card application is for a child under 18 or a person aged 18 or over who is applying for the first time since turning 18, please provide the following documents:

• an extract from the population register for the applicant’s Dutch parent, bearing their nationality (Erweiterte Meldebescheinigung mit Angabe der Staatsangehörigkeit).You can apply for this document via the municipality where the parent is registered. Give their name when applying.

An einfache Meldebescheinigung or an Anmeldebescheinigung is not sufficient. This is because these documents make no mention of nationality.

If you live in France, you can prove legal residence by providing one of the following documents:

• a copy of your French health insurance card (carte Vitale)
• a copy of a French tax return or electricity bill, showing your name and address.
• If you only have Dutch nationality, are 18 or over and your passport or ID card expired more than 2 years ago, you must also prove that you do not have French nationality. Find our more on the page on being 18 or over in France and having a Dutch passport or ID card that expired more than 2 years ago.
• If you are applying for a Dutch passport or ID card for your child for the first time, use their birth certificate as proof of legal residence.

If you live in Liechtenstein, you can prove legal residence by providing one of the following documents:

• a valid visa and supporting documents
• a valid residence permit
• if you also have Liechtenstein nationality: a valid Liechtenstein passport or ID card.
• If you are applying for a Dutch passport or ID card for your child for the first time, use their birth certificate as proof of legal residence.

Switzerland

If, according to your personal checklist (step 1), you need to provide a birth certificate or a marriage certificate from Switzerland, please provide an international ICCS extract from the birth or marriage register. Family books (Familienbuch/livret de famille) or family certificates (Familienschein/certificat de famille) will not be accepted.

Germany

If, according to your personal checklist (step 1), you need to provide a birth certificate or marriage certificate from Germany, please provide a multilingual extract of the certificate.

France

If, according to your personal checklist (step 1), you need to provide a birth certificate or marriage certificate, please provide a complete official copy (copie intégrale) of the certificate.

If you have a birth certificate or marriage certificate from Switzerland, Germany or France, you do not need to have it legalised. You may need to have it translated, however.

If you have other documents, or documents from another country, find out if you need to have them legalised.

You can submit documents written in Dutch, English, German or French.

If you have documents in another language, apply for multilingual extracts. A multilingual extract is a standard form in 9 languages. You do not need to have it translated.

If this is not possible, you should have the documents translated by a sworn translator.

Make an appointment online with the embassy in Bern

Changing or cancelling your appointment

After making an appointment it will be confirmed by email. The email will contain a link you can use to change or cancel your appointment.

You can submit your passport or ID card application at a border municipality in the Netherlands. If you wish to do this, you can skip steps 4 and 5.

• Apply for a passport or ID card at a Dutch border municipality

You can submit your passport or ID card application at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. If you wish to do this, you can skip steps 4 and 5.

• Apply for a passport or ID card at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

Bring all the documents on your personal checklist. For every document the checklist will show you whether you need to provide the original and/or a photocopy.

If you needed to have documents legalised and/or translated, bring the legalised and translated versions with you as well.

The overview of consular fees in Switzerland tells you how much you will have to pay for a passport or ID card and which payment methods are accepted.

Applying for a passport or ID card at a Dutch border municipality or at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport will cost you less.

If you need your current passport or ID card while your application is being processed, you can retain it for the time being.

When do I have to hand in my old passport or ID card?

If you are collecting your new passport or ID card in person, you should hand in your old one when you come to collect it.

If you are having your passport or ID card sent to you, you will need to first send your old one to the embassy or consulate-general. Only then will your new passport or ID card be sent to you. This means that there will be a period when you have no passport or ID card. If you want your old passport or ID card back, inform the embassy or consulate-general.

I have a residence permit or visa in my old passport, what should I do?

If your passport contains visas or a residence permit and you want to keep those pages intact, inform staff of this when you submit your old passport

After you submit your application you will receive a track & trace code to track the status of your application. You will receive an email when your new passport or ID card is ready.

You can collect your new passport or ID card from the embassy in Bern from Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 15:00.

You do not need to make an appointment but first check which days our offices are closed.

Passport

You can have your new passport sent to you by registered post. This is also possible for an address in France, Germany or Liechtenstein. To do this, you will need to pay postage costs when you submit your application. How much you need to pay will depend on the weight of the envelope. You do not need to bring your own envelope.

ID card

You can have your new ID card sent to an address in Switzerland. Ask how you can arrange this when you submit your application. It is usually possible to have your new ID card sent to an address in France, Germany or Liechtenstein if you don’t have a Dutch citizen service number (BSN). Ask how you can arrange this when you submit your application. If you have a BSN, you cannot have your new ID card sent to you. You can collect your ID card from the embassy in Bern.