Work rights by Dutch residence permit: check your card

This guide covers newcomers starting a job, changing employers or checking proof of work rights. Your residence status determines what work you may do. Your card, a letter from the Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst (External site, opens in a new tab) (IND, immigration service) or a verblijfsaantekening (residence endorsement sticker) can prove those rights. Check the expiry date and any work wording together.

Losing your card does not by itself end your residence status. Your employer still needs acceptable proof of your work rights. If you lose your card, use the IND replacement procedure and ask what proof your employer can accept. A burgerservicenummer (BSN, citizen service number), job offer or pending application alone does not prove permission to work.

Find your status in the first column, then read its conditions below the table. Employers apply for a TWV through UWV (External site, opens in a new tab) (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen, employee insurance agency).

A valid passport or identity card can show your EU, EER or Swiss nationality. British newcomers generally need a permit under the post-Brexit rules. An Article 50 residence document proves rights under the terugtrekkingsakkoord (Withdrawal Agreement) and allows unrestricted work. A non-EU family member using EU free-movement rights should check their own EU-family document. The sponsor's nationality alone does not prove those rights.

The back of a Dutch residence card lists the purpose of stay and an arbeidsmarktaantekening (work endorsement). A GVVA also has an aanvullend document (additional document) naming the employer and conditions. Match the work wording on your document to the first column to find what you may do.

Read the wording together with your residence status and any additional document. A GVVA allows you to work for the employer named in its additional document. A positive IND decision or residence endorsement sticker can sometimes prove temporary work rights. Follow the exact work permission it states.

A gereglementeerd beroep (regulated profession), such as nursing, may also require professional registration or recognition. That requirement is separate from immigration permission. Use the foreign diploma recognition guide to find the right route.

Your employer applies to UWV for a TWV for your work. This route covers students, eligible asylum applicants, work of up to 90 days and some people who already live in the Netherlands. A TWV can also cover longer work when the worker lives outside the Netherlands. The employer must meet the route's conditions, including the pay rules. Start only when the permit covers your job. If you change employers, the new employer must arrange its own TWV where one is required.

A GVVA generally combines residence and work permission when a non-EU employee will live and work here for more than 90 days. Some permit categories use a different route. The employer or worker can apply, but the IND recommends an employer application. For some routes, the employer must apply. You may start only after receiving both the residence document and the additional document. Changing employer requires a new application. Wait until the documents allow that job.

Your permit type determines the conditions for your job. Partners, highly skilled migrants, students and people with protection status have different rules.

A partner of a Dutch citizen may work freely. For other partner permits, the referent (sponsor) is the person you joined. Find your sponsor's permit in the first column to check whether you may work freely, need a TWV or may not work.

For other sponsor categories, partners often receive the same work rights as their sponsor. Check your own card. If your sponsor has a temporary permit, your permit has the same end date.

A kennismigrant normally works for an erkend referent: an employer approved by the IND. Sponsor recognition is not required if you have Turkish nationality; you may also apply yourself. Your job must meet the salary rules and pay the normal rate for that kind of work. You may also be self-employed alongside that job. Other employee work alongside it needs a TWV. To work only for yourself, apply for a self-employed or start-up permit.

After job loss, the IND gives you up to 3 months to find a new qualifying job. The usual maximum is 6 months if you became unemployed on or after 22 May 2026. You must also have held this permit for at least 2 years at that point. Unemployment before 22 May 2026 keeps the 3-month maximum.

If you experienced labour exploitation, ask the IND to confirm your individual search deadline and how your permit's expiry affects it. EU Directive 2024/1233 requires an extra 3 months after competent authorities find reasonable grounds to believe a single-permit holder experienced particularly exploitative working conditions. This extends the applicable 3-month or 6-month unemployment period. The IND's published guidance instead lists a maximum of 6 months for victims. These sources differ, so ask the IND how the EU rule applies to your case.

The search period starts when your contract ends. It cannot run beyond your permit's expiry date. A new job must meet the sponsor and salary rules. The old and new employers must report the change to the IND.

With a student residence permit, choose one employee-work arrangement: up to 16 hours a week throughout the year, or full-time only in June, July and August. Your employer must first obtain a TWV. For example, a student choosing weekly work may accept a 12-hour shop job. A 20-hour weekly job exceeds that arrangement, even if the employer has a TWV.

A stage (internship) that forms part of your Dutch study programme needs no TWV. You, the employer and your educational institution must sign the required internship agreement.

You may also work for yourself without a TWV or an immigration limit on hours. You must still meet all student-permit conditions, including study progress. Register with Kamer van Koophandel (External site, opens in a new tab) (KVK, chamber of commerce), pay tax and check whether you need Dutch health insurance.

The zoekjaar allows employee and self-employed work for 1 year without a TWV. You cannot extend it. You may qualify within 3 years after specified Dutch study or research.

The foreign-qualification route covers certain master's, doctoral and post-master's programmes. The institution must rank in the top 200 with at least 2 of the 3 ranking publishers listed by the IND. The rankings must qualify at graduation or completion of the doctorate. Subject rankings must match your field. Language requirements also apply. Nuffic (External site, opens in a new tab) (Dutch organisation for international education) must evaluate the qualification, except for qualifying accredited programmes in Flanders.

Graduation alone does not change student work rights. If your zoekjaar application is pending, free work depends on your qualification evidence or research and a residence endorsement sticker. Check the IND zoekjaar conditions (External site, opens in a new tab) and obtain a sticker that confirms free work before starting.

As an asylum applicant, you generally need an employer with a TWV after your application has been under consideration for at least 6 months. Access is not automatic. UWV checks your eligibility with the IND. It also checks that you receive opvang (reception) from the Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers (External site, opens in a new tab) (COA, asylum reception agency). When you may work, the same pay rules apply as for Dutch nationals. There is no annual limit on weeks worked.

A Vreemdelingen Identiteitsbewijs type W proves identity and lawful stay. The IND's model-2026 guidance (External site, opens in a new tab) lists W-documents issued after 12 June 2026 without a work endorsement on the back. Older variants can state that a TWV is required. A variant marked "Arbeid vrij toegestaan. TWV niet vereist" allows work without a TWV.

The IND's employing guidance (External site, opens in a new tab) says no new W-document is issued after 12 June 2026. Your ontvangstbevestiging (application receipt confirmation) states your rights. For asylum applications filed after that date, the guidance says permission to work after 6 months depends on the procedure. Ask your employer to check your current proof and eligibility with UWV.

For asylum applications filed on or after 12 June 2026, work can be barred on specified grounds. These include safe-country cases, false statements, a transfer decision assigning the application to another EU state, and public-order or national-security risks. In October 2026, the 6-month wait still applies. A shorter 3-month wait remains a government plan.

With a valid asylum residence permit, you may work freely or be self-employed without a TWV. If you applied to renew a temporary asylum permit before it expired, you may keep working while the IND decides. Keep the IND confirmation or other current proof. These renewal rights differ from the rules for asylum applicants.

People currently covered by the Richtlijn tijdelijke bescherming (Temporary Protection Directive) for Ukraine may take paid employment without a TWV through 4 March 2028. You need an employment contract and valid IND proof. Your employer must notify UWV at least 2 working days before you start. For self-employed work, your client needs a TWV unless another residence permit allows that work.

Non-Ukrainians whose temporary protection depended solely on a temporary Ukrainian residence permit lost that protection on 4 September 2025. People who qualify under the Directive on another basis, including qualifying family members, can remain protected.

Some appeals preserve temporary-protection rights. An appeal against the decision ending protection, or against a return decision issued before 4 March 2024, can preserve them until the appeal decision. For a return decision issued on or after 4 March 2024, the court must have allowed you to await the appeal in the Netherlands. Your proof must also state that you may work. Check your current IND decision and any other residence permission.

Free-work, permanent, zoekjaar and valid asylum permits generally allow self-employment. An asylum applicant's client needs a TWV. Temporary protection for Ukraine also requires a client TWV for self-employed work, unless another permit allows it. If your current status does not permit the activity, you may need a self-employed residence permit or another route. KVK registration does not replace immigration permission.

Unpaid volunteering or a study internship may have a separate exception when employee work is restricted. An organisation hosting an asylum applicant needs a vrijwilligersverklaring (volunteer declaration) from UWV. This also applies when you volunteer under temporary protection for Ukraine. An asylum applicant may do a Dutch vocational or higher-education study internship without a TWV when the required school, employer and student agreement is in place. Under temporary protection, you, the employer and the school must sign an internship contract. Confirm the exception before you start. Calling paid work "volunteering" does not change the rules.

An EU long-term resident permit from another EU country does not let you settle in the Netherlands by itself. You need a Dutch permit for your residence purpose. IND’s relocation page (External site, opens in a new tab) describes a TWV for the first 12 months of employment. That rule is not universal: a qualifying Dutch highly skilled migrant permit allows the qualifying job without a TWV. Check your permit category and its work endorsement before starting.

For Turkish nationals covered by the EU–Turkey Association Agreement, the TWV requirement for paid employment ends after 3 years with the same employer. Ask the IND to confirm your qualifying work history and work endorsement before changing jobs. The IND Turkish-national rules (External site, opens in a new tab) explain the conditions.

A job change, expired card or missing document can require a new application or proof. Use the matching row before you start or continue work.

Pending-application rights depend on the permit. For a kennismigrant, a positive IND decision can permit work before the card is ready. The decision must state that permission and its start date. Make an appointment for your fingerprints and photo or to collect your card within 2 weeks after your employer receives the decision.

While an employer's extension application is pending, you may continue highly skilled migrant work with the expired card. A residence endorsement sticker can provide current proof.

For a GVVA extension, you may continue for the same employer doing the same work if the IND receives the application within 4 weeks after expiry. If the card has expired, you need a residence endorsement sticker with the work wording. Apply before expiry to help prevent a gap in your residence permission.

If you find a card after reporting it lost or stolen, return it to the IND.

If a regular permit has less than 3 months left, you can apply to extend or change it instead of requesting a separate replacement.

For help choosing a different permit, use the Dutch residence permit routes. If you are considering permanent residence, check the inburgering (civic integration) proof for permanent residence.

Before work starts, your employer must check your original, valid identity document and proof that you may do the job. Where required, the employer also checks the TWV or GVVA additional document. A BSN alone does not give permission to work.

In October 2026, the standard fine under the Wet arbeid vreemdelingen (Wav, Foreign Nationals Employment Act) depends on the employer's legal form. A natuurlijk persoon (individual) acting in a business has a €3,000 standard fine per illegally employed person. For foundations and associations with a public-benefit purpose, the €3,000 standard applies only when the work is non-business activity and is not aimed at earning income. For other rechtspersonen (legal entities) and equivalent employers, it is €6,000 per person.

The Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie (External site, opens in a new tab) (Netherlands Labour Authority) can reduce or increase the amount according to seriousness and fault. A €6,000 standard fine can rise to €11,250 before any repeat-offence increase. For a repeat of the same or similar offence within 5 years, the fine can increase by 50%, 100% or 200%.

Follow these checks in order before you start work:

1. Read your current card or other IND proof. Check its expiry date and any work wording.
2. Match your proof to the IND or UWV rules for your status.
3. Give your employer the original identity document and all required work documents.
4. Ask the IND (External site, opens in a new tab) or UWV to resolve any mismatch between your documents and current situation.
5. Confirm that any required TWV, GVVA documents or employer notification cover your start date.

A contract, BSN or verbal promise alone does not prove your right to work. Use the current official proof before starting.

Choose the guide that matches your next task:

• Understanding your Dutch payslip.
• Dutch employment contracts: what to check before signing.