If you are a Brit living in the Netherlands, make sure you check your post this month, as the Immigration and Naturalisation service (IND) will have sent you a letter detailing what will happen if no deal has been reached by the Brexit deadline of March 29.

What will happen to your rights in the Netherlands?

Luckily, you will still be able to work, study and live in the Netherlands during the transition period, which lasts until July 1, 2020. The IND will send you a temporary residence permit in the form of a letter before the Brexit deadline. Don’t lose this letter, as it is proof of your rights during the transition period.

Once the transition period is over, you will no longer be able to stay in the Netherlands without a residence permit. If you have been living in the Netherlands for less than five years, you can apply for a temporary residence permit. You will need to meet the residence conditions applicable to EU citizens.

If you have lived in the Netherlands for longer than five years, you can apply for a permanent residence permit, proving you meet the conditions applicable to EU citizens. For this permit, you don’t have to follow integration procedures. Brits do not need to have a separate work permit, which your employer would otherwise have had to apply for. Currently, the fee for a residence permit is 57 euros.

If you already have an EU permanent residence document, you will still need new documentation after the transition period. However, you won’t have to apply for this; your new national permanent residence permit will be issued to you without charge. All you have to do is to wait for a letter from the IND, asking you to make an appointment to collect your new permit.

What about studying and Dutch benefits?

If you are currently receiving benefits, such as healthcare allowance, childcare allowance or rent allowance you will continue to receive these after March 29, 2019, as long as you meet the conditions set for these benefits. If you are already studying in the Netherlands, you will continue to pay the statutory tuition fee. However, once the UK leaves the EU, UK nationals coming to study in the Netherlands will be treated as third-country nationals. This may impact tuition fee amounts.

What should Brits do now?

There is not much you can do now but wait. The IND will send you a letter asking you to apply for a residence permit no later than April 1, 2020. These letters will not be sent all at once, but throughout the transition period, so as to prevent everyone from applying at once and creating a backlog of applications.

Your rights are guaranteed up until the end of the transition period, so there is no need to submit your application before you get the IND invitation letter. All you need to do is make sure you are registered at your municipality and that the information you registered with is correct. You should also apply for a DigiD if you haven’t got one yet, as this will allow you to apply for a residence permit online.