Hello Margriet,
Well the Dutch immigration service can be quite horrible. Have you already discovered this website?
http://www.buitenlandsepartner.nl
We have been a bit lucky twice. My partner came to Holland in 1999. He arrived on a tourist visa, we got married and started the MVV procedure while he was here on his tourist visa. We needed to ask for permission to get married at the police department. I just mumbled to the policeman that if he wouldn't give me the permission, I would fly back to Indonesia, get married there and end up asking for the MVV next week. He looked a bit surpised, but by that time I was getting fed up with all the visa arrangements. Besides that nobody needs to aks for thi spermission in Holland, so it feels really discriminating. He answered that he could not just give me the form (D27 form it was called), because he said he didn't know this 'man' from Indonesia. So, I replied that he wasn't the one intending to get married to him, was he? Luckely this policemen had a sense of humor and he also suddenly remembered he knew me from the village were we both came from. So after chatting about 'old friends, neighboors and pubs', everything was arranged very easy.
Two weeks after our wedding I phoned the immigration office to ask if our application had arrived. It didn't, I immidiatly phoned 'my' policeman, he said he made a small mistake..... he lost our wedding certificate!! :evil: After a few well known Dutch expressions, he excused over and over and he promised me he would make it up to us. That same evening he left a voicemail. Next day I found a letter from the immigration, that the MVV visum was granted !!! So, in only one afternoon, he could do what normally takes 6 months or more!
We had to renew the staying permit recently and I heard it would take up to nine months. I discovered a fax number from the department in charge. Send a fax with a big blabla story and the request to process it quickly. Three days later a phonecall..... no problem, new visa is on it's way.
So, we did worry lots and lots both times and have been luckly twice. If you can show enough income and you send in your paperwork with all the requested documents, they can work quick. So, I wouldn't worry to much now. The only thing is that your partner will probably have to do the civic training (inburgering) in Indonesia, that might be a bigger problem. If you don't pass the exam (350 euro), no chance to even get on the airplane.
Funny part is, now that we are finally ready with visa stuff in Holland, we will return to live in Indonesia end of August. So then the visa hassle starts again :wink:
Iris