Cross-border services
Special rules apply to cross-border services. Does a service provider from the EEA or Switzerland have employees with a nationality not subject to free movement of workers? If so, the service provider need not apply for a work permit if these conditions are met:
- The services are provided in the Netherlands on a temporary basis.
- The service provider is established outside the Netherlands in another Member State of the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA) or in Switzerland.
- The foreign workers employed by the service provider perform work similar to that in the service provider's country of establishment and may live and work in the service provider's country of establishment.
- The service provider actually performs substantial activities in the country of establishment.
Duty to notify of foreign service providers from the EEA and Switzerland
Foreign service providers from the EEA and Switzerland providing temporary services in the Netherlands with their staff must give prior notification. They can do so online via the notification portal at postedworkers.nl. This duty to notify applies to temporary services starting on or after 1 March 2020. At postedworkers.nl you can also find more information and frequently asked questions about what this means for service providers and self-employed persons from outside the Netherlands and for their clients.
Mandatory verification of (the accuracy of) the notification
Dutch companies hiring a business or self-employed person, that has a duty to notify and is from a country within the European Economic Area, for a temporary assignment in the Netherlands, must check if the required notification has been properly registered in the notification portal at postedworkers.nl. They will receive a message when the foreign service provider or self-employed person has notified their arrival in the Netherlands, and they can view and check the notification online. If the notification contains any inaccuracies, they can report it in the online notification portal and ask the foreign service provider or self-employed person to correct the information.
Inspection by the Netherlands Labour Authority
The Netherlands Labour Authority checks whether the services are actual cross-border services. Cross-border services also include the provision of workers, such as through temporary agency work. Service providers who fail to comply with the duty to notify or fail to do so in time, but comply with all other conditions, can receive a fine of € 1,500 for each foreign national. Both the service provider involved and the client in the Netherlands and any intermediaries can be fined.