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Work permits for foreign personnel

Information for employers

Need more information?

This brochure provides general information on work permits. If you require more detailed information, visit www.werk.nl, www.wetarbeidvreemdelingen.nl and see the Working in the Netherlands section or contact the Bureau Tewerkstellings vergunningen at UWV WERKbedrijf by calling +31 797 50 29 03.

UWV Januari 2010 Aan deze uitgave kunnen geen rechten worden ontleend. WB110 15400 01-10

Inhoud
Work permits for foreign personnel When do you need a work permit? Work permit requirements Applying for a work permit Relevant authorities 2 3 6 8 15

Work permits for foreign personnel

Are you considering hiring foreign nationals because you are unable to find suitable personnel in the Netherlands? If so, you are required by law to first search the European labour market for candidates. But if you still wish to bring in employees from outside Europe, a work permit is required in most cases. The employer must apply for a work permit; employees are not permitted to apply. This brochure answers the most common questions about work permits: When is a work permit required? What are the requirements for obtaining a work permit? How do you apply for a work permit? Where can you find more information?

When do you need a work permit?

In most cases, you will need a work permit if you wish to hire employees from outside of Europe.

When is a work permit required?

A work permit is required for: Employees from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) Employees residing in the new EU countries of Bulgaria and Romania, which became members of the European Union on 1 January 2007. All those employing foreign employees who fit the above categories must apply for a work permit. This applies to companies, government agencies and private individuals. A work permit is also required for selfemployment situations, unless the foreign national has a residence permit to work as a selfemployed person.

Indirect employment
If you are hiring personnel through a contractor, subcontractor or employment agency, you are also accountable for the employees. You are required to ensure that the proper permit is obtained for the foreign national. In many cases, you do not need to apply for the permit, since the contractor or employment agency often already has a permit in the foreigners name for performing the work within your organisation. You are, however, responsible for checking this information.

What is the European Economic Area (EEA)?

The EEA comprises the European Union (EU) member states in addition to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The EU member countries are Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, United Kingdom and Sweden. Employers of foreign nationals of Bulgaria and Romania are still required to apply for a work permit. Employees from the other EEA countries and Switzerland are permitted to work in the Netherlands without a work permit. For more specifics on the requirements, visit www.werk.nl.

When is a work permit not required?

In some cases, a work permit is not required for employees from outside the EEA or from the new EU member states of Bulgaria and Romania. No work permit is required in the following instances: Foreign nationals with a residence permit that includes the text employment is permitted. This often concerns foreign nationals residing in the Netherlands on the basis of family reunification, admitted refugees and those who have had a residence permit for three years that allows for employment based on a work permit. Foreign nationals with a sticker in their passport bearing the text employment is permitted arbeid vrij toegestaan, TWV niet vereist. This permission is valid for a limited period time (as indicated on the sticker). Foreign nationals who perform certain types of work that entail working in the Netherlands for short periods of time on an occasional basis, such as press service staff, musicians and visiting lecturers. Information on work activities that fall under this exception can be obtained from the Work Permit Division (Bureau Tewerkstellingsvergunningen) of UWV WERKbedrijf (contact information at the back). Foreign nationals who are knowledge migrants for whom special income criteria apply. These criteria are revised annually. The current income criteria can be found at www.ind.nl. The employment procedure for this group falls under the services of the Immigration and Naturalisation Department (Immigratie en Naturalisatie Dienst). For more information, see the Module for highly skilled migrants link on www.ind.nl. Service providers from the EEA or Switzerland who perform a service with their own employees and that does not involve the free movement of employees. No work permit is required if the work activities are reported to UWV WERKbedrijf using the notification form. In all other instances, a work permit is required.

Why is a work permit required?

A work permit is required due to the provisions of the Aliens Employment Act (Wet Arbeid Vreemdelingen), which states that employees must first be recruited from within the country or EEA. The goal is to protect the Dutch and European labour markets. The permit system enables the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment to regulate and control the labour influx.

Work permit requirements

If you wish to apply for a work permit, you must satisfy a number of conditions: You must have already attempted to find personnel within the Netherlands or Europe. You must register your job opening with UWV WERKbedrijf five weeks prior to applying for a work permit. You must comply with the applicable employment conditions. You must offer the foreign national safe and hygienic housing and the foreign nationals must be between the ages of 18 and 45 and in possession of a valid residence permit.

Applicable employment conditions

If you hire a foreign national, you must pay this individual at least the minimum wage that applies for employees ages 23 and older, even if the foreign national is under the age of 23 or working parttime. If the work only entails a few days or weeks, you must still pay the minimum wage for an entire month. All working conditions, employment conditions and employment relationships must be comparable (or higher) to those required by law or customary in that particular line of business. This also means that you are required to pay marketlevel wages or Collective Labour Agreement wage rates.

Valid residence permit

The foreign national must be in possession of a valid residence permit that allows employment or a visa if the work is to be performed for less than three months. The confirmation of receipt stating that a residence permit application has been submitted also serves as proof of submission.

Hiring attempts in the Netherlands and Europe

When submitting an application for a work permit, you must be able to demonstrate that you have actively searched for suitable candidates within the Netherlands or Europe for at least five weeks. For positions that are difficult to fill, you must also be able to demonstrate that you have first made every possible attempt over the course of three months to find personnel using every possible channel, such as the Internet, advertisements in specialist publications or newspapers and employment agencies. Training You are also expected to consider possibilities to provide training or additional training as part of these efforts. If an applicant from the Netherlands or other European country can meet the job requirements within a reasonable amount of time by undergoing training or additional training, he or she is considered a suitable applicant. The definition of a reasonable amount of time depends on the position or occupational group.

Registering the job opening with UWV WERKbedrijf

At least five weeks before submitting the application for a work permit, you must register the job opening with the WERKbedrijf office closest to you. At the same time, you can request to have your job opening announced within Europe. WERKbedrijf uses the EURES network (EURopean Employment Services), a network of European organisations that offer job placement services. In the meantime, you are expected to continue actively searching for a suitable candidate using the resources offered by WERKbedrijf, such as the website www.werk.nl.

Applying for a work permit

You can apply for a work permit from the Work Permit Division (Bureau Tewerkstellingsvergunningen) of UWV WERKbedrijf. Until a permit has been issued, you are not permitted to allow the foreign national for whom the application has been submitted to perform any work.

Submitting an application
The application for a work permit must be submitted to the Work Permit Division (Bureau Tewerkstellingsvergunningen) of UWV WERKbedrijf (contact information can be found at the back of the brochure). You can request an application form from the Bureau Tewerkstellingsvergunningen. Make sure to submit the application at least five weeks prior to the employment commencement date. This allows enough time for the application to be evaluated. Considering the deadline for the job opening notification (5 weeks) and processing period for the request (another 5 weeks), the procedure at UWV WERKbedrijf should begin at least 10 weeks prior to the actual start date of the employment. Labour Migration Digital Desk An eform from the Labour Migration Digital Desk (www.arbeidsmigratie.nl) can be used to determine which type of permit you require for foreign employees and what kind of work permit is needed. The website also contains an application form to request temporary residency authorisation should this be required.

Tips for a smooth procedure You can contribute to a smooth application procedure by: Filling out the application form as completely as possible and including all relevant information (such as the relevant documents if necessary). Demonstrating the unique skills of the foreign national with copies of certificates and/or diplomas if these skills are the reason you are applying for the work permit. Diplomas can be translated into Dutch and evaluated by COLO or Nuffic.

Application process All applications must be submitted in writing. The period required by law within which UWV WERKbedrijf must make a decision regarding the application is five weeks. This period starts on completion of the application. If the application is not complete, you will have the opportunity to provide all lacking information within a set deadline, usually 10 working days. The application will not be considered if it is still incomplete after this deadline has passed. As soon as it becomes clear that your application will be rejected, you will be informed. You will then be given the opportunity to respond to the rejection. Step 1
Employer conducts active search

3 months

5 weeks

5 weeks
Submit application to Work Permit Division (Bureau Tewerkstellings vergunningen) in Zoetermeer.

Step 2
Employer registers job opening with UWV WERKbedrijf If no candidate can be found, you can register the job opening with UWV WERKbedrijf. Contact the office nearest you. This must be done five weeks before applying for a work permit.

Step 3
Employer submits application to UWV WERKbedrijf You must fill out a work permit application form. This form can be obtained from the Work Permit Division (Bureau Tewerkstellings vergunningen) of UWV WERKbedrijf in Zoetermeer.

Step 4
UWV WERKbedrijf makes a decision on the application UWV WERKbedrijf makes a decision on the application for a work permit within five weeks time. If the application is accepted, the employee can begin working. If you disagree with WERKbedrijfs decision regarding your application, you can submit an objection within six weeks.

Employer actively searches for candidates within the Netherlands and Europe

Application accepted: foreign national may begin working Application rejected: objection can be submitted to the Legal Employment Services Division at UWV WERKbedrijf within 6 weeks.

You can apply for a work permit if no suitable candidate can be found in the Netherlands or Europe. UWV WERKbedrijf expects you to be able to demonstrate that you have been unable to find a candidate for the position. Specifically, this means that you must demonstrate that you have searched actively for a candidate for the position in the Netherlands and Europe for three months before applying for a work permit

3 months

Decisionmaking period required by law for UWV WERKbedrijf

-5 weeks
Decisionmaking period required by law for UWV WERKbedrijf

+5 weeks

Simplified procedure
UWV WERKbedrijf is not always required to assess whether a Dutch or European candidate is available for every work permit application. Applications for work placement students, asylum seekers, trainees and international corporate personnel, for instance, are not tested for compatibility with the job market. UWV WERKbedrijf aims to process these applications within two weeks provided they are complete and submitted on time.

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What kinds of work permits are available?

UWV WERKbedrijf has the possibility to issue work permits with a limited period of validity or that are subject to specific conditions. UWV WERKbedrijf determines what kind of work permit is issued based on the employer information. There are four types of work permits: A permit for the period requested with a maximum time limit of three years. After three years, in most cases the employee is eligible for a residence permit with the notation employment is permitted. A permit subject to conditions. This could entail the condition that the employer must continue to make efforts to recruit suitable personnel or must improve working conditions, employment conditions or employment relationships. A shortterm permit that is valid for up to 24 weeks. This temporary permit cannot be renewed or extended. A temporary, nonrenewable permit.

Application rejection
If your application does not satisfy the conditions related to age, suitable housing, minimum wage, working conditions, employment conditions or residency, WERKbedrijf can reject the application. A work permit can be rejected based on the following criteria: There are suitable candidates available or suitable candidates are expected for whom a work permit is not required. You have not made sufficient efforts to find a suitable candidate. You have not registered the job opening with WERKbedrijf or the registration was too late. You were issued a permit in the past and did not adhere to the conditions. You have violated regulations in the past, such as allowing foreign nationals to work without the required work permits.

Objection and appeal

If a work permit is not issued, you can submit an objection within 6 weeks to the Legal Employment Services Division at UWV WERKbedrijf, Postbus 753, 2700 AT Zoetermeer. If your objection is rejected, you can appeal to the court of The Hague (Aliens Division, Administrative Law Division), with the possibility to appeal further to the Council of State (Administrative Law Division).

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Health and Safety Inspectorate and SIOD inspections

Together with the police, employees of the Health and Safety Inspectorate and Social Information and Investigation Service (SIOD) of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment monitor compliance with the Aliens Employment Act. They may conduct inspections (unannounced), demand access to personnel records, and ask employees in the workplace to provide identification. If it turns out that you have employees at work without the required work permits, a violation report will be drawn up. It will then be determined based on this report and your response whether or you will be fined for the violation. The fine is 8,000 euros for every illegal foreign national employed. Private individuals are fined 4,000 euros for this violation.

Relevant authorities
UWV WERKbedrijf, Bureau Tewerkstellingsvergunningen (Work Permits Division) Postbus 883 2700 AW Zoetermeer +31 797 50 29 03 www.werk.nl, Werkgevers section Work permit applications and procedure information. IND Immigratie en Naturalisatiedienst (Immigration and Naturalisation Service) Loket arbeidsmigratie (Labour Migration Section) Sir Winston Churchilllaan 293 2288 DC Rijswijk 0900 123 45 61 www.ind.nl Information on the application procedure for residence permits for labour migrants and residence permits for knowledge migrants. Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid (Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment) Postbus 90801 2509 LV Den Haag 0800 90 51 www.minszw.nl www.wetarbeidvreemdelingen.nl Information on the Aliens Employment Act and enforcement by the Health and Safety Inspectorate. COLO Vereniging Kenniscentra Beroepsonderwijs Bedrijfsleven Expertisebureau (Centres of Expertise on Vocational Education, Training and Labour Market) Internationale Diplomawaardering (International Diploma Recognition) Postbus 7259 2701 AG Zoetermeer (079) 352 30 00 www.colo.nl Information on the recognition of foreign diplomas in vocational and continuing education.

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Nuffic Nederlandse organisatie voor internationale samenwerking in het Hoger Onderwijs (Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education) Postbus 29777 2502 LT Den Haag +31 704 26 02 60 www.nuffic.nl Information on the recognition of foreign diplomas in higher education. Digitaal Loket Arbeidsmigratie (Labour Migration Digital Desk) UWV WERKbedrijfIND www.arbeidsmigratie.nl Work permit and residency applications for foreign employees in the Netherlands.

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