Guide

WTTA in the Netherlands: guide for foreign companies

By Rehan Saif · Published 16 October 2026 · Updated 3 November 2026

Foreign companies supplying workers under a client’s direction in the Netherlands can need WTTA admission, even without a Dutch establishment. Registration for the transitional arrangement opens on 1 November 2026. Applications follow in May and June 2027, and enforcement of the admission requirement starts on 1 January 2028. Exceptions, exemptions and transitional coverage matter: check your actual working arrangement before choosing a route. Official NAU guidance for foreign companies.

The Wet toelating terbeschikkingstelling van arbeidskrachten (Wtta) introduces admission for labour lenders. This guide helps foreign staffing agencies, secondment companies and their clients prepare the right questions, company records, A1 evidence and posted-worker notifications. Admission does not establish an individual worker’s right to work.

Two-minute WTTA preparation check

Use these questions to identify gaps for discussion with your adviser. Questions 1 to 7 refer to the standards framework for foreign lenders. Question 8 is Admitta’s practical readiness target, not a statutory five-minute deadline. This self-check does not predict an inspection outcome.

Missing evidence or uncertain answers? Make an action list and confirm your application route. Existing lenders using the inspection-report route need the report for their application; the SNA route works differently. Question 8 is easy to underestimate: the evidence may exist, but spread over email, spreadsheets and your client’s files, it is hard to show on the spot.

Does WTTA apply to a foreign company?

The key question is whether you supply workers for payment to work under another company’s direction and supervision in the Netherlands. Being established abroad does not itself remove you from scope. The Dutch admission authority (NAU) explains that the requirement applies to foreign lenders too (NAU).

The law covers temporary work agencies, secondment (detachering) and payrolling. It also covers any company that places its workers under the supervision and direction of another company, even if staffing is not what you call your business. The NAU notes that companies that supply staff only now and then often don’t see themselves as lenders (TaxLive).

You may not need admission, or may get an exemption, when:

• you supply workers within your own group of companies, or to a colleague company without profit;
• supplying workers is not your main activity. An exemption may be available if staffing turnover is below 10% of total turnover and no more than €5 million a year. There are additional conditions, including a wage-payment history and restrictions for staffing and payroll companies. It is an application route, not an automatic exemption (NAU: foreign companies, exemption conditions).

Your workers run a project under your own direction? For example a welding crew that delivers an agreed piece of work, supervised by your own foreman. Then it may be a works contract rather than supplying workers. Where that line falls is a legal question per contract: check it with an adviser before you decide you are out of scope.

Hiring workers from a foreign staffing agency?

If your company hires workers who work under your direction in the Netherlands, start with the hirer’s checks. Ask which legal entity supplies and employs them, whether there are intermediaries, and which admission or transitional route the supplier is preparing. Do not assume that your supplier’s admission covers an on-lender, or that it proves an individual worker’s work permission.

The NAU’s hirer checklist recommends mapping suppliers, planning register checks when available, retaining evidence, and agreeing how status changes and subcontracting will be handled. Confirm the rules and exceptions for your arrangement. Official hirer checklist.

For Dutch clients managing supplier tax risks, see our checklist inlenersaansprakelijkheid (Dutch).

WTTA deadlines: 2026 registration, 2027 applications, 2028 enforcement

1. 1 November to 31 December 2026: register for the transitional scheme. If you already supply workers to Dutch clients, register with the NAU. That lets you keep working from 2028 while your application is still being assessed. Holders of a valid SNA certificate on 30 June 2027 do not need to register.
2. 1 January 2027: the Wtta takes effect.
3. 1 May to 30 June 2027: apply for admission. With an inspection report against the standards framework, or via the SNA route without one.
4. 1 July 2027: the NAU starts assessing and the public register follows.
5. 1 January 2028: enforcement starts. Lenders without admission, an exemption or transitional coverage may no longer supply workers; the Labour Inspectorate starts enforcing.

Dates checked on 25 October 2026 against the NAU’s official timetable for foreign companies. Confirm your route and dates before acting.

WTTA admission requirements for foreign staffing companies

The NAU names three admission requirements: meeting the standards framework, a certificate of good conduct (VOG) and a guarantee deposit (NAU: requirements). They were written with Dutch companies in mind. The standards framework itself, published in February 2026, spells out how most of them work for a company based abroad (Staatscourant 2026, 6946).

Norms that only apply to foreign lenders

The standards framework adds rules for companies based outside the Netherlands. Most are about A1 certificates and posted-worker notifications (Staatscourant 2026, 6946, Annex I and II):

During the inspection the A1 is part of the evidence, but the inspector does not check whether it is correct. That responsibility stays with you.

Why this matters: A1 records and notifications form part of a wider inspection covering pay, taxes, administration and other applicable standards. Missing evidence can affect the inspection report used in your admission route. Discuss gaps with your inspector and adviser.

Confirm your practical arrangements before commissioning an inspection:

• where your inspection will take place. The inspection scheme generally provides for on-site inspection; confirm the location and any permitted alternative with the inspection body;
• which inspection bodies will inspect foreign companies, and in which languages;
• whether any Dutch tax registration is needed for the payroll tax norm when workers stay insured abroad.

Ask these questions in writing to the NAU or through your adviser, and keep the answers in your file. The explanatory memorandum to the law confirms that the standards framework is the same for foreign and Dutch companies, with specific rules on identification, A1 certificates and timely notification of foreign workers (Kamerstukken 36 446, nr. 3, §3.3).

What your Dutch client will ask you

From 1 January 2028 the admission requirement will be enforced. Both suppliers and hirers can face consequences for non-compliant labour hiring. Applicable exceptions, exemptions and transitional coverage must be checked. Prepare to answer your client’s questions before then (NAU foreign-company guidance, hirer checklist):

1. “Will you register for the transitional scheme?” Often asked in writing, before the end of 2026.
2. “When do you apply for admission?” Later, they also ask for proof that you did.
3. New contract terms: the work only continues while your admission is valid, with a plan for when it lapses.
4. Checks of the chain: identify the immediate supplier, formal employer and any on-lenders. Check each party’s role and whether it needs its own admission, exemption or transitional coverage.
5. Register checks: at the start of each placement the client looks you up in the public register and keeps proof of that check.

Admission is only part of what a Dutch client checks. For posted workers they also look at the A1 certificate, the posted-worker notification and equal pay. Keeping that evidence current helps your client assess the placement and resolve gaps before work starts.

WTTA preparation checklist for foreign lenders

• List every Dutch client and every placement where your workers work under the client’s direction
• Check whether an exception or exemption could apply to you (group company, staffing under 10% of turnover)
• Already supplying workers? Register for the transitional scheme before 1 January 2027, unless you will hold a valid SNA certificate on 30 June 2027
• Collect official company documents from your home country and your payroll tax, social insurance and VAT numbers
• Choose an inspection body and plan the inspection against the standards framework
• Reserve the €100,000 deposit (or €50,000 as a first-time lender)
• Check whether any of your directors are Dutch: each one needs a VOG
• Apply for admission between 1 May and 30 June 2027
• Tell your Dutch clients in writing where you stand, and update your contracts
• For workers insured abroad, track A1 evidence and the three-month records requirement in the standards framework. Arrange applicable posted-worker notifications before work starts

Keeping the evidence

Looking for software to organise this work? See how the Admitta WTTA compliance tool connects company, worker and placement evidence, and request a walkthrough for your team.

For a foreign lender the inspection asks for proof per worker: an A1 on file, a notification made before day one, pay that matches the payslip. Your Dutch clients ask for the same file. Many companies keep it in email threads and spreadsheets until someone asks. Track pending A1 applications against the records requirement and ask your adviser what to do if evidence remains missing.

Admitta keeps that file in one place for companies that send people to work in the Netherlands. It requests the documents and checks each worker’s file against the Dutch requirements. It flags what is missing or about to expire, such as a pending A1 or a missing notification. It shows the status to you and your Dutch client. This helps your team retrieve the evidence requested in question 8. Admitta does not apply for admission for you; for that, work with an adviser.

Supplying inland shipping or river cruise crew?

Read our WTTA preparation guide for foreign crewing agencies. It covers recruitment versus crew supply, cross-border work locations and the separate questions around notifications, A1 evidence and crew requirements.

Need help?

Send an email to r.saif@admitta.eu. Tell us where your company is based, which Dutch clients you work for and how many workers you have in the Netherlands. We will contact you to discuss the next steps and whether Admitta can help organise the evidence. Do not send identity documents or worker files by email for this initial enquiry.

Frequently asked questions about WTTA for foreign companies

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check your situation with an adviser or the NAU.