The Netherlands is one of Europe’s most accessible jurisdictions for founders building an international business — stable, English-friendly, well-connected, and supported by a pragmatic administration. For an entrepreneur deciding to base a company here, however, the corporate setup is only half of the project. The other half is people: securing your own right to live and work in the Netherlands as a founder, and the right to bring key staff who do not hold an EU passport.
These two questions — immigration and incorporation — are more closely linked than most founders expect. The entity you establish often determines which immigration routes are open to you and your team, and the order in which you set things up can save or cost weeks. WVT’s attorneys and tax advisors guide international founders through both tracks in parallel, so the company and the people behind it arrive in the Netherlands on a single, coherent timeline.
This guide explains how Dutch work and residence permits fit together, the main routes available to founders and their teams, and why the immigration plan should be designed alongside the incorporation — not after it.
Work Permit or Residence Permit — and Why the Distinction Matters Less Than You Think
In many countries a foreign national needs two separate documents: one giving the right to reside, and another giving the right to work. The Netherlands has largely consolidated this. For most non-EU nationals coming to work, the relevant document is a single permit (GVVA) that combines the right to live and the right to work in one authorisation, removing the need to run two parallel applications.
There are important exceptions that, for founders, are usually advantages. Several of the most relevant routes — including the highly skilled migrant scheme — sit outside the GVVA and operate on faster, employer-led tracks. The practical takeaway is this: rather than asking whether you need a work permit or a residence permit, the better question is which route fits your situation, and what it requires of your Dutch company.
EU and EEA nationals — and Swiss nationals — do not need a permit to live or work in the Netherlands at all. The routes below are relevant where the founder, an investor, or a key hire holds a non-EU passport.
Routes for the Founder
How you secure your own right to stay depends on your nationality and how you intend to be involved in the business.
The self-employment residence permit. A founder who will run their own business in the Netherlands can apply for a residence permit for self-employment. This route is assessed on whether the business serves a Dutch economic interest, using a points-based evaluation that weighs the entrepreneur’s experience, the business plan, and the value the venture adds to the Netherlands. It suits founders who are genuinely building and leading a Dutch operating company.
The startup permit. For founders launching an innovative venture, the Netherlands offers a dedicated startup route that grants a temporary residence permit while the business is established, provided the founder works with a recognised facilitator. It is designed as an on-ramp: many founders transition to the self-employment permit once the company is trading.
Treaty-based routes. Nationals of certain countries benefit from bilateral treaties that ease the path to a self-employment permit. US nationals, in particular, can rely on the Dutch–American Friendship Treaty (DAFT), which offers a comparatively straightforward route to a residence permit for those investing in and running a Dutch business — a frequently used option given how many international founders come from North America.
Employing yourself through your own company. Where the founder will act as an employee of their own Dutch entity — for example as managing director — and the role and remuneration qualify, the highly skilled migrant route can sometimes apply to the founder themselves. This depends on the company holding recognised sponsor status, and is one of the clearest examples of why the corporate and immigration plans need to be designed together.
Routes for Your Team
Bringing non-EU staff to the Netherlands almost always runs through your Dutch company as the sponsor.
The highly skilled migrant scheme (kennismigrant). This is the principal route for hiring specialist, senior, and knowledge-based talent from outside the EU. It combines work and residence in one permit, requires no labour-market test, and is processed quickly. Its defining requirement is that the employer must be a recognised sponsor (erkend referent) registered with the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), and that the role meets the salary criterion the IND sets and adjusts each year.
The EU Blue Card. An alternative route for highly qualified employees, available on the basis of qualifications and a salary threshold, with the added advantage of mobility rights across EU member states.
Intra-corporate transfers (ICT). Where an existing group transfers managers, specialists, or trainees from a non-EU entity to its Dutch operation, the ICT permit provides a dedicated route that recognises the internal nature of the move.
The single permit (GVVA). For employees who do not fall within the highly skilled, ICT, or other privileged categories, the GVVA is the standard combined work-and-residence permit. It involves a more extensive assessment than the highly skilled migrant route and is correspondingly slower.
Hiring from the local talent pool. Recent graduates of Dutch and other leading universities may hold an orientation year permit, during which they can work without additional sponsorship — a practical and often overlooked source of internationally minded talent for an early-stage Dutch company.
At a glance: the main routes
| Route | Best suited to | Company as recognised sponsor? | Notable feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highly skilled migrant (kennismigrant) | Senior and specialist non-EU hires; sometimes the founder as an employee of their own company | Yes | Fast; no labour-market test |
| EU Blue Card | Highly qualified employees | Not required | EU-wide mobility rights |
| Intra-corporate transfer (ICT) | Group transfers of managers, specialists or trainees | Dutch host entity registers | Designed for internal moves |
| Single permit (GVVA) | Employees outside the privileged categories | Not required (UWV + IND route) | Broader assessment; slower |
| Self-employment permit | Founders genuinely running their own Dutch business | Not required | Points-based economic-interest test |
| Startup permit | Founders of innovative ventures | Not required | Requires a recognised facilitator |
| DAFT (US nationals) | US founders and investors in a Dutch business | Not required | Treaty-based; streamlined |
| Orientation year | Recent graduates already in the Netherlands | Not required | Free to work during the year |
Why Incorporation and Immigration Belong on the Same Plan
For most founders the single most important point is this: the strongest immigration routes depend on the Dutch company, and the company cannot sponsor anyone until it exists and qualifies.
To hire under the highly skilled migrant scheme — or, in many cases, to bring the founder in as an employee of their own business — the Dutch entity must first be incorporated and then granted recognised sponsor status by the IND. The IND assesses the company’s reliability, continuity, and financial health before granting that status, which means a freshly incorporated entity needs to be set up properly from the outset to support a sponsorship application.
This has direct consequences for sequencing:
- The company is incorporated first, with a governance and substance setup that can support both its commercial purpose and a future sponsorship application.
- Recognised sponsor status is applied for once the entity is established, ahead of any highly skilled migrant hires.
- Permits for the founder and key staff follow, drawing on the company’s sponsor status where the chosen route allows.
- Bank account opening, frequently the slowest step for entities with non-EU ownership, should be initiated early so it does not hold up either track.
- Family members of permit holders can generally join under dependent permits — worth planning for at the outset rather than as an afterthought.
Founders who treat immigration as something to handle after the company is running often discover that the company is not yet structured to sponsor the very people they need. Designing the two together avoids that gap.
How WVT’s Attorneys and Tax Advisors Support Your Move to the Netherlands
WVT advises international founders, entrepreneurs, and groups on establishing themselves and their businesses in the Netherlands, treating the corporate structure and the people behind it as a single project. Our attorneys and tax advisors guide clients through Dutch incorporation, governance and substance setup, and corporate migration, and advise on how the entity should be structured so that recognised sponsor status and the relevant residence and work permits can follow without friction.
Because we work with a high proportion of North American and other non-EU clients, we are familiar with the routes that matter most to internationally mobile founders — from treaty-based options for US nationals to the highly skilled migrant scheme for key hires — and we coordinate the corporate, tax, and immigration steps so they reinforce rather than delay one another.
If you are planning to relocate yourself or your business to the Netherlands, the most valuable conversation happens before incorporation, when the structure can still be shaped to support your immigration plan.
To discuss relocating your business and your team to the Netherlands, contact WVT’s attorneys and tax advisors for an initial consultation.
