Following complaints by the new EU member states, the Dutch have relaxed their rules regarding the provision of cross-border services by EU, EEA and Swiss employers.

The service provider must notify the CWI before starting work in Holland

After the accession of the new European Union member states to the EU on 1 May 2004, many employers from the new member states complained to the European Commission about Dutch immigration law interfering with the free movement of services within the EU, which renders it contrary to EU law.

Further to these complaints The State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment announced on 10 November 2005 that from 1 December 2005 employers located in another EU member state, in another signatory state to the Treaty on the European Economic Area or in Switzerland would no longer need work permits to provide cross-border services.

Previous situation

Prior to the amendment to Dutch national law, employers from the EU/EEA and Switzerland had to apply for work permits to provide services in the Netherlands if their employees were not entitled to freely work within the EU.

Permits were required for:

• Employees from Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia;
• Employees from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland who had been issued with valid work and residence permits in the state in which the employer was located.

If the employer did not have work permits for these employees, they were not allowed to work in the Netherlands.

Current situation

As of 1 December 2005, a notification system has been in place for cross-border services. Work permits are now no longer required for foreigners who are temporarily employed in the Netherlands to provide a cross-border service on behalf of an employer that is located in another EU member state, in another signatory state to the Treaty on the European Economic Area or in Switzerland. Instead, the service provider must notify the Central Organisation for Work and Income of the work before it commences. The work can begin as soon as it has been notified.

The exemption does not apply to services that consist of the provision of labour. If the conditions for exemption are not satisfied, a work permit will still be required.

The sanction on non-compliance is a fine of EUR 4,000 per illegal employee provided to a natural person or EUR 8,000 per illegal employee provided to a legal person. If the employer is found to be in default but notifies the Central Organisation for Work and Income of the work within two weeks and has failed only to make advance notification, the fine is reduced to EUR 1,500 – regardless of the number of employees concerned.

December 2005

For more information on immigration issues or on these recent changes, contact Edith de Bourgraaf (+31 (0)10 - 406 85 42), Thijs Esser (+31 (0)70 - 324 67 03), Anne Kwint - Bijleveld (+31 (0)20 - 546 62 54) or Mireya Serra-Janer (+31 (0)20 – 549 74 26)

Subject: Work permits