On the first of June, the pilot ‘residence permit for essential start-up personnel’ started. With this pilot, the Netherlands wants to stimulate the economy by giving start-ups the opportunity at an early stage to attract and retain the necessary experts. The pilot starts on June 1, 2021, and ends on June 1, 2025.

The following conditions apply:

• The startup concerns a starting and innovative company that can grow with the demand for the product or service. The start-up is innovative if the product or service is new for the Netherlands, new technology is used in production, distribution and/or marketing, and the start-up adopts a new way of working and organizing.
• A maximum of 5 employees of the start-up will receive a residence permit for essential start-up personnel.
• The employee is an expert in a special area that the start-up needs in this initial phase
• The employee has an employment contract with the start-up.
• The employee meets the income requirement (recent graduates amount).
• The employee receives a share of at least 1 percent in the company. The employee receives this share as: shares in the company, depository receipts for shares in the company or stock options. A stock option is the right to buy shares in the company. The price for these shares is agreed in the contract.
• The employee receives the shares at the latest 3 years after the contract has started.
• The employee is always entitled to the shares. There are no conditions attached to

The IND will ask advice from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland, RVO). It is unknown how strict the assessment by RVO and IND will be.

The application essential start-up personnel costs € 320.

More information? Please contact Thomas van Houwelingen or Lotte van Diepen.