What information is shown on a visa for the Netherlands?

‘Valid for’ tells you for which countries your visa is valid.

The sample visa is valid for all Schengen countries, which means the holder can enter all countries in the Schengen area.

See what countries are in the Schengen area

Was the visa issued by another Schengen country? Then the information at ‘Valid for’ will be stated in the language of that country.

If the information at ‘valid for’ is followed by one or more country codes in brackets, preceded by a minus sign, for example (-SE, ES, LI, MT), then the visa is valid for all Schengen countries except those in the brackets. That means you cannot travel to those countries using that visa. You can find a list of the codes for all countries in the European Union on the website of the European Union.

See the country codes for all countries within the EU

If the only country named at ‘valid for’ is the Netherlands and the ‘Type of visa’ is D, then you have a long-stay visa. This visa allows you to live in the Netherlands, but not in other Schengen countries. You may however travel from the Netherlands to other countries of the Schengen area as long as your visa is valid.