Index


  • What are the criteria to hire a non-EU employee?
  • Employment permits for non-EU employees
  • Residence and employment permit combined
  • Exemptions
What are the criteria to hire a non-EU employee?

It requires specific know-how to hire a non-EU employee. We think your company – like most companies – strives to be compliant with Dutch immigration rules and regulations.  Depending on their country of origin, foreign nationals may need an employment permit to work here. Our immigration services provide all necessary guidance in the application process.

As you may know, EEA and Swiss nationals are free to work in the Netherlands without a residence or work permit. What if the candidate you have in mind is a non-EU national?

Employment permits for non-EU employees

An employer can hire a non-EU employee in the following cases:

1) highly educated workers who can contribute to the knowledge-based economy in the Netherlands (highly skilled migrants or highly skilled workers);

2) persons with a residence permit containing the note ‘arbeid is vrij toegestaan’(‘permitted to work’) (sometimes applicable only for a given period);

3) self-employed persons, provided they carry out the work specified on their residence permit.

If above situations are not applicable, the following may be possible if the employer cannot find a suitable candidate from an EEA country:

1) the vacancy has been open for at least five weeks. For vacancies that are difficult to fill, the period is three months. The UWV determines whether a vacancy is difficult to fill;

2) the employer has taken all available steps to find a worker from the Netherlands or the EEA, including advertising the vacancy in the print media and on the internet.

Residence and employment permit combined

People from outside the EEA and Switzerland must apply for a combined residence and employment permit (GVVA) if they intend to work here for longer than three months. The employer (or Settle Service on your behalf) applies for just one permit to live and work in the Netherlands to the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND).

Exemptions

Some groups of foreign nationals do not need to apply for a GVVA. However, they do need an employment permit (TWV), that is provided by the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency UWV. These groups are:

– foreign nationals who intend to work in the Netherlands for less than three months;
– seasonal workers;
– students;
– asylum seekers;
– employees of an international company who are seconded to the Netherlands.

“The process was very smooth and hazzle free. Thanks for your prompt responses when ever i contacted settle service. Only issue was with availability of the slots in Dec Month.“

— By Sandeep

The Dutch Highly Skilled Migrant Procedure

What can you expect when you want to employ a non-EU citizen in the Netherlands? One of the most common ways to achieve this is to acquire a Highly Skilled Migrant permit. In this article, we will outline the requirements […]

Read on

Working from abroad with a Dutch residence permit

The trend of temporarily working from abroad is definitely there. As an employer you can decide on whether and how to facilitate this for your employees. It might be a good idea to make agreements with your employee in advance. […]

Read on

Settle Service and Anywr: a good combination

Anywr, leading international recruitment and job mobility operator, announces the acquisition of Settle Service. This is exciting news for both parties as we expect a fruitful combination. Who is Anywr? Anywr finds the best Talents around the world and proposes […]

Read on
  • EURA 2008-2016
  • Worldwide ERC
  • ARPN
  • EURA