Work permit information

• the work permit (‘TWV’)
• the work and residence permit (‘GVVA’)

This permit is issued by UWV. You will be able to apply for this permit if 1 of the following applies to the person you intend to hire:

• They are already living in the Netherlands and have a residence permit (‘verblijfsvergunning’), such as international students and asylum seekers.
• They will be working in the Netherlands for less than 3 months.
• They will be working in the Netherlands for more than 3 months but will not officially reside here.

Keep in mind that the person you will be hiring cannot work in the Netherlands without a valid temporary residence permit. The only exception to this rule is if they will be staying in the Netherlands for less than 3 months, then a short-term visa ('visum kort verblijf') might be enough.

Criteria you will need to meet as an employer

You will only be able to arrange a work permit (‘TWV’) for your potential worker if all of the following are true:

• You comply with all Dutch employment law. This includes paying your potential worker the salary they are entitled to, based on the specific group they belong to under Dutch work permit rules. For example, in the case of working students and asylum seekers, the salary will vary depending on their age and the terms set out in any applicable collective agreement (‘CAO’).
• You have never been fined for violating Dutch employment law in the past 5 years.

This permit is required for people who will be working in the Netherlands for more than 3 months and for whom 1 of the following is true: 

• They do not have a residence permit. 
• They will officially be residing in the Netherlands. 

You, or the person you will be hiring, will be able to apply for a work and residence permit via the IND.

Please note: To arrange a work and residence permit for an employee in the Asian restaurant sector, you will need to post your vacancy on UWV’s Support Centre for the Asian Restaurant Sector (‘het Servicepunt Aziatische Horeca van UWV’).

Most workers from outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland will need to meet additional criteria in order to qualify for a permit. These criteria will vary depending on the specific group your potential worker belongs to under Dutch work permit rules. To find out which criteria apply to your worker, click on the group that most closely matches their situation (in Dutch).

• Ukrainian refugees who meet certain criteria
• individuals whose passports or residence permits prove they have an unrestricted right to work in the Netherlands (‘arbeid is vrij toegestaan’) 
• asylum seekers or refugees who have been granted a residence permit and a volunteer permit 
• asylum seekers who have been granted a residence permit and therefore have an unrestricted right to work in the Netherlands 
• self-employed individuals who have been granted a residence permit (as long as their work activities only relate to the business they are running) 
• entrepreneurs who have been granted a residence permit for a start-up business
• employees coming to the Netherlands for very short-term work activities such as meetings or concert performances 
• highly skilled workers ('kennismigranten') who have been granted a residence permit 
• highly educated workers ('hoogopgeleide werknemers') who have been granted an EU blue card
• individuals who fall under the International scheme for specialist knowledge or skills (‘Regeling Internationale Handel’) 
• employees who have been granted a residence permit for intra-company transfers (‘overplaatsing binnen een onderneming’) 
• employees working for an employer in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland who will temporarily be sent on a work assignment to the Netherlands as a posted worker 
• students required to work 32 hours a week as part of their study programme at the Academy of Architecture (‘Academie voor Bouwkunst’)