Promising news for students in the Netherlands from outside of the EU. The Dutch government wants to give these students the opportunity to start entrepreneurial activities while they are studying.
This was announced in a letter from our Minister of Social Affairs and Labour, in reaction to a report on labour migration of the SER (Social Economic Council, an advisory and consultative body of Dutch Administration and Parliament). (Editorial note: the letter only appeared in Dutch).
The Dutch government wants to stimulate foreign students to take part in innovative startups. It will take actions to make sure these entrepreneurial activities will not result in study delay. No specific details are known.
Admission of foreign startups
The Dutch government doesn’t just want to stimulate non-EU student entrepreneurs, it also would like to attract more startups from these regions (due to EU regulations, for residents of the EU it is already relatively easy to settle in the Netherlands). For foreign non-EU startups, new regulations were enforced in January 2015.
This was the previous situation. Persons who wish to set up a business in the Netherlands need to apply for a residence permit for entrepreneurs. They have to be granted permission by Dutch government to set up their business. For this, several conditions must be met. One of the conditions is that the business must serve an essential Dutch interest, which is assessed by means of a points based system.
However, for startups it is often impossible to meet the conditions for a permit for entrepreneurs. They often don’t have a complete business plan, or enough startup capital. Therefore, new regulations were enforced as of January 2015. Now, ambitious entrepreneurs can apply for a temporary residence permit for in the Netherlands. This residence permit allows startup entrepreneurs to start and build an innovative business for a year.
One of the prerequisites for the temporary residence permit is that the startup must be guided by an experienced mentor (facilitator) that is based in the Netherlands. Also, the product or service has to be innovative. Starting entrepreneurs need to submit their application at the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), which costs 307 euro.
If a temporary residence permit is granted, entrepreneurs have one year to develop their innovative idea into a business plan. After this year, they can apply for the (above-mentioned) residence permit for entrepreneurs. This permit has an initial duration of two years and can be prolonged.
New regulations are part of the Ambitious Entrepreneurship Action Plan, an agenda of the Dutch government to support startups and entrepreneurs in achieving growth.
One more remark about the residence permit for entrepreneurs: everyone who has difficulty understanding the regulation and all the conditions (it ís quite difficult), the Dutch Secretary of State of Safety and Justice has told Parliament that the information for foreigners will be improved. At this moment, a relatively high percentage of applications for the permit for entrepreneurs is rejected. Better information will help foreigners to make a better evaluation of their chances.