Possessing two residence IDs of different Schengen countries

Question

I am a non-EU citizen, residing in Belgium as a dependent to my spouse (non-EU as well). Recently I got admitted to a Masters course in Netherlands for fall 2016. The university will be applying for my student visa/student residence ID to the Netherlands. As I will be living 4 nights in Netherlands and the weekend 3 nights in Belgium is it ok or legal to possess two residence IDs? One as a dependent in Belgium and one as a student in Netherlands?

Answer 1

Yes, you can hold two EU/Schengen residence IDs at once. I've previously held both a Finnish and a Czech residency card, without any concerns from the Finnish embassy or the Czech government.

There's a separate rule for not holding two simultaneous Schengen short-term visas, but that doesn't apply to residency permits.

Answer 2

Belgium and Netherlands are both Schengen area... so you can study there but you will need another resident permit as student.

Answer 3

First of all if you need a visa depends on:

• Your nationality – as stated on your passport.
• The duration of your stay: shorter or longer than three months.
• Your purpose of stay: we assume that you will come to Holland to study or to do a preparatory year. For any other purpose of stay, please check the website of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) for the requirements.

Information of the immigration office website explains:

To come to the Netherlands, you will require a Provisional Residence Permit (mvv). An mvv is a visa that allows you entry to the Netherlands. You or your sponsor apply for an mvv and a residence permit at the same time. This is called the Entry and Residence Procedure (TEV procedure).

But there are some exceptions when you do not require this mvv:

• You currently hold a (valid) residence permit for the Netherlands.
• You have the nationality of one of the following countries: Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, South Korea, United States of America or Vatican City.
• You have the nationality of one of the following EU/EEA member states or Switzerland: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland or the United Kingdom.
• You are a family member of an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen, but you yourself have another nationality.
• You currently have a permanent residence permit as a 'long-term resident-EC CE' issued by another EU member state.
• For the full list go to ind.nl page.

I marked in bold the options which might apply to you; I understood that you already have an residence permit in Belgium, an other EU country.

In conclusion, you probably will not need an extra permit if the countries you are living, and the country you are studying are in the EU.