•• EMPLOYMENT ••
Work permit through employer Work permits are initiated by employers who apply to the UWV WERKbedrijf (www.werk. nl) with supporting evidence, such as copies of advertisements, postings on the Internet, statements from agencies. Your employer has to show that the position cannot be occupied by an EU/EEA national. This supporting evidence is not necessary in case of in-company transfers, internships and most scientific jobs. For a company to apply for a work permit, the candidate must be aged between 18 and 45. If an MVV is required for a particular applicant, the employer can start the application process at the IND (‘a request for recommendation for an MVV’). After a positive response, the applicant applies for the MVV in his own country and applies for a residence permit once in the Netherlands. After three years of employment with a work permit and a residence permit in the Netherlands, the employee is free on the labour market. Employers can employ you without needing a separate work permit. In case your residence document is being renewed your new labour market position will be mentioned as ‘Arbeid vrij toegestaan. TWV is niet vereist’. Changing jobs Any changes in your work or partnership status must be reported to the IND. When applying to extend a residence permit, your circumstances will be assessed again in reference to the original application. If you change jobs, the same rules apply as for the first permit you were granted. So if you worked with a separate work permit, your new employer needs a new work permit as well. If you worked as a highly skilled migrant, your new employer needs to be eligible to apply for residence permits based on the highly skilled migrant scheme.
The main exception is that, after three years working on any given residence permit which allowed you to work (such as for (marriage) partners or labour with a work permit, excepting highly skilled migrants), you no longer need a separate work permit. After three years of legal stay as a highly skilled migrant, you can change your purpose of stay into ‘labour’ which allows you to work without a work permit and without meeting the requirements for the highly skilled migrants scheme. If you have a highly skilled migrant residence permit and you change jobs, you do not need to change your permit. Your new employer will need to send proof to the IND that you still meet the requirements of the highly skilled migrant scheme and send in your contract to prove that you still earn the required salary. It is essential to apply for a new resident permit before the old one expires. If you wait for more than two years after the expiry date, you will most probably have to leave the country to obtain a new visa (MVV) in your home country. Highly skilled migrants To be able to employ expats under the highly skilled migrant scheme, employers must sign a statement with the IND. If the employment contract is issued for an indefinite period, the residence permit will be issued for a maximum of five years. If it is a fixed-term contract, the residence permit will be issued accordingly. Partners of highly skilled migrants can work without a work permit, though they do require a residence permit. If the highly skilled migrant (and/or their partner) has an MVV they can start to work immediately. Otherwise they need to wait until the residence permit comes through. They are legally permitted to work in this interim period if they visit the IND desk and get a sticker for their passport which proves that they have applied for a residence permit. (See p.14 for our list of expat centres in the Netherlands.)
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