Permits and visas for artists and creatives working in the Netherlands

Are you heading to the Netherlands for a creative project? Make sure you know which type of visa or work permit you will need to enter the country. Immigration lawyers, Everaert Advocaten, explain more.

For poets, artists, filmmakers, musicians and all kinds of other creatives, thinking about visas and work permits is rarely top of the agenda. But if you will be taking part in a creative project in the Netherlands, you need to make sure you have the right visa and work permit before you set off.

What you need depends on where you are coming from, how long you will be staying and the type of project you will be involved in, so make sure you have all your details on hand.

Coming for a short stay (less than 90 days)

If you are only coming to the Netherlands for a limited period of time, perhaps to do some filming or to participate in an exhibition in the Netherlands, you may be able to operate without a visa or work permit. This still depends on where you are coming from and how long you will be working for.

Visas

For short stays in the Netherlands and the rest of the Schengen area, you must check whether a short-stay visa, also known as a Schengen type C visa, is required.

With a Schengen visa (or for a visa-free national), a short stay is allowed for 90 days within a period of 180 days in the Schengen area. The next time the person enters the Schengen area, the authorities check how many days they have spent in the Schengen area in the previous 180 days. Access to the Schengen area is determined on this basis.

If the visitor has stayed in the Schengen area for 90 consecutive days, they will first have to leave the Schengen area for 90 days before they can be admitted to the Schengen area again.

Work permits

In principle, all work requires a permit, even if the work only lasts for one day. However, there are exceptions to this work permit requirement, and for artists, no work permit is required for a maximum period of six consecutive weeks within a period of 13 weeks.

Travelling back and forth within that period of 13 weeks is not permitted. If you do leave the Netherlands during those 13 weeks, a work permit will be required upon your re-entry.

Coming for a long stay (more than 90 days)

For stays of more than 90 days, a residence permit is always required (as well as registration in the municipal personal records database). For most nationalities, a provisional residence permit (MVV) is also required. This is not required for citizens of the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Japan and Monaco.

This MVV is issued in the country of origin or legal residence, and the employee must await the outcome of the procedure there. This is a combined procedure. As soon as the MVV has been issued and the applicant has arrived in the Netherlands, a residence permit will be issued without having to start a separate procedure for this.

Combined residence and work permits

Certain jobs for artists and musicians in employment allow for a combined residence permit and work permit (GVVA). These avoid the strict labour market test usually held against the employer and the artist.

This process only applies to the job categories below and only under the condition that a certain salary threshold (tied to the most recent applicable CAO) will be met.

The same conditions apply to musicians and artists in the above-mentioned occupations who need a work permit and are staying for less than 90 days.

Self-employed artist or designer

A self-employed artist or designer will receive a residence permit if they are able to prove that Dutch cultural interests are served. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs advises the IND. The artist or designer needs the support of Dutch-recognised institutions and organisations in their field of art.

It is essential to support the claim with freelance contracts and confirmation letters from well-known Dutch cultural institutions/galleries (ideally those receiving structural funding from the arts) confirming their need to hire the artist or designer for their activities in the future and/or proof of funding from one of the major art funds in the Netherlands.

Self-employed permit

If the creative work is more commercial and you are not working for Dutch cultural institutions, you have to prove that you serve a Dutch economic interest. The IND assesses whether this is the case while taking into account the advice of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, which uses a point system to grade the business in three categories:

• Your personal experience
• The business plan, including a financial plan
• The added value for the Netherlands

These criteria are equivalent to a certain amount of points. When the business owner obtains 30 points in each category, or 45 in the first category and 45 in the second, the applicant is eligible for a residence permit for work as a self-employed business owner.

This is a difficult test, and previous (skilled) work experience and the existence of contracts with Dutch clients are usually deemed essential to receive such a permit.

US, Japanese and Bolivian business owners (including artists and creatives)

Due to the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty (DAFT), the Treaty of Trade and Navigation between Japan and the Netherlands, and the Dutch-Bolivian Trade Agreement, citizens of the United States, Japan and Bolivia can obtain a residence permit based on self-employment relatively easily.

The above-mentioned criteria and the point system are not applicable. The applicant must develop and direct an enterprise in which they have made a substantial (not borrowed) investment of at least 4.500 euros.

Applying for a residence or work permit as an artist can be tricky, depending on your circumstances. If you would like an assessment or assistance with the application, don't hesitate to contact Susanne Mooij, attorney-at-law at Everaert Advocaten, at mooij@everaert.nl or on +31 207 523 212.