Please find information about reunifiying with your family members (through the Dutch family reunification procedure) on the website of the Dutch Council for Refugees (available in Dutch, English, French, Farsi, Dari, Somali, Arabic and Tigrinya). The Dutch Council for Refugees (VWN) can inform you about family reunification procedures and assist you in filing an application for family reunification.
How can UNHCR the Netherlands help me with my family reunification?
During your family reunification procedure your lawyer and your Vluchtelingenwerk (VWN) caseworker will be the main persons to offer you (legal)advice and assistance. However, there are a couple of situations in which UNHCR the Netherlands might be able to offer assistance:
- UNHCR the Netherlands can provide proof of registration for family members who are or were registered in a UNHCR camp;
- UNHCR the Netherlands can bring cases of children or family members in need of extra protection to the attention of UNHCR colleagues in the field and ensure their protection needs are met; and
- UNHCR the Netherlands can aid in contacting the appropriate colleagues in the field in case issues arise, for example in relation to DNA testing, gaining travel documents, the signing of powers of attorney/consent forms and arranging temporary guardianship.
In case you think this type of assistance will be helpful to your case, please ask your lawyer or Vluchtelingenwerk caseworker to contact us.
Tracing
The organizational structure of UNHCR is not designed for tracing requests. However, we can help to trace persons registered with UNHCR. In order for us to do this there need to be indications that the person is registered with UNHCR and/or resides in a UNHCR camp in a specific country. If this is the case, please feel free to contact us, so we can send you a verification request form. The more information you have about the person you wish to trace, the better the chance that we will be able to trace them.
However, if the person does not reside in a UNHCR camp and/or there is no indication that the person is registered with UNHCR in a specific country we kindly refer you to the Red Cross Restoring Family Links Team. The Red Cross has extensive expertise in tracing family members who have gone missing as a result of war, conflict, natural disasters or flight. If you would like their assistance in locating family members who are missing, you can fill in the contact form on their website.
Related information
Browse the ‘Where to seek help?’ section to find information about helpful services in the Netherlands
About UNHCR in the Netherlands