How to apply for a work permit
If you want to employ a foreign employee, you sometimes need a work permit. A work permit (tewerkstellingsvergunning, TWV) or a combined residence and work permit (Gecombineerde Vergunning voor Verblijf en Arbeid, GVVA). To apply for a work permit, you and the employee must meet several conditions.
What work permits are there?
There are 2 types of work permits:
- Work permit (TWV), issued by the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency, UWV (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen)
- Combined residence and work permit (GVVA), issued by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service, IND (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst)
Which work permit you need depends, among other things, on which country your employee is from, their , and how long they come to work in the Netherlands.
Note: ‘Employee’ means any person for whom you are applying for a work permit. This can also be an intern or freelancer.
Read more about the residence permit.
When do I need a work permit for my employee?
If you want to hire a foreign employee, you will need a work permit in the following situations:
- You hire someone from outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland.
- Your employee already lives in the Netherlands and has a residence permit (verblijfsvergunning), such as international students and asylum seekers.
- Your employee will be working in the Netherlands for less than 3 months.
- Your employee will be working in the Netherlands for more than 3 months but will not officially reside here.
In some situations your employee needs a new TWV work permit, for example if:
- they will be doing other work than for which they currently have a work permit.
- their work permit will expire soon.
The UWV lists the conditions you and your employee need to meet. They also list situations when a TWV is not required.
Applying for a TWV
You can apply for a TWV at the UWV. The employee cannot do this themselves. You will need eherkenning level 3 to log in. UWV explains how to arrange a work permit.
After the application it takes a maximum of 5 weeks before you receive their decision.
Note: You may not let a foreign employee work without a work permit. You can read more about this at the website of the Netherlands Labour Authority (Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie).
After the TWV application
After 5 weeks you will receive UWV's decision.
TWV is granted
If the work permit is granted, you will receive the work permit (TWV) via the employer portal. Use the TWV for your administration and give a copy to the employee. Check all data on the TWV document. Do you see something that is incorrect (for example, a spelling mistake in a name)? Or has data changed during the application period? Please notify UWV (in Dutch).
TWV is rejected
Has UWV rejected your application and do you have questions about this? Then contact the person who handled your TWV application via UWV Contact. Do you disagree after receiving the explanation in the phone call? Then you can object and ask UWV to reconsider their decision. Read how to object to a decision.
If the work of your employee changes or ends
Sometimes you have to submit a new application for a work permit. For example, if your employee is going to do other work. UWV will then check again whether your application meets the conditions.
If the work stops during the term of the TWV, then send a letter to the UWV. State in your letter why the work will stop and from which date.
Note that UWV can also revoke the TWV (in Dutch).