For foreign employers and staffing suppliers

Posting non-EU workers to the Netherlands

Admitta · Official sources checked 10 November 2026

If your company is based in the EU, EEA or Switzerland and is sending employees to a Dutch client for a temporary assignment, check the posting conditions before confirming a start date. A residence or work permit from the sending country does not by itself settle whether the employee can work in the Netherlands. Official guidance on posting third-country nationals.

This guide uses “non-EU workers” for employees who are nationals of countries outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland. The checks below cover a temporary assignment where the worker remains employed by the sending company. IND guidance on cross-border services.

1. Check whether this is a genuine posting

Confirm that your company carries out substantial business in the sending country, that the worker normally works there and can legally live and work there, and that the Dutch assignment is temporary. If you recruited someone specifically to send them straight to the Netherlands, get the route checked before you commit to the assignment. Posted Workers: conditions for a genuine posting.

Write down who employs and pays the worker, who directs the daily work, where the work will happen and when it will end. If an intermediary is involved, record the end client and worksite as well. These facts help an adviser review the posting and identify any labour lending questions. NAU guidance for foreign suppliers.

2. Check work permission and the length of stay

Dutch work permits are generally required for workers in this group. There is an exception for certain genuine postings when the conditions under Article 4.6 of the Dutch Foreign Nationals Employment Act implementation decree are met and the employer submits the required notification. Ask a qualified adviser to check whether the exception applies before anyone starts work. Official work permit and notification rules.

For a stay in the Netherlands of more than 90 days in a 180-day period, check the IND residence permit for cross-border service provision in addition to the notification. Review earlier stays and planned extensions with your adviser. A shorter stay still requires a separate check of the work permit rules. Posted Workers: the 90-day threshold · IND permit requirements.

3. Submit the notification and ask your client to check it

For this posting route, the foreign employer notifies the workers before the assignment begins and identifies them as third-country nationals. Ask the Dutch client to verify the notification in the portal. Agree who will update and recheck it if the worksite, dates or workers change. Employer notification guidance · Dutch client’s verification steps.

4. Prepare one file for the assignment

• Employer and assignment: the employment relationship, sending entity, Dutch client, worksite, duties and dates.
• Permits and route: evidence of lawful work and residence in the sending country, the Dutch work permit assessment and any required Dutch residence permission.
• Notification and changes: the notification, client’s verification and an owner for any correction or extension.
• Employment and social insurance: check which contracts, pay and hours records, payment evidence and A1 evidence must be available for this assignment.

Use the official administrative requirements and our document checklist for Dutch assignments. For each open item, record who will resolve it and by when.

5. If you supply workers, check WTTA separately

If your client directs and supervises the workers, review whether the assignment is labour lending and which company obligations apply. A posting notification and the worker’s permits do not answer the WTTA question for the supplier. NAU: lending workers in the Netherlands from abroad.

For a practical example of how a Dutch client and its foreign suppliers can keep track of evidence throughout a project, read what ready to work means on a Dutch project.

General preparation guidance. Human legal review of this guide is pending. Have a qualified adviser review individual work and residence questions before you act.