Internationals
You want to hire a foreign employee outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland. Here you will find information how to apply for a residence permit for your foreign employee; how to apply for recognition as a sponsor and information about residence permits to work.
Recognition as a Sponsor
A sponsor is a person or organization having an interest in the residence of a third-country national in the Netherlands. When you engage a foreign employee, you are the sponsor for this employee. You can be a sponsor for several employees at the same time. As an employer, you can have your company be recognized as a sponsor by the IND. Recognition as a sponsor has a number of advantages:
- The IND handles your applications faster; a decision is usually taken on a completely submitted application within two (2) weeks.
- Fewer pieces of evidence; you need to send fewer pieces of evidence with the application. Your own attestation that the employee meets the conditions is usually sufficient. You can use a special e-mail address in case of questions.
- You can use the Business Portal to submit digital applications.
Obligatory Recognized Sponsor
To hire Highly Skilled Migrant and Researcher, your company has to be recognized by the IND. In order to be recognized as a sponsor, your company must be a reliable partner for the IND. After your organization has been recognized, it will be entered in the Public Register for Recognized Sponsors.
If you want to hire a foreign employee within the EU/EEA and Switzerland, free movement of persons apply to them. So they are free to work in the Netherlands. These employees do not need a residence permit either to live in the Netherlands. EU/EEA and Swiss employees are detached from social security for a period of five (5) years. After this period a permanent residence can be applied via the IND. More information to be found via the Service Desk IND.
Stay of less than 90 days in the Netherlands
If a non EU/EEA employee comes to the Netherlands to work for less than 90 days, the employee often needs a short-stay visa. As an employer you may need to apply for a work permit. This goes via the UWV
Cross-Border Worker
This stay in the Netherlands is considered as a short stay when the employee is a cross border worker.
Please read cross border information or contact at municipality Terneuzen:
Ton van Tilburg, Advisor cross-border working - phone: +31 6 18531706
Employer exempted from Applying for a Work Permit
In a number of cases, employees from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland and a few other countries (see exemptions) are not required to have a work permit:
- Foreigners who have a residence permit that states permitted to work. These are often foreigners living in the Netherlands under the family reunification scheme, refugees who have been given entry and people who have had a residence permit for three years that allows them to perform work without a work permit.
- Foreigners who have a sticker in their passport stating 'permitted to work'. This sticker is valid for a limited period. The period of validity is stated on the sticker.
- Foreigners performing certain types of work, who occasionally work in the Netherlands for a short period, such as journalists, musicians, or guest lecturers. More information on the type of work that is exempt from requiring a work permit is available from the UWV.
- Foreigners who are Highly Skilled Migrants.
- Scientific researchers in the sense of Directive 2005/71/EC.
Important conditions for the Employer
- You are first required to seek personnel seriously in the Netherlands and in Europe for a period of 5-13 weeks. You must be able to show proof of this. You have to do this via all available channels, such as the Internet, advertisements in trade magazines or newspapers, or via placement agencies. You are also expected to look at the possibilities of in-service training. If you have not made real effort to recruit candidates, your application will be refused.
- You must submit the vacancy to the UWV five (5) weeks prior to applying for the work permit.
- The UWV can issue work permits that have a limited validity or are subject to specific conditions.
The UWV will determine which work permit is granted based on information provided by the employer.
Important: You are not allowed to have the international work for you until the work permit has been issued.
Note: information of Costs at IND