In a ruling of the European Court of Justice on 10 February 2011 the court confirmed that residence permits may be required for Polish workers employed through Polish agencies to work temporarily in the Netherlands.

This ruling came in response to questions from the Council of State, which wanted to know whether such a temporary permit for Polish nationals was needed. On the accession of Poland (and Hungary) to the European Union a transition period was agreed upon in which an exception was made regarding the free movement of workers from these countries. This meant that the Netherlands, during that period, could require a work permit for workers from these countries. The Court has now determined that this requirement is also applicable to Poles recruited by Polish agencies on behalf of clients in the Netherlands for temporary employment. The transitional period has now expired for Poland and Hungary. Currently the transitional period still applies to Bulgaria and Romania.