EU/EEA & Swiss Nationals
Nationals of EU and EEA countries do not generally require a visa to migrate to the Netherlands for work. However, it is a misconception that anybody with an EU, EEA or Swiss passport is entitled to simply move to the Netherlands with no conditions – you must be able to support yourself financially to be legally allowed to stay in the Netherlands for longer than 3 months Different criteria apply to migrants who are economically active (employees or entrepreneurs), are not economically active, and students. The various minimum income levels applicable are published by the Dutch Immigration Service (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst, or IND).
EU/EEA & Swiss Nationals do not require a work permit to work for a Dutch employer. Furthermore, a Dutch employer is not required to be a Recognised Sponsor (Erkend Referent) with the IND to hire an EU/EEA or Swiss national.
EU/EEA & Swiss Nationals
The rules around hiring a non-EU/EEA/Swiss national are more rigorous and onerous.
The employer must be a Recognised Sponsor with the IND. In order to become a Recognised Sponsor, an employer must apply to the IND and submit a variety of documentation and evidence to the IND in support of its application.
The employee must fulfil a number of criteria in order to obtain a residence permit, including a minimum income. It should be noted that this is a monthly requirement – in other words, the amount earned each month by the employee must be at least the amount published by the IND. An employer cannot pay a lower monthly amount and then top this up with a bonus, for example, at year end.
In the event that an employee is a highly skilled migrant (knowledge migrant, or kennismigrant), they are not bound to any specific employer. A skilled migrant may change jobs with no impediment, provided that the conditions of residence as a skilled migrant remain fulfilled in the new role.
Employers Who Are Not Recognised Sponsors
Should an employer wish to hire a non EU/EEA/Swiss national but not be a recognised sponsor, this may be done via an Employer-of-Record (EoR) solution. This is sometimes also referred to as an Umbrella or Payroll Company. In short, the EoR 3rd party is generally a recognised sponsor and will hire the employee on to their payroll to assign them to your account. The payroll company is responsible for paying the employee’s wages and wage taxes, and in turn invoices the end customer for these amounts plus any margin.
Further Information
Further information on immigrating to the Netherlands, including detailed information around income requirements, can be found on the IND’s website (available in Dutch and English).
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