HOW TO OBTAIN A STARTUP VISA IN THE NETHERLANDS

If you have decided to take the next step in obtaining a Startup Visa for you Dutch business, you should be able to answer the following questions.

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• Can you send me a short business plan or profile, on the type of company you will run, and how. What will it look like? (office/location, how you get clients, products, investment, etc.).

• Can you also send us your CV, with your personal background, and current situation (employed, own company?)

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Furthermore it is important to know that the Startup Visa will require you to relocate to Netherlands and live here, and rent an apartment. You need to have personal savings of at least 14.000 EUR to funds your first months here.​

 

How does a Dutch startup company find a Facilitator?

1. Check the overview of Facilitators at the website of RVO, and check which facilitators are focused on your industry or type of company

2. Fill in the application form (using INCO”s input!)

3. The facilitator will decide to have a first call or not. This will be an intro call with me and the purpose is to get a better idea of the entrepreneur and what they are working on. (typically within 1 week). In case of B. Amsterdam, the 'jaar plan' is already important. Meaning, you should have a clear vision on what you like to achieve in the first 12 months, and how you ensure that after 12 months the company will be profitable, and be able to pay you both a fair salary. In attachment I covered this with the 5 milestones, which you should describe in detail. Especially on how to make turnover, and how you will get the visitors/sales. Remember, the goal here is to create jobs, for which you need to be able to make a profit

4. After this they discuss with the team and when it seems like a fit, they'll invite for a second call (or visit) with their startup visa coaches. This call/visit will be a more in-depth look into the business plan and a chance for the mentors to meet the entrepreneur. (within 2 weeks after the first call) (possible via video call, if visit is not possible)

5. The decision to continue with facilitation or not is made after the call/visit/interview and they will let the applicant know  (approx 1-2 weeks)

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Does your Dutch company qualify for a startup visa?

In order to be eligible for the startup visa in Netherlands, you should consider the following criteria:

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• Your company owns intellectual property (in your case, a IT platform, for example, preferably as innovative as possible) which is a competitive advantage and allows you to grow fast;

• Ideally your founding team is complete and committed, which allows you do sales, grow the company and build the product without outside dependencies.

• You have an operational marketing plan to grow internationally;

• Ideally you are serving customers with a first version of your product or service already or expecting to do so within a couple of months;

• You have a working product or prototype;

• You agree to domicile in the Netherlands, with its main address at the facilitator and a Dutch Chamber of Commerce number.

• Ideally, The company or foreign entity is no older than 3 years and The Netherlands will be one of the first markets

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Download our startup visa procedure fact-sheet here

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