Filing an Ombudsman complaint is free and takes 30 minutes.

When the ombudsman is the right step

The ombudsman is best suited to behavioural complaints: not deciding, not communicating, not responding to letters, treating the applicant rudely. It is not a substitute for a court appeal on the substance of a decision. The ombudsman cannot annul or change a decision; it can only call the authority to account.

• Use it when the statutory term has clearly passed and the authority has gone silent.
• Use it when you have written several times and not received a substantive reply.
• Use it when the authority has lost documents, ignored letters, or treated you discourteously.
• Do not use it as the only step when you also have a court route open. Use both in parallel.

The ombudsman is free, soft-power, and reputational. The court is binding. Run them in parallel for a stuck file.

Before you file: the notification requirement (kenbaarheidseis)

Dutch ombudsman law (Wet Nationale ombudsman art. 12) requires you to have first complained to the authority itself. You cannot go to the ombudsman before giving the IND a chance to respond. This is the notification requirement. In immigration practice, the Notice of Default plus a follow-up complaint letter satisfies this requirement. The ombudsman will ask for proof of both.

The complaint itself

1. 1
   Go to nationaleombudsman.nl

   Open the website and pick "Klacht indienen". You can file in Dutch, English, or with help from a refugee-support organisation.
2. 2
   Fill in your details

   Name, address, date of birth, and the application reference number (V-number). The ombudsman keeps this confidential and only shares it with the authority being complained about.
3. 3
   Describe the timeline in plain language

   Two paragraphs are enough. Date of application · statutory term applicable · date Notice of Default was sent · proof of delivery · today's date · what response (if any) was received.
4. 4
   Attach the evidence

   Application receipt (ontvangstbevestiging), Notice of Default, proof of delivery (PostNL Aangetekend), any extension letters, your own follow-up letters to the IND.
5. 5
   State what you want

   Be concrete. For example: "I ask the ombudsman to investigate why no decision has been taken, to obtain a binding commitment from the IND for a decision date, and to investigate the structural reasons for the delay."
6. 6
   Send and wait

   Confirmation arrives within a few days. The ombudsman's behandelaar (caseworker) typically writes back within four weeks.

What the ombudsman will do

• Send a letter to the IND asking for a written explanation, with a deadline of two to four weeks.
• Forward the IND's response to you and ask for your reaction.
• Mediate informally if both sides are willing. Many cases close at this stage with a commitment from the IND for a decision date.
• Issue a formal report if mediation fails. The report names whether the authority's conduct was "behoorlijk" or not, and publishes the findings on the ombudsman's website.
• Issue a recommendation. Recommendations are not binding but the IND publishes a written response to every one.

What it costs

What the ombudsman cannot do

• It cannot annul or modify an IND decision. That is for the objection (bezwaar) / court appeal (beroep) route.
• It cannot impose the daily penalty (dwangsom). That is automatic under Awb 4:17 once the Notice of Default term has expired.
• It cannot award damages. That is for the civil court.
• It cannot grant residence. The substantive decision stays with the IND.

Where MigrationProvision sits

We prepare the complaint bundle when the file enters the escalation phase. That is the €12.40 escalation step. We collect the proof of receipt, the Notice and delivery confirmation, the timeline memo, and the written request. We do not appear at the ombudsman; we deliver a complete, citation-ready document that takes the applicant 10 minutes to sign and submit.