As of 17 September 2026. This is an account of a reported case and the general rules, not legal advice on the Gregory family's case.
Amsterdam knows Warren Gregory as Flowerbikeman, the man who covers bicycles in flowers. He made the first one for his wife, Michelle: epilepsy meant she could not always find her ordinary bike. The flower bikes later became part of the city. In 2020, supporters raised €15,742 to help the couple with medical costs and legal residence.
Community support does not replace immigration documents. After Gregory was detained in August 2026, it emerged that he did not have a valid residence permit. In September, a court released him from immigration detention so he could be with Michelle; that ruling did not restore his right to stay. According to AT5's report of 9 September, the couple plan to fly to Florida on 6 October.
The essential point. There was no single piece of missing paperwork. As presented in court, the IND had concerns about his residence permit, proof of means, registered address and compliance with a reporting duty. Fixing the address alone would not have resolved the other problems. Those four issues make a useful checklist for anyone who lives here.
What happened - and what we do not know
Gregory was initially detained in another matter. Its details have not been publicly disclosed, so we draw no conclusions about guilt or innocence. The separate immigration issue is what matters here: without a valid permit, the IND required him to leave. In court, the agency also cited the lack of a formally registered home address and demonstrable means of support. According to the IND, Gregory stopped complying with an earlier reporting duty after the first appointment. AT5 reported the agency's position and the court's ruling on 4 September.
The court disagreed with continuing his detention. It found that the authorities had not sufficiently examined how much Michelle depended on his care, or explained why a less restrictive measure would not work. This was a decision to release him from detention, not a decision granting him residence. Gregory himself has acknowledged that he was repeatedly given time to put his affairs in order.
We do not know whether he ever obtained a self-employment permit, what his earlier residence grounds were, or the departure deadline in his individual decision. What follows is therefore not a claim about how he could have stayed. It is a guide to risks other applicants can check.
Four checks, not a hope that things will sort themselves out
| Check | Keep available | If something is missing |
|---|---|---|
| Right to reside | Residence card, IND decision, expiry date and residence purpose | Establish your current status and the next application or renewal deadline; do not mistake address registration for a permit |
| Actual address and mail | BRP extract, address evidence and access to post | Tell your municipality where you really live; if you lack a normal address, ask about a suitable registration route or briefadres |
| Means and residence purpose | Contracts, bank statements, business records and the documents required for your permit category | Match your evidence to your own permit route, not somebody else's success story |
| IND letters and instructions | Letters, envelopes, response deadlines, proof of submissions and reporting appointments | Translate what you do not understand, seek advice before the deadline and attend required appointments until the duty is formally changed |
These checks interact, but they are not legally interchangeable. A BRP record does not create a residence permit; a permit does not remove address-registration duties; donations do not automatically prove continuing income. Keep one document folder and review it whenever you renew your status or your circumstances change.
What if you live on a boat or at a non-residential address?
It is tempting to make the boat the whole story. Gregory and Michelle lived on one, while the IND said he had no formal home address. But “you cannot register if you live on a boat” is the wrong lesson. The Dutch registration agency RvIG says that BRP registration starts with where a person actually lives, even when a location has no residential designation. Its explanation of residence addresses also includes a fixed mooring for a boat. Where there is no home address, a briefadres, or correspondence address, can apply in the circumstances set by law.
Tell your gemeente where you actually live and ask for a written explanation of the appropriate BRP route and evidence. An address missing from the register or a disputed mooring needs to be handled with the municipality; do not invent a more convenient address. Address registration does not grant permission to moor or live in a particular place, nor does it legalise your immigration status.
An IND letter arrives: what to do that day
- Open and save it. Photograph or scan every page and the envelope. Record when you received it.
- Find the required action and deadline. Is this a request for documents, a decision, an appointment or a return decision? The crucial conditions may not be in the heading.
- Make sure you understand it. If the Dutch is unclear, obtain a translation or show it to an immigration lawyer. Do not assume it will somehow resolve itself.
- Respond with a record. Keep copies of your reply, attachments and proof of submission. If you cannot meet a requirement, raise that before the deadline and ask a specialist about your options.
- Attend required reporting appointments. If a meldplicht applies, comply until the decision is formally changed. Document illness or care duties and discuss them with the authority or a lawyer rather than simply stopping attendance.
If the letter orders you to leave, ask a lawyer to identify the departure deadline, appeal options and consequences of missing the date separately. Different deadlines may apply.
Can you come back after leaving?
Leaving does not necessarily close the door forever. Before booking another flight, however, check whether your case includes a return decision and a separate entry ban. The IND explains that a ban may follow, among other reasons, if someone fails to leave within the deadline; two years is the usual period in that situation. Other grounds and durations also exist. Leaving on time removes the risk arising specifically from late departure, but a newspaper report cannot tell us whether Gregory has an entry ban. We do not know his deadline.
US citizens should keep another distinction in mind. They are exempt from the MVV, the provisional visa for long-term residence. That does not mean they can return and live in the Netherlands without an appropriate residence permit. The grounds for residence and permission to work still have to fit the chosen route.
For American entrepreneurs: what DAFT actually offers
The Dutch-American Friendship Treaty, or DAFT, provides a route for US citizens running their own business in the Netherlands. The IND's self-employment page sets out the citizenship, business-activity and substantial-capital requirements. For most business forms, the minimum investment is €4,500. This is not a permit fee or a promise of approval: the general requirements and evidence for the individual application still matter.
A detail often lost in short posts: under the IND's current procedure, a first-time treaty applicant who does not already have a Dutch residence permit must register with the Chamber of Commerce, or KVK, and make the investment within six months after receiving the permit. Someone changing an existing residence purpose should submit as much evidence as possible with the application. On renewal, the IND checks accounts, business activity and whether the invested capital remains in the business. Read the section for your own situation before applying.
Public reporting does not establish whether Gregory applied under this route or what happened after the 2020 fundraiser. We are not presenting DAFT as a retroactive solution to his case. For a US citizen planning genuine self-employment, though, it is a concrete official starting point - unlike the hope that local popularity will itself confer a right to stay.
A short checklist for foreign residents in the Netherlands
- Identify your current legal ground for residence and the document's expiry date. If you cannot, establish your status before another IND letter arrives.
- Check that your BRP registration reflects where you actually live and that you can receive your mail.
- Prepare evidence of work, business or other means for your specific permit category.
- Keep one folder for IND decisions, letters, translations, responses and proof that you attended required appointments.
- If you receive a return decision, record the departure deadline and any entry-ban decision. Discuss appeals and medical or family circumstances with a lawyer promptly.
It is easy to sympathise with Gregory: his bikes made the city brighter. But the lesson is not that one stamp mattered more than a person. Years in a city, neighbourly support and a fundraiser do not automatically add up to a right of residence. That right has to be obtained and maintained with timely applications, evidence and responses to official decisions.
In Expat Gate's Netherlands profile, the country ranks 16th of 97 in our August 2026 assessment of residence policy. That is a comparison of national rules, not a prediction for an individual case.
Sources and useful next steps
- AT5, 9 September 2026 - the couple's account of their planned departure.
- AT5, 4 September 2026 - the IND's position and the detention ruling.
- Folia: Flowerbikeman and Michelle and the fundraiser - background on the story.
- RvIG: BRP registration at a non-residential address and types of BRP address - a starting point for speaking to your municipality.
- IND: entry ban, MVV exemptions and self-employment permits and DAFT - official instructions for checking your own case.