Dutch Work Permit For Non EU

A Dutch work permit is not something to be applied for lightly. The process can be long and complicated, requiring a solid foundation of information about the Dutch immigration system, its policies and procedures, as well as the potential employer’s side of things. Our guide will get you started by helping you understand what you need to know about the process.

The Dutch Work Permit for Non-EU Nationals is the document that you need when you are planning to do any type of work in the European Union country. In this article, we will explain how to get a permit and what documents you need.

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Netherlands Work Visa 2022

Non EU nationals and family members may also work in the Netherlands with a Dutch work permit. As an employer, you do not have to pay the salary of a non-EU employee on top of what they are paid by the Social Security Office. You have found the website of Dutch Work Permit For Non EU, which offers assistance in gaining Dutch work permits to non-EU nationals who would like to enter into a business arrangement with Dutch companies.

Back in the day, obtaining the Dutch Blue Card used to be the only way an eligible foreign person could get a work permit in Holland. Times have changed, these days there are many ways available which you learn about when you travel to this country on business. But what happens if you’re not invited by any specific employers or organizations, and you don’t have a Dutch work permit yet? Well, this is what we’re going over today!

Are you planning on working in the Netherlands? If so, you will need a Dutch work visa. This work visa permits you to work with freelance assignments or on a permanent basis. It is important that the employer applies for a work permit if you will be employed by them. The candidate will not directly apply for a permit. Therefore, your employer must pay the conditions provided by the government.

What Is EU Work Permit

What is a GVVA / Single Permit

The GVVA / Single Permit consists of a Dutch residence permit (verblijfsvergunning) and an additional document stating for which employer the foreign national is permitted to work and under which conditions. The GVVA is intended for workers and trainees from outside the EEA and Switzerland who will stay in the Netherlands for more than three months.

Before a GVVA work permit application can be filed, an employer must show that efforts have taken place to recruit a suitable employee in the Netherlands and European Union. Only after these recruitment efforts have not led to a suitable candidate can an employer start looking for employees outside the EU.

GVVA / Single Permit application process

The application for a GVVA should be submitted to the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Department (IND), usually by the prospective employer. The relevant application documents can be downloaded from their website. Once the fee has been paid and all the necessary forms have been submitted, the IND will ask the UWV (Dutch social security agency) to advise if the prospective employee may live and work in the Netherlands.

The UWV’s assessment is based on the criteria of the Aliens Employment Act (Wav). The IND will make its decision based on the advice from the UWV. If the decision is positive and GVVA is issued, the IND will inform the employer.

Once the GVVA is available, the employer will be notified by the IND that the foreign employee can pick up both documents in person. It may be that the UWV will contact either the employer or the employee during the application process to clarify some aspect of the application or position.

Who cannot apply for a GVVA / Single Permit

Some people who wish to work in the Netherlands cannot receive a GVVA: students who wish to work, asylum seekers, seasonal workers, employees transferred within a multinational group, employees who come for a maximum of three months and Croatian nationals. These individuals must request a TWV work permit separately from the UWV.

GVVA / Single Permit & Work experience in the Netherlands

The GVVA Single Permit also applies to the people coming to the Netherlands to gain work experience, either for study or work purposes, and people enrolled in the 
Canadian Young Workers Exchange Program (YWEP). Again, it is usually the employer (or sponsor in this case) who makes the application.

Highly skilled migrant permit in the Netherlands

The highly skilled migrant scheme (kennismigrant) is designed to allow Dutch employers to bring talented foreign professionals to the Netherlands and retain them. This means that employers in the Netherlands can organise Dutch work permits quickly for highly skilled international employees, without having to prove that there are no suitable Dutch or EU candidates.

Requirements for highly skilled migrant permit in the Netherlands

To qualify as a highly skilled migrant for work in the Netherlands, international applicants generally need:

• Skills and experience that are relatively scarce.
• A higher educational level (Bachelor minimum).
• Some years of work experience.
• Specialisation (for example in IT, engineering or science).

Only recognised organisations are able to submit applications on behalf of a highly skilled migrant. That means the organisation has to be recognised by the IND as a sponsor.

Work Permit In Netherlands

What permits do foreign workers need?

Foreign nationals wishing to work in the Netherlands have to meet various requirements. People from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland often need a work permit, of which there are two types: an employment permit (TWV) and a single permit (GVVA), also known as a combined residence and work permit. 

No work permit required for Dutch or EEA nationals

Workers who have Dutch nationality or the nationality of another country within the EEA or Switzerland are free to work in the Netherlands without a work permit. Foreign nationals from other countries may also work in the Netherlands, subject to certain conditions.

Work permit required for foreign workers from outside the EEA

Foreign nationals from outside the EEA and Switzerland wishing to work in the Netherlands may, as a rule, only work in the Netherlands if their employer has been issued an employment permit (TWV) for these employees. The Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) will not issue an employment permit (only in Dutch) unless strict conditions have been met. For example, an employer must be able to show that they cannot find a suitable candidate in the EU. Less stringent requirements apply for special categories of workers.

Where a worker is hired through a company or temporary employment agency, that company or temporary employment agency must apply for an employment permit (TWV) and also send a copy of the worker’s ID, together with the permit, to the hiring company (the labour user). The latter compares the copy with the worker’s original ID before he or she starts working, and keeps the copy in its records.

No Permit Needed For Certain Groups

Employers do not need to obtain an employment permit for certain groups of foreign workers from outside the EEA and Switzerland. However, these employees must have a residence permit or a visa if they intend to stay in the Netherlands for less than 3 months.

The persons covered by this rule include:

• individuals with a residence permit containing the note ‘arbeid is vrij toegestaan’ (‘permitted to work’), for example holders of an asylum residence permit;
• self-employed foreign nationals who have a residence permit that states ‘arbeid als zelfstandige’ (‘self-employed’);
• foreign nationals starting up a business who have a residence permit as ‘startup’;
• highly skilled migrants: highly educated migrants who can contribute to the Dutch knowledge-based economy;
• foreign nationals who live abroad and are performing a specific task in the Netherlands for a short period of time, for instance attending business meetings or repairing equipment supplied by their employer abroad.

You can find out more about these and other categories of foreign workers on the websites of the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) and the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND).

Work permit for entrepreneurs / self-employed in the Netherlands

Those who want to come to the Netherlands to start up their own business will need to apply for a residence permit for self-employment (verblijfsvergunning voor arbeid als zelfstandige). To qualify for this permit, entrepreneurs must meet the requirements for the performance of their business or profession and be in possession of all necessary permits for the performance of the company.

Also, their business activity must demonstrate a substantial benefit to the Netherlands. This is tested by experts in the Dutch government miniseries: for example, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science will advise in the case of an artist, but in most cases, the IND will ask the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

A points system is used to make the decision. Points are awarded in three areas:

• Personal experience (training, entrepreneurship, work experience).
• Business (market analysis, product / service, price, organisation, financing).
• Added value for the Netherlands (innovation, employment creation, investments).

Those who wish to work as a self-employed professional in the Dutch healthcare sector must sign up to the Individual Healthcare Professions Act (BIG) register, which regulates the provision of healthcare services by individual practitioners. Admission to the BIG register enables the use of a professional title acquired internationally.

Is It Easy To Get A Work Permit In Netherlands

Types of work permit

There are 2 types of permit:

• employment permit (TWV)
• single permit (GVVA), or combined residence and work permit.

The UWV uses the same criteria to assess applications for a TWV or GVVA. Which of the 2 permits is required depends on how long the foreign national will be working in the Netherlands. Foreign workers can apply for a GVVA themselves, but only employers can apply for a TWV. 

Single Permit (GVVA)

Foreign nationals from outside the EEA and Switzerland must apply for a single permit (GVVA) if they are coming to the Netherlands to work for more than 3 months.

Single Permit Not Required But TWV Required

Some groups of foreign nationals do not need to apply for a single permit, but the employer must still apply to the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) for an employment permit (TWV). These include:

• employees coming to work in the Netherlands for less than 3 months;
• students who have a residence permit for study purposes;
• asylum seekers awaiting a decision on their application for asylum.

How Can I Get Work Permit In Netherlands

Conditions for granting permits to workers from outside the EEA

An employer can only employ someone from outside the EEA and Switzerland in the following cases:

• the employer cannot find a suitable candidate from an EEA country or Switzerland;
• the vacancy has been open for at least 5 weeks, or at least 3 months for vacancies that are difficult to fill. The UWV decides whether a vacancy is difficult to fill;
• the employer has done everything it can to find a worker from the Netherlands, the EEA or Switzerland.

The employer applies to the UWV for an employment permit (TWV) or to the IND for a single permit (GVVA), and must also satisfy other requirements for the TWV or GVVA.

Less stringent requirements for single permit or employment permit

Some groups of foreign nationals do require a single permit (GVVA) or employment permit (TWV), but the application requirements are less stringent. The persons covered by this rule include:

• students who combine their studies with a job of no more than 16 hours a week;
• interns;
• trainees (on-the-job learning);
• artists whose income is higher than a threshold amount;
• asylum seekers who work up to 24 weeks over a 52-week period;
• spiritual leaders, such as ministers, imams and clerics;
• nuns, monks or missionaries.

You can find out more about these and other categories of foreign workers on the websites of the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) and the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND).