Apply where your languages and work rights fit
If your Dutch is limited, you can apply for jobs that accept the languages you speak. Look for vacancies in English or with clear language requirements. Ask which language you will use at work. Other requirements, such as experience, certificates or shifts, still apply. Check that your nationality or residence document allows that specific work before accepting an offer.
Check your right to work
Your nationality and residence document decide which work you may do. IND (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst, Dutch immigration service) (External site, opens in a new tab) and UWV (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen, employee insurance agency) (External site, opens in a new tab) explain the rules below. Some routes require a tewerkstellingsvergunning (TWV, work permit) or a gecombineerde vergunning voor verblijf en arbeid (GVVA, combined residence and work permit).
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| Your situation | What to verify before accepting work |
|---|---|
| EU (European Union), EEA (European Economic Area) or Swiss citizen | You do not need a Dutch work permit. Show a valid passport or identity card and arrange a burgerservicenummer (BSN, citizen service number) for work and payroll. |
| Residence document says “Arbeid vrij toegestaan. TWV niet vereist” (work freely permitted; no TWV required) | You may work freely without a TWV. Check that the document is still valid. |
| Permit is tied to a sponsor or says a TWV is required | The new employer or agency may need a TWV, a GVVA or another work residence permit. Wait until the required permission is in place before starting. |
| Study residence permit: ordinary paid side jobs | The employer needs a TWV. Choose either at most 16 hours a week or full-time work in June, July and August. You cannot combine these options. |
| Asylum application, temporary protection or another special status | The rules on waiting periods, employer duties and evidence differ by route. Check your exact status and document wording in the work-rights guide below. |
Work required for your study can have different rules. This includes qualifying Academie voor Bouwkunst (Academy of Architecture) employment. Check UWV’s work-permit exemptions (External site, opens in a new tab) for the programme, contract, pay, hours and employer-notification conditions.
Choose where to look for jobs
Use employer career pages and EURES (European Employment Services) (External site, opens in a new tab) to look for vacancies. For werk.nl (UWV job-search portal), start with UWV’s advice on working in the Netherlands (External site, opens in a new tab). Choose a vacancy source to find jobs, or a Work in NL information point (External site, opens in a new tab) to ask about pay, contracts and housing.
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| Route | Use it for | Check before applying |
|---|---|---|
| Employer career page | Current vacancies from a company you want to work for; look for ‘werken bij’ (careers) | Apply through the employer's own domain and save the vacancy text |
| werk.nl | UWV vacancies and Dutch job-search tools | The portal is in Dutch. Account tools may require a BSN and DigiD (Dutch government login) (External site, opens in a new tab) |
| EURES | European vacancies, mobility information and adviser support | Check Dutch work-permit rules separately from the vacancy |
| Uitzendbureau (temp agency) | Short-term or variable assignments where the agency is your employer | Check the agency, contract, pay, work rights and housing separately |
| Commercial boards and professional networks | Finding possible jobs and contacting people in your field | Use the platform to find possible jobs. Verify the vacancy on the employer's own website |
| Work in NL information point | Free explanations about work, wages, contracts and housing | Ask about work, pay, contracts or housing; the service does not promise to find you a job |
Search in both English and Dutch. Try Dutch job titles such as magazijnmedewerker (warehouse worker), productiemedewerker (production worker), schoonmaker (cleaner) and bezorger (delivery worker). Read the full vacancy and ask about the working language before applying.
Check the vacancy's language requirements
The vacancy’s wording helps you decide whether to apply or ask a question first. Use these examples to check what the employer expects.
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| Vacancy wording | What the wording tells you | Your next action |
|---|---|---|
| Vacancy is in English; ‘English-speaking’ or ‘Dutch not required’ | English may be accepted for the application and daily work | Confirm the working language and any other required language |
| ‘Nederlands is een pré’ (Dutch is a plus) | Dutch is preferred, not clearly mandatory | Apply if the other requirements fit and state your exact current level |
| “Goede beheersing van het Nederlands” (good command of Dutch) or “vloeiend Nederlands” (fluent Dutch) | Good or fluent Dutch is an explicit requirement | Ask the recruiter only if the rest of the vacancy suggests flexibility |
| Customer contact, care, teaching or safety instructions in Dutch | The employer may need Dutch for communication, safety or regulation | Ask which tasks require Dutch and what level you need before spending time on the application |
| ‘Willing to learn Dutch’ | The employer may accept your current level but expect progress | Ask what level and deadline are expected and whether lessons are supported |
Match the application language to the vacancy. State your Dutch honestly. If you are at A2 (basic language level), you could write ‘Nederlands A2, twee lessen per week’ (Dutch A2, two lessons a week). List every other language you can use at work. The Dutch CV and application guide explains the format.
If you are making the portfolio for Oriëntatie op de Nederlandse Arbeidsmarkt (ONA, Dutch labour market orientation), follow its separate language rules. ONA is part of the inburgering (civic integration) exam. DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs, Dutch education service) (External site, opens in a new tab) requires the portfolio’s 2 application forms in Dutch. Write its letter and CV in Dutch too, unless all your vacancies are in English. The ONA portfolio guide lists the other document rules.
Prepare your application documents
Use the table below to prepare your CV and application. Check the vacancy for any extra documents the employer requests.
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| Item | What to include or verify |
|---|---|
| CV | Relevant tasks and results, newest experience first, contact details and no BSN or full identity-document copy |
| Language line | Your current level for Dutch and the languages you can actually use with colleagues, customers or instructions |
| Availability | Start date, days, shifts, maximum travel area and transport you can reliably use |
| Right-to-work line | A short accurate statement based on your nationality or the exact wording on your valid residence document |
| Qualifications | Diplomas, licences or safety certificates named in the vacancy, with translations or recognition only when relevant |
| References | People who have agreed to be contacted, with their role and preferred contact details |
A diplomawaardering (credential evaluation) is advice about your diploma’s Dutch equivalent. Ask the employer whether it needs one before paying or waiting for it. A regulated profession (profession protected by law) requires recognition by the responsible professional authority. An evaluation alone does not give permission to practise. Use the foreign diploma recognition guide to choose the right route.
Check the agency and its offer
Use the KVK (Kamer van Koophandel, Chamber of Commerce) (External site, opens in a new tab) check for Waadi (Wet allocatie arbeidskrachten door intermediairs, law on supplying workers) registration. Then check each part of the offer below.
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| Check | What to check |
|---|---|
| Who employs you | The uitzendbureau is named as your employer; the inlener (hirer) is the company where you do the work |
| KVK and Waadi | The legal name and KVK number match, and the public Waadi check shows that the business is registered to supply workers |
| Placement fee | The agency charges you no registration, mediation or placement fee for finding you work |
| Pay and conditions | The agency explains the gross hourly wage (hourly pay before tax and other deductions), allowances, hours, breaks, holiday terms and applicable cao (collective labour agreement) in writing |
| Equal treatment | You are entitled to at least the same pay and specified working conditions as employees doing equal or equivalent work at the hirer. Lawful cao exceptions can apply. Ask which cao applies and which clause explains any difference. |
| Housing | Any rent, deductions, room and ending terms are clear, and the rental agreement is separate from the employment contract |
Extra housing rules cover citizens of another EU country whose main home is abroad and who come here for temporary work. For this group, rental contracts made since 1 July 2023 must be separate from employment contracts. The landlord must give the required tenant information in their preferred language, or another language they understand and can use clearly. Ask for separate agreements in other cases too. Read the housing terms before accepting the job.
Check the terms before your first shift
Before your first shift, check all of the following:
- Confirm that you may work in this role and that any required TWV, GVVA or other work permission is already valid.
- Show your verified employer your original valid identity document. Your employer must check your identity before you start and keep a copy for its records. Keep the original yourself. Verify an unfamiliar recruiter’s identity and reason before sharing a copy.
- Arrange your BSN for payroll. Keep your DigiD password, bank login, PIN (personal identification number) and verification codes private.
- Get the employer's legal name and written terms: job, workplace, start date, gross hourly wage, expected hours, allowances, holiday pay, contract type and applicable cao.
- Keep your own copy of the contract and messages. Record each shift, break and hour, then compare them with the payslip and payment.
- If housing comes with the job, get the separate rental agreement and read what happens to the room if the work ends.
Written terms do not remove every risk, but they create evidence. The employment-contract guide explains temporary, agency, on-call and fixed-hours contracts. If pay or hours are wrong, ask the employer to correct them in writing and keep the reply.
Check job offers for scam signs
Check these warning signs before you share documents or send money. Use the action that matches the request.
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| Warning sign | What to do |
|---|---|
| A recruiter asks you to pay a registration, mediation or placement fee, a deposit to get work, or an equipment charge before work starts | Do not pay. End the contact and save the messages, account details and advertisement |
| A recruiter asks for cryptocurrency (digital currency) or gift cards | Do not pay. End the contact and save the messages, account details and advertisement |
| The “job” requires moving money for someone else, opening an account or business in your name for their use, or sharing a bank card | Do not move the money. Contact your bank and the politie (police) (External site, opens in a new tab) if you already shared access or received funds |
| A recruiter wants a full identity-document copy through chat before naming the legal employer and role | Verify the company and purpose first. Provide identity evidence only through a verified process at the appropriate hiring stage |
| The sender uses only a personal address or messaging app, and the name, domain, KVK number or vacancy does not match | Contact the employer through the number on its own website; do not use the recruiter's link or number |
| Someone keeps your original passport or permit, controls your movement, threatens you or withholds pay | This may be labour exploitation. Leave if you safely can, preserve evidence and seek help using the reporting route below |
Check a housing deposit separately against the rental agreement.
If you suspect online fraud, contact your bank quickly and report it to the police. Save the messages and payment details.
Get help with hiring discrimination
If you think a hiring decision involved discrimination, you can get help. Choose between advice and a formal judgment using the table below.
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| What you need | Route |
|---|---|
| Advice or help deciding whether the treatment may be discrimination | Contact Discriminatie.nl (discrimination advice service) (External site, opens in a new tab). Support is free and confidential. The service takes no action without your consent |
| A formal equal-treatment judgment about recruitment or work | Ask the College voor de Rechten van de Mens (Netherlands Institute for Human Rights) (External site, opens in a new tab) whether it can assess your case. Its judgments are not legally binding |
Save the full vacancy, your application, messages, names, dates and screenshots. Write down what was said as soon as possible.
Follow a weekly search plan
You can use this weekly plan as a starting point. Adjust the numbers to the time you have.
- Choose five to ten current vacancies whose work-right and language requirements you understand.
- Mark each one: direct employer, official portal, agency or commercial lead.
- Adapt the top third of your CV and a short message to the tasks in each vacancy.
- Apply through the employer's verified page where possible and save a copy of the vacancy.
- Contact two or three checked agencies with your exact availability, travel area, languages and certificates.
- Review the results after seven days: replies, rejections, missing requirements and one change for the next cycle.
Solve common job-search problems
If applications bring no replies or shifts, check what is getting in the way. Try the change that fits your situation.
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| Blocker | Useful change |
|---|---|
| The vacancy needs Dutch you do not yet have | Target English-language or ‘Dutch is a plus’ vacancies, and keep building Dutch for the roles you want later |
| Agencies register you but offer no shifts | Ask which exact requirement is missing; if realistic, widen your hours, travel area or job titles and keep more than one checked agency active |
| Employers do not understand your diploma | Ask whether an evaluation is needed; use professional recognition instead if the occupation is regulated |
| Your work rights are unclear | Resolve the residence-document wording or employer-permit route before sending more applications for jobs you may not be allowed to start |
| Many applications get no answer | For one week, send fewer applications. Apply only for jobs where you meet the essential requirements. Show that match in the first lines of your CV |
Choose what to do today
Today, check your work-right route and save three vacancies with clear language requirements. Then prepare one accurate CV, verify every employer or agency and keep the terms in writing. Choose jobs where you may legally start and understand the work and the offer.
Use these guides for your next decision:
- Author
- By Inburgering.org team
- Reviewer
- Reviewed by Kirill Svavolia
Official Sources
- UWV: EU, EEA or Swiss national (External site, opens in a new tab) - work-permit rules for EU, EEA and Swiss nationals, the role of the BSN and DigiD, and ways to look for work
- UWV: Work permits (External site, opens in a new tab) - when an employer needs a TWV, when a GVVA route applies and which residence-document wording allows unrestricted work
- IND: Employing a foreign national (External site, opens in a new tab) - current work-authorisation routes, including rules for EU nationals, students and residence permits tied to specific work
- UWV: Login methods for the Werkmap (job-search account) (External site, opens in a new tab) - DigiD login for the Werkmap and the BSN needed to apply for DigiD
- EURES: European job mobility portal (External site, opens in a new tab) - European vacancies, EURES advisers and information about living and working in participating countries
- Work in NL: Employment agency (External site, opens in a new tab) - how agency work is organised, what to check before signing and where to obtain free information about work, wages, contracts and housing
- Business.gov.nl: Waadi registration and check (External site, opens in a new tab) - the registration duty for businesses that supply workers and what the KVK Waadi check confirms
- Rijksoverheid (Dutch central government): Conditions for agency workers (External site, opens in a new tab) - equal-treatment rules, the ban on charging a worker for placement and the agency's duty to explain workplace conditions before work starts
- Work in NL: Types of employment agreement (External site, opens in a new tab) - the main contract types and the written information an employer must provide about pay and employment conditions
- Government.nl: Who may copy your identity document (External site, opens in a new tab) - which organisations may make an identity-document copy and how to reduce identity-fraud risk
- NetherlandsWorldwide: Foreign qualification evaluation for work (External site, opens in a new tab) - when a credential evaluation may help, its advisory status and the separate recognition route for regulated professions
- Discriminatie.nl: How support works (External site, opens in a new tab) - free and confidential advice, reporting options and the evidence that can help with a discrimination complaint
- College voor de Rechten van de Mens: English information (External site, opens in a new tab) - information about requesting a formal equal-treatment judgment, including recruitment and employment cases
- Netherlands Labour Authority: Report unfair work or exploitation (External site, opens in a new tab) - how to report underpayment, excessive hours, unsafe work, illegal employment or labour exploitation, including anonymous reporting
- Dutch Police: Money mule (External site, opens in a new tab) - why letting someone use your bank account or moving money for another person can make you part of money laundering
- Rijksoverheid: Good Landlord Act rules (External site, opens in a new tab) - the separate rental-agreement and understandable-information rules for housing offered to labour migrants
- DUO: toelichting resultaatkaarten (result-card explanations) for ONA (External site, opens in a new tab) - the ONA card 7 language rule: application forms always in Dutch, the letter and CV in Dutch unless all vacancies are in English
- IND: Buitenlandse werknemer in dienst nemen (employing a foreign worker) (External site, opens in a new tab) - Dutch source for nationality-based work rights, work-permit routes and paid employment under a study residence permit
- KVK: Waadi check (External site, opens in a new tab) - the official tool for checking whether an agency is registered to supply workers
- Waadi: law on supplying workers (External site, opens in a new tab) - Articles 3, 7a, 8 and 9: placement fees, registration and equal-treatment rules, including cao exceptions
- Wet goed verhuurderschap (Good Landlord Act) (External site, opens in a new tab) - Articles 1, 2 and 23: the EU labour-migrant scope, separate rental agreements and the rules on understandable tenant information
- Work in NL: Identity documents (External site, opens in a new tab) - showing a valid identity document at work and keeping your original document
- DigiD: Security (External site, opens in a new tab) - keeping your DigiD login details private
- College voor de Rechten van de Mens: Work (External site, opens in a new tab) - discrimination during recruitment and the College’s role in assessing complaints
- Politie: What to do after becoming a money mule (External site, opens in a new tab) - bank and police contact and preserving evidence after bank-account misuse
- Politie: Companies and accounts held for someone else (External site, opens in a new tab) - how criminals use companies and bank accounts registered in another person’s name
- Politie: Advice after online fraud (PDF) (External site, opens in a new tab) - contacting your bank quickly and reporting online fraud to the police
- IND: Paid employment and work-permit wording (External site, opens in a new tab) - the unrestricted-work wording on residence documents and what it permits
- Work in NL: Salary (External site, opens in a new tab) - gross salary means pay before taxes and other deductions
- UWV: Work-permit exemptions (External site, opens in a new tab) - the conditions for TWV-free employment required by an Academie voor Bouwkunst programme, including employer notification and a maximum of 32 hours a week
- IND: Student residence permit for university or higher professional education (External site, opens in a new tab) - the choice between at most 16 hours of ordinary paid work a week and full-time work in June, July and August, plus the exception for programme traineeships
- Rijksoverheid: Employer identity-check duties (External site, opens in a new tab) - the employer must check the original identity document before employment and keep a copy
- Dutch Police: Cryptocurrency payments in vacancy fraud (External site, opens in a new tab) - police advice to stop cryptocurrency payments to suspected vacancy fraudsters
- Work in NL: Information points (External site, opens in a new tab) - free advice about work and housing, with locations, available languages and opening information
- DigiD: Apply for a DigiD (External site, opens in a new tab) - how to apply for a DigiD to access government services
- Council of Europe: Common reference language levels (External site, opens in a new tab) - A2 is a basic language level for simple, routine communication
- Work in NL: Veilig werken (working safely) (External site, opens in a new tab) - employers must provide and pay for protective equipment, such as helmets, gloves and ear protection