Who qualifies

An employee of a company established outside the European Union who is transferred to a branch here in one of three roles:

  • Manager or specialist: a higher education qualification, or five years of relevant experience.
  • Trainee: a master's degree.

One permit for residence and work

The employer applies for a combined permit for residence and work. You file one application with one authority. The immigration service asks the employee insurance agency for advice on the labour market side and then decides.

Approval as an employer is optional for this permit, which makes it workable for a branch that has just been established. The advantages of having approval anyway are set out in becoming an approved employer.

What the parent company supplies

A declaration from the employer outside Europe, with the duration of the transfer, the type of employment and the expected income. The file also contains the employment contract with that company. Add payslips that show the terms meet Dutch legal requirements and what is customary in the sector.

Employing staff from abroad? See Dutch payroll services for companies from abroad.

Salary

The same age-based salary levels apply as for skilled staff hired directly. See salary levels in 2026.

The limits of this permit

  • Duration. This permit has a maximum period of residence, and it ends at that date. Plan the transfer with an end date, and plan the next step.
  • Permanent residence. Staff on the regular and skilled-staff permits can apply after five years. Different rules apply to a transfer permit. For a long stay, the employee usually has to switch to another permit type in time.
  • Movement within Europe. Under conditions, the employee may also work at a branch in another member state that applies the directive. Denmark and Ireland are outside this directive.

Your Dutch company

Before this starts, the branch needs a legal form, an address and a payroll. See company formation from abroad and payroll for foreign companies.

Is your group setting up a Dutch entity? See setting up a Dutch subsidiary for what you need, how long it takes and what the parent company must sign.

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.

We arrange the company side and work with specialists for the rest: see how our partner network works.