India and the Netherlands at a glance
- Stamp
- Apostille, Hague Convention in force for India since 14 July 2005
- Issued by
- Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the only apostille authority
- Language
- English, accepted as it is
- Register
- Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) (online)
- Tax treaty
- Signed 1988, in force 1989 (Rijksoverheid, 1 October 2026)
- EU trade
- Free trade agreement concluded in 2026
- In the Netherlands
- 255 companies controlled from India in 2024, 205 in 2021 (+24.4%), about 21,000 jobs, €10.7 billion turnover, 1.3% of all 19,995 foreign-controlled companies (CBS, 9 October 2026)
- Moving here
- Residence permit needed
Documents from India
Passport copy, certified by a notary in India.
Proof of address in India, at most three months old.
Power of attorney. Sign the power of attorney before an Indian notary public and have your passport copy notarised. After that, an authorised agency arranges the state attestation and the MEA apostille.
Ownership statement, one page from us.
The apostille. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the only apostille authority. You submit documents through MEA-authorised outsourced agencies in 16 cities. Personal documents are first attested by the State Home Department or the local magistrate (SDM). Commercial documents are first attested by the Chamber of Commerce.
Good to know. Several states objected to India joining the Apostille Convention. The Netherlands accepted the accession, so an MEA apostille is valid here. Allow two to three weeks, because the state attestation is done before the MEA step.
If a company from India becomes a shareholder
Register extract, at most three months old: Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). Company master data is public online. The company secretary provides certified copies of the Certificate of Incorporation and a board resolution. These copies are then apostilled. Plus articles, signing authority and ownership chart.
Trade between India and the EU
The European Union (EU) was India's third-largest trading partner in 2025, with trade in goods worth €118 billion, or 11.1% of India's total trade. India ranked ninth among the EU's trading partners in 2025, with 2.3% of EU trade in goods.
EU imports from India consist mainly of chemicals, machinery and appliances, mineral products, textiles and base metals. EU exports to India are mainly machinery and appliances, transport equipment, optical and medical instruments, and chemicals. In 2024, trade in services reached €67 billion, and the EU's stock of foreign direct investment in India reached €132.8 billion.
The EU and India concluded negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement on 27 January 2026. On 11 September 2026, the European Commission presented its proposals for signature and conclusion to the Council of the EU. Separate talks on investment protection and on geographical indications, launched on 17 June 2022, are still under way.
Import duties: Access2Markets.
Your next step from India
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