A 1994 ruling by the European Court of Justice relating to the right of an EU company to provide services across the EU without the need for obtaining additional work permits has been recognised by the Netherlands. This "Van der Elst" ruling has evolved into a new type of visa category, called "Van der Elst visas" in some EU countries.
The regulation provides for any non-EU employees who have been working in the EU for a service provider for more than 12 months to be admitted as Van der Elst cases. The maximum stay in the Netherlands on a Van der Elst visa is six months.
Despite this progress, in order to obtain a Netherlands Van der Elst visa it is still necessary to lodge a work permit application in the usual way. The authorities will then decide whether, given the circumstances, a work permit is required or not and if indeed a Van der Elst visa should be issued. This procedure may seem unnecessarily complex, but usually takes less than the usual five weeks that a normal Netherlands work permit application would take. Depending on your country of residence, it may be worth inquiring at the local Royal Netherlands Embassy whether or not a Van der Elst visa application can be made directly through the Embassy.
Alternatively please contact us and one of our specialists can advise you.
