Netherlands Work Visa 2026: Types, Cost, Processing Time, How to Apply

Who needs a Netherlands work visa at all

• EU, EEA or Swiss citizen: no visa and no work permit. Register with the municipality for a BSN number and start work.
• Ukrainian under temporary protection: you may work in paid employment without a permit; the employer notifies the UWV. This runs until 4 March 2028.
• Everyone else, including India, the Philippines, Turkey, Morocco, Nigeria and Pakistan: the employer must obtain a work permit for you, and for most jobs that permit is refused unless the job is one the Dutch labour market cannot fill. That is the honest headline for this country, and the detail is below.

The Netherlands is one of the most restrictive EU countries for non-EU manual workers, because the work permit for ordinary jobs depends on a labour market test that almost always fails. At the same time it is one of the easiest for graduates with a high salary offer. Most of the Pakistani, Indian and Filipino workers you see in Dutch warehouses, greenhouses and hotels hold EU passports or came through a different EU country first.

The permit and visa types, with their Dutch names

• TWV (tewerkstellingsvergunning): a work permit for stays under 90 days or for workers who already hold a residence permit on another ground; the employer applies to the UWV.
• GVVA (gecombineerde vergunning voor verblijf en arbeid): the single permit for stays over 90 days, combining residence and work. The employer applies to the IND, which asks the UWV for the labour market advice. This is the route for ordinary employee work, and it is where the test applies.
• Labour market test (arbeidsmarkttoets): the UWV must be satisfied there is no suitable candidate in the Netherlands or the EU/EEA. The employer must have advertised the job for at least five weeks with the UWV and EURES, and must pay at least the statutory minimum wage. For warehouse, cleaning, hospitality and construction jobs the answer is usually no.
• Kennismigrant (highly skilled migrant): no labour market test, but the employer must be an IND recognised sponsor and pay at least the threshold salary, about 5,688 euro gross a month for workers over 30 and 4,171 euro under 30 in 2026. Not a trades route.
• EU Blue Card: similar, with a degree requirement.
• Seasonal work (seizoenarbeid): possible up to 24 weeks in agriculture and horticulture under the single permit, but still subject to the labour market test; in practice Dutch growers hire Poles, Romanians and Bulgarians.
• MVV (machtiging tot voorlopig verblijf): the entry visa the IND grants together with the residence permit, collected at the Dutch embassy. Citizens of some countries (USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and others) do not need it.

The authority for residence is the IND at ind.nl; for work permits and the labour market advice, the UWV at uwv.nl.

Who files what, and in which order

• Step 1, the employer advertises the job with the UWV and EURES for at least five weeks and documents every applicant it rejected and why.
• Step 2, the employer applies to the IND for the GVVA (and MVV) on your behalf, with the contract, your passport copy and the recruitment evidence.
• Step 3, the IND forwards the file to the UWV for advice; the UWV may still refuse if it finds the job could have been filled, or the pay or housing is below standard.
• Step 4, you collect the MVV at the embassy within three months of approval, travel, and pick up the residence card at an IND desk.
• Step 5, in the Netherlands: register with the municipality (BSN), take out Dutch health insurance within four months, and complete the tuberculosis test if required for your nationality.

If you already hold a Dutch residence permit on another ground, for instance as the partner of a Dutch or EU citizen, as a student, or as a refugee, the rules are far better: a partner of an EU citizen may work freely, a student may work 16 hours a week with a TWV, and a recognised refugee needs no permit at all. Check the work notation on the back of your residence card before applying for anything. A recognised sponsor can file faster and with fewer documents, but recognition does not remove the labour market test for ordinary jobs.

Official fees in euro

• GVVA or residence permit for employee work: 405 euro (2026 IND fee), paid by the applicant or the employer.
• TWV: no UWV fee.
• Highly skilled migrant permit: 405 euro; recognition as a sponsor costs the employer 4,881 euro (lower for small companies).
• MVV: included in the permit fee.
• Translations by a sworn translator: 40 to 80 euro a page.

Figures as of October 2026; the IND updates fees every January, check ind.nl for today's amount. Dutch law allows the employer to pay the fee and forbids deducting it from your wages below the minimum wage.

Processing time

• GVVA with labour market test: the IND has 90 days by law; with the five weeks of advertising before it, 4 to 6 months from the employer's first step is typical, if it is approved at all.
• Highly skilled migrant: 2 to 4 weeks through a recognised sponsor.
• MVV collection: embassies in New Delhi, Manila, Lagos and Islamabad have had appointment waits of 2 to 6 weeks.
• Residence card and BSN: 2 to 4 weeks after arrival; housing registration can be the slow part in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Eindhoven, where municipalities refuse registration without a proper tenancy.

The honest total for a tradesperson is 5 to 8 months with a high chance of refusal; for a graduate on a kennismigrant contract, 1 to 2 months.

Documents and the legalisation step

For the GVVA and MVV: passport, the employment contract with pay at or above the minimum wage (2,246 euro gross a month at 21 and over in 2026, updated every January and July), the employer's recruitment evidence, proof of suitable housing, a completed antecedents certificate (a declaration about criminal record, not a police certificate for most nationalities), and a tuberculosis test declaration where required. Birth and marriage certificates for family members must be apostilled or legalised and translated into Dutch, English, French or German. The Netherlands is strict about the legalisation of documents from Nigeria, Ghana, Pakistan and India, where it runs its own verification.

Qualifications are checked only for regulated professions (health care, through the BIG register) and for drivers' licence exchange.

Reality check: what people get wrong about the Netherlands

• "Warehouse visa": no such thing exists for non-EU workers. Agents selling Dutch logistics or greenhouse jobs to South Asians are selling a permit the UWV refuses.
• Coming through another EU country: a Polish or Romanian permit does not let you work in the Netherlands; only an EU passport or Dutch permit does.
• The 30 per cent ruling and high pay: those are for highly skilled migrants, not a sign that any job is open.
• Housing: the employer must prove it; without municipal registration you get no BSN and no bank account.
• Language: not required for the permit; English is enough in many workplaces, but the integration exam (inburgering) applies to many permit holders within three years.
• Family: possible on a GVVA with adequate income; the partner must pass the basic civic integration exam abroad for some nationalities.
• Agencies: a Dutch temp agency (uitzendbureau) hiring you must be SNA certified; ask for the certificate.

Where this leaves you

If you hold an EU passport, the Netherlands is one of the best places in Europe for your trade; start with warehouse jobs in the Netherlands, greenhouse jobs in the Netherlands and truck driver jobs in the Netherlands. If you do not, read the honest page for your country, working in the Netherlands from India or from the Philippines, and how long a Dutch permit takes.

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