If you breach the rules that give foreign employees the right to work in the Netherlands, you may be subject to a fine from the Ministry of Social Affairs & Employment. The Ministry of Social Affairs & Employment can impose a fine on you if – for example – you allow foreign employees to work for you illegally, i.e. without having a residence permit. The fine is imposed under the Foreign Nationals (Employment) Act (Wet Arbeid Vreemdelingen, or ‘WAV’).

A WAV-fine can have far-reaching consequences. It is therefore important that you obtain advice from an attorney about the fine. Our attorneys have extensive experience of appealing against WAV-fines.

If you need legal advice about a fine or want to appeal against it with the assistance of an attorney, e-mail or call our attorneys for a telephone consultation without obligation.

For some residence permits you as the employer must be an approved sponsor. That means that your employee can only work for you and obtain a residence permit if your business meets a number of conditions.

• our business must be registered in the Register of Companies
• Your organisation must be trustworthy
• Your organisation must comply with the applicable code of conduct

You must be an approved sponsor if you want to employ knowledge migrants or scientific researchers.

You can also choose to become an approved sponsor voluntarily. The Immigration & Naturalisation Service (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst, or ‘IND’) will then grant you a number of benefits if you want to employ staff. Hence the IND will decide on your application for a residence permit for your employee more quickly, and you will need to provide less documentary evidence.

If you would like to find out how to become an approved sponsor and what the benefits are, e-mail or call our attorneys for a telephone consultation without obligation.

The conditions under which your employee can work in the Netherlands depend on his or her nationality.

• Employees from the European Union or Switzerland can work in the Netherlands without a permit or the imposition of conditions.
• Employees from outside the European Union who want to work for less than 90 days only need a short-stay visa and a work permit.
• Employees from outside the European Union who want to work from more than 90 days must have a combined residence permit or another residence permit under which they are permitted to work in the Netherlands.

Whether your employee is allowed to work in the Netherlands will be shown in their passport and residence permit. The residence permit includes a labour market endorsement that indicates whether your employee is permitted to work in the Netherlands.

If you would like to find out whether an employee is allowed to work in the Netherlands, e-mail or call our attorneys for a telephone consultation without obligation.

Dutch authorities are generally keen to issue residence permits to people who want to establish a ‘start-up’ in the Netherlands. This residence permit gives you a year to start your business in the Netherlands. In order to qualify for this, you must meet the following conditions:

• Your product or service must be innovative in nature
• You must produce a step plan explaining how you plan to turn your idea into a business
• You have an approved facilitator who has experience of supporting start-ups

You must have sufficient funds to live and work during the period in which you are setting up your own business in the Netherlands. You may not perform any other work in order to earn income alongside your work for the start-up. Nor will you receive any money from the Dutch state. However, someone else (a person or business) may fund your stay in the Netherlands. The funding must then be available for the entire period of your stay.

If you would like to find out how to establish a start-up in the Netherlands, e-mail or call our attorneys for a telephone consultation without obligation.

You can start your own business in the Netherlands and work as a self-employed trader. In order to obtain a residence permit for this purpose, your business must meet the following conditions:

• Your work must be of fundamental importance to the Dutch economy
• You must earn sufficient income from your business. This means that you must earn at least 70% of the statutory minimum wage

Whether your business is of fundamental importance to the Dutch economy will be determined by the Immigration & Naturalisation Service (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst, or ‘IND’) on the basis of a points system. The IND will examine three aspects: your personal experience, your business plan and the added value that your business offers the Netherlands.

Different conditions apply to Turkish, Japanese and American citizens.

Different conditions apply if you want to establish a ‘start-up’. You can read these conditions here.

If you would like to find out whether you can start your own business in the Netherlands, e-mail or call our attorneys for a telephone consultation without obligation.