Students

The student’s nationality determines whether you need a work permit to work in the Netherlands.

Students from the following countries do not need a work permit or have any restrictions on the number of hours they are allowed to work:

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Students from all other countries do require a work permit. Dutch law restricts the number of hours you are allowed to work in the Netherlands.

As a foreign student outside the EU who have come to study in the Netherlands, you are only allowed to work 16 hour a week or do seasonal work. In addition, your employer has to obtain a work permit for which strict conditions have to be fulfilled. Do not expect to obtain a work permit easily. Please take this in consideration when budgeting for your stay in the Netherlands.

You must choose between these two options:

• (Full-time) seasonal work in the months of June, July and August
• Part-time work throughout the year, but no more than sixteen hours a week.

You are not allowed to do both. You cannot apply for a work permit (TWV Tewerkstellingsvergunning). Your employer must arrange this for you and the work needs to fulfill strict conditions.

After graduation

After graduating from a Dutch university or vocational college, foreign students are permitted to extend their stay for a period of one year in order to search for a job.

To be eligible for this job search period, you need to apply for a new residence permit which entitles you to seek work after graduation (verblijf gedurende zoekjaar afgestudeerde) and work for one year.

During the one-year job search period, you are not allowed to apply for (or receive) state benefits. You are allowed to work in other jobs while searching for a job in your profession in the Netherlands without a work permit.

After the one-year job search period, you must be employed as a highly skilled migrant or labour migrant, or you will have to leave the country. Once you have found such a job, you will have to apply for a new kind of residence permit.

For the latest information, please visit the IND website.