Ukrainian employees must meet the following criteria to work in the Netherlands without a work permit:

• They must officially have been granted protection under the Temporary Protection Directive (‘Richtlijn Tijdelijke Bescherming’).
• They must have an employment contract.

Ukrainian employees must be able to prove they have been granted protection that allows them to live and work in the Netherlands, without a work permit, by carrying one of the following documents:

• A sticker without an expiry date that is valid for as long as the Temporary Protection Directive remains in force.
• A sticker or card with an expiry date, and an extension letter from the IND validating the sticker for as long as the Temporary Protection Directive remains in force.

Employees holding a permanent Ukrainian residence permit (‘permanente verblijfsvergunning’)

Ukrainian employees with a permanent Ukrainian residence permit are also covered by the Temporary Protection Directive. This is stated in a sticker or Type O immigration status document (‘O-document’) issued by the IND.

Employees that are third-country nationals (‘derdelander’) holding a temporary Ukrainian residence permit (‘tijdelijke verblijfsvergunning’)

Third-country nationals are refugees from Ukraine who do not have Ukrainian nationality, and come from a country outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland. Until 4 September 2025 third-country nationals are entitled to  the rights under the Temporary Protection Directive.

From 4 September 2025, a third-country national will need to leave the Netherlands. They have an extra 4 weeks to arrange their departure. During this time, they are not permitted to work.

A third-country national can only continue working in the Netherlands if, as their employer, you apply for a work permit for them. If they have applied for asylum, you can apply for a work permit for asylum seekers.

If a third-country national has appealed a decision, they keep the right to work until the court has looked at their individual case.

To inform us that you will be hiring a Ukrainian employee, complete the Employee hiring notification form (‘Melden tewerkstelling werknemer). You will be able to access this form by logging in to the employer portal with your EH3 level eHerkenning account. Once you are in the portal, go to ‘Tewerkstelling’ (‘Employment’) and then select ‘Melden tewerkstelling werknemer’ (‘Employee hiring notification’) to locate the form.

After you have submitted the completed form, you will receive a confirmation message in your ‘Brieven en documenten’ (‘Letters and documents’) folder in the employer portal. Your employee will be allowed to start working for your organisation 2 days after the form has been submitted.

Check your employee has the following before they start working for you:

• a citizen service number (‘BSN’) 
• a valid, current and authentic proof of identity

If you have any doubts about the authenticity of your employee’s proof of identity, call the Centre of Expertise on Identity Theft and Documentation (‘ECID’) on 0800 – 1814.

Employees arriving from Ukraine are entitled to the same rights as all other employees in the Netherlands. This includes the right to a safe work environment, appropriate breaks, holiday leave and the national minimum wage. If your organisation is governed by a collective labour agreement (‘CAO’), this will also extend to your Ukrainian employees.

It is important that you report the following types of changes to us:

• if your Ukrainian employee stops working for you
• if you renew your Ukrainian employee’s contract
• if your Ukrainian employee takes on a new role

To report these types of changes, please use the same form that you would use when informing us that you will be hiring a new Ukrainian employee.