Work

Many of us need to work alongside our studies to afford tuition and living costs. When looking for work in the Netherlands, non-EU students need to have a working permit (TWV) and have a limited amount of hours they can work. Often employers are frightened off by the phrase ‘I need a working permit’, despite it being incredibly easy (and free) for them to apply for one. Here is some information you can share with them to show how simple the process is, and what needs to be done to apply for one: In Dutch, a work permit is called a tewerkstellingsvergunning, often abbreviated to TWV. Your…

Find work in the Netherlands as a non-EU student is tricky, there’s no other way to say it. This sucks, as many of us need to work alongside our studies to afford the tuition fee and living costs, and are ineligible for government support (both in the Netherlands and our home countries). The added complication of needing a work permit, and the weekly hour limit, makes things even more difficult. However, the application for a working permit itself is super easy for the employer, and Mirjam Mazurel (the student counsellor) can help. Although there is a 4-6 week long waiting time for the…

If you are working as an entrepreneur/freelancer/ZZP-er, you are allowed to do this in addition to your studies without needing a work permit. It is possible for all international students to do self-employed work for an unlimited amount of hours, in addition to their studies and part-time jobs. These self-employed students need to be registered with the Chamber of Commerce. To register as a ZZP-er/freelancer you need to register at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Kamer van Koophandel or KvK). The most common legal structure used by freelancers…

In the Netherlands you pay tax with the tax office ( Belastingdienst⁠⁠⁠⁠). For a comprehensive overview on taxes in the Netherlands in English, check out this article⁠⁠⁠⁠. We have briefly summarised some important points from this article below. Payroll Tax If you have a working contract, then most of your taxes are organised and taken by your employer via payroll tax (loonheffing) which means you don’t necessarily have to do a yearly declaration. It is likely, however, that you will get a letter/email…