Relocating Abroad & Your BV

The permit for new businesses with a mentor and a new idea

Updated: 17 August 2026 Holdwise editorial team verblijf startup ondernemer

Besides the scoring test for business owners, founders at the very start can apply for a start-up permit. You need an innovative product or service and a recognised mentor who agrees to guide you. The assessment is lighter, and you get one year to show that the idea works. At Holdwise, we keep this answer up to date and change it when the rules change.

What makes a business innovative

The Enterprise Agency looks for at least one of three things:

The product or service is new for the Netherlands.
New technology is used in production, distribution or marketing.
The organisation or way of working is itself innovative.

One of the three is enough. The Enterprise Agency wants to see that the Netherlands gains something new. Describe this clearly in your plan before you apply.

The mentor

You work with a facilitator. This is an experienced organisation that guides you and is responsible for the guidance. The Enterprise Agency keeps a list of recognised facilitators. Other organisations that meet the requirements may also qualify. Relatives up to the third degree are excluded, such as parents, grandparents, children, uncles and aunts.

The other conditions

You are actively involved in the business as an entrepreneur.
You have enough income of your own to live here and to build the business, independent of public funds.
Another party, the facilitator included, may provide those means, as long as the amount is available for your entire stay of up to one year.

What happens after the year

The start-up permit is granted once, and extension is excluded. After that, you need the ordinary permit for business owners. See the scoring test. Your facilitator can confirm in a statement that you completed at least three months of guidance successfully. This statement replaces the minimum scores on personal experience, business plan and added value.

Choose your facilitator with care at the start, because you need their statement when the first year ends.

Your Dutch company

Founders often set up a BV (besloten vennootschap, the Dutch private limited company) before or during this year. See company formation from abroad for the structure and its cost. See company first or permit first for the right order.

You can set up the company by power of attorney, from any country. This usually happens within one week once all documents are complete. See setting up a BV in the Netherlands from abroad.

Your company and your residence permit

We arrange both. We set up your company: the entity, the salary and the tax position. An immigration lawyer from our network prepares your residence application and files it with the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). The lawyer follows the case law and the forms every week. We plan the company and the application together, so your company meets what the IND asks for.

Who arranges which part of your relocation? See how we work with our partners.

Free advice

Want our team to have a look?

We help you with import and export: VAT, customs numbers and licences. Tell us where you stand or what you are planning. You get free advice on your next step.

Part of Doing Business in the Netherlands, the complete 2026 guide.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as innovative? +

One of three things is enough. The first is a product or service that is new for the Netherlands. The second is new technology in production, distribution or marketing. The third is an innovative way of working.

Who may be my facilitator? +

A recognised, experienced guide from the list kept by the Enterprise Agency. Relatives up to the third degree are excluded, such as parents, grandparents, children, uncles and aunts.

What happens after the first year? +

You apply for the ordinary permit for business owners. A statement from your facilitator, after at least three months of guidance, replaces the minimum scores.