Apply for roles that match your languages and your right to work
When your Dutch is limited, you may apply for positions that accept the languages you know. Search for vacancies written in English or ones that state their language requirements clearly. Ask what language you will use on the job. Requirements like experience, certificates or shift availability still apply. Before you accept an offer, confirm that your nationality or residence document permits that particular job.
Check your right to work
Which jobs you are allowed to do depends on your nationality and your residence document. IND (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst, Dutch immigration service) and UWV (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen, employee insurance agency) set out the rules below. Certain routes need a tewerkstellingsvergunning (TWV, work permit) or a gecombineerde vergunning voor verblijf en arbeid (GVVA, combined residence and work permit).
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| Your situation | What to verify before accepting work |
|---|---|
| EU (European Union), EEA (European Economic Area) or Swiss citizen | You do not need a Dutch work permit. Show a valid passport or identity card and arrange a burgerservicenummer (BSN, citizen service number) for work and payroll. |
| Residence document says “Arbeid vrij toegestaan. TWV niet vereist” (work freely permitted; no TWV required) | You may work freely without a TWV. Check that the document is still valid. |
| Permit is tied to a sponsor or says a TWV is required | The new employer or agency may need a TWV, a GVVA or another work residence permit. Wait until the required permission is in place before starting. |
| Study residence permit: ordinary paid side jobs | The employer needs a TWV. Choose either at most 16 hours a week or full-time work in June, July and August. You cannot combine these options. |
| Asylum application, temporary protection or another special status | The rules on waiting periods, employer duties and evidence differ by route. Check your exact status and document wording in the work-rights guide below. |
Rules can differ for work that is part of your study. This applies to qualifying employment at the Academie voor Bouwkunst (Academy of Architecture). See UWV’s work-permit exemptions for the conditions on the programme, contract, pay, hours and notifying the employer.
Warning
Check work rights that are unclear
Compare the exact wording on your document with work rights by residence permit guide. If anything is unclear, ask IND or UWV. Looking for work and going to interviews is not the same as beginning paid employment.
Decide where to search for jobs
Search for vacancies on employer career pages and EURES (European Employment Services). For werk.nl (UWV job-search portal), begin with UWV’s advice on working in the Netherlands. Pick a vacancy source to find jobs, or use a Work in NL information point to ask about pay, contracts and housing.
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| Route | Use it for | Check before applying |
|---|---|---|
| Employer career page | Current vacancies from a company you want to work for; look for ‘werken bij’ (careers) | Apply through the employer's own domain and save the vacancy text |
| werk.nl | UWV vacancies and Dutch job-search tools | The portal is in Dutch. Account tools may require a BSN and DigiD (Dutch government login) |
| EURES | European vacancies, mobility information and adviser support | Check Dutch work-permit rules separately from the vacancy |
| Uitzendbureau (temp agency) | Short-term or variable assignments where the agency is your employer | Check the agency, contract, pay, work rights and housing separately |
| Commercial boards and professional networks | Finding possible jobs and contacting people in your field | Use the platform to find possible jobs. Verify the vacancy on the employer's own website |
| Work in NL information point | Free explanations about work, wages, contracts and housing | Ask about work, pay, contracts or housing; the service does not promise to find you a job |
Look in both English and Dutch. Use Dutch job titles like magazijnmedewerker (warehouse worker), productiemedewerker (production worker), schoonmaker (cleaner) and bezorger (delivery worker). Read the whole vacancy and ask which language is used at work before you apply.
Check what language the vacancy requires
How a vacancy is worded can help you decide whether to apply straight away or ask a question first. These examples show what the employer expects.
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| Vacancy wording | What the wording tells you | Your next action |
|---|---|---|
| Vacancy is in English; ‘English-speaking’ or ‘Dutch not required’ | English may be accepted for the application and daily work | Confirm the working language and any other required language |
| ‘Nederlands is een pré’ (Dutch is a plus) | Dutch is preferred, not clearly mandatory | Apply if the other requirements fit and state your exact current level |
| “Goede beheersing van het Nederlands” (good command of Dutch) or “vloeiend Nederlands” (fluent Dutch) | Good or fluent Dutch is an explicit requirement | Ask the recruiter only if the rest of the vacancy suggests flexibility |
| Customer contact, care, teaching or safety instructions in Dutch | The employer may need Dutch for communication, safety or regulation | Ask which tasks require Dutch and what level you need before spending time on the application |
| ‘Willing to learn Dutch’ | The employer may accept your current level but expect progress | Ask what level and deadline are expected and whether lessons are supported |
Use the same language for your application as the vacancy uses. Be honest about your Dutch. At A2 (basic language level), you could write 'Nederlands A2, twee lessen per week' (Dutch A2, two lessons a week). Name every other language you can use at work. Dutch CV and application guide explains the format.
When you prepare the portfolio for Oriëntatie op de Nederlandse Arbeidsmarkt (ONA, Dutch labour market orientation), use its own language rules. ONA forms part of the inburgering (civic integration) exam. DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs, Dutch education service) says the portfolio’s 2 application forms must be in Dutch. Also write its letter and CV in Dutch, unless every vacancy you use is in English. ONA portfolio guide lists the remaining document rules.
Get your application documents ready
Use the table below to get your CV and application ready. Look at the vacancy to see if the employer asks for any extra documents.
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| Item | What to include or verify |
|---|---|
| CV | Relevant tasks and results, newest experience first, contact details and no BSN or full identity-document copy |
| Language line | Your current level for Dutch and the languages you can actually use with colleagues, customers or instructions |
| Availability | Start date, days, shifts, maximum travel area and transport you can reliably use |
| Right-to-work line | A short accurate statement based on your nationality or the exact wording on your valid residence document |
| Qualifications | Diplomas, licences or safety certificates named in the vacancy, with translations or recognition only when relevant |
| References | People who have agreed to be contacted, with their role and preferred contact details |
A diplomawaardering (credential evaluation) is advice on what your diploma is worth in the Netherlands. Before you pay for one or wait for one, ask the employer if it is needed. For a regulated profession (a profession protected by law), the responsible professional authority must recognise you. An evaluation by itself does not allow you to practise. Use foreign diploma recognition guide to pick the correct route.
Check the agency and what it offers
Use the KVK (Kamer van Koophandel, Chamber of Commerce) check for Waadi (Wet allocatie arbeidskrachten door intermediairs, law on supplying workers) registration. After that, check every part of the offer listed below.
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| Check | What to check |
|---|---|
| Who employs you | The uitzendbureau is named as your employer; the inlener (hirer) is the company where you do the work |
| KVK and Waadi | The legal name and KVK number match, and the public Waadi check shows that the business is registered to supply workers |
| Placement fee | The agency charges you no registration, mediation or placement fee for finding you work |
| Pay and conditions | The agency explains the gross hourly wage (hourly pay before tax and other deductions), allowances, hours, breaks, holiday terms and applicable cao (collective labour agreement) in writing |
| Equal treatment | You are entitled to at least the same pay and specified working conditions as employees doing equal or equivalent work at the hirer. Lawful cao exceptions can apply. Ask which cao applies and which clause explains any difference. |
| Housing | Any rent, deductions, room and ending terms are clear, and the rental agreement is separate from the employment contract |
Additional housing rules apply to citizens of another EU country whose main home is outside the Netherlands and who come here for temporary work. For this group, rental contracts made from 1 July 2023 onward must be separate from employment contracts. The landlord must provide the required tenant information in the tenant’s preferred language, or in another language the tenant understands and can use clearly. In other situations, ask for separate agreements as well. Read the housing terms before you accept the job.
What the Waadi check does confirm
A Waadi check confirms that a registration entry exists. It does not prove that an agency pays correctly, provides fair housing or will find you work. Continue to check the contract, schedules, payslips and deductions.
Check the terms before you work your first shift
Check all of the following before your first shift:
- Make sure you are allowed to work in this role and that any needed TWV, GVVA or other work permission is already valid.
- Show your original valid identity document to your verified employer. Before you start, your employer must check your identity and keep a copy for its records. You should keep the original. If a recruiter is unfamiliar, check their identity and why they want it before you share a copy.
- Arrange your BSN for payroll. Do not share your DigiD password, bank login, PIN (personal identification number) or verification codes with anyone.
- Obtain the employer’s legal name and written terms covering: job, workplace, start date, gross hourly wage, expected hours, allowances, holiday pay, contract type and applicable cao.
- Keep your own copy of the contract and messages. Write down every shift, break and hour, then compare them with the payslip and payment.
- If the job includes housing, get the separate rental agreement and read what happens to the room when the work ends.
Written terms do not remove all risk, but they give you evidence. employment-contract guide explains temporary, agency, on-call and fixed-hours contracts. If your pay or hours are wrong, ask the employer to correct them in writing and keep the reply.
Check job offers for signs of a scam
Before you share documents or send money, check for these warning signs. Take the action that fits the request.
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| Warning sign | What to do |
|---|---|
| A recruiter asks you to pay a registration, mediation or placement fee, a deposit to get work, or an equipment charge before work starts | Do not pay. End the contact and save the messages, account details and advertisement |
| A recruiter asks for cryptocurrency (digital currency) or gift cards | Do not pay. End the contact and save the messages, account details and advertisement |
| The “job” requires moving money for someone else, opening an account or business in your name for their use, or sharing a bank card | Do not move the money. Contact your bank and the politie (police) if you already shared access or received funds |
| A recruiter wants a full identity-document copy through chat before naming the legal employer and role | Verify the company and purpose first. Provide identity evidence only through a verified process at the appropriate hiring stage |
| The sender uses only a personal address or messaging app, and the name, domain, KVK number or vacancy does not match | Contact the employer through the number on its own website; do not use the recruiter's link or number |
| Someone keeps your original passport or permit, controls your movement, threatens you or withholds pay | This may be labour exploitation. Leave if you safely can, preserve evidence and seek help using the reporting route below |
Check any housing deposit separately against the rental agreement.
Warning
Report the right problem
Report underpayment, illegal work, unsafe conditions or labour exploitation to Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie (Netherlands Labour Authority). Labour exploitation can be reported anonymously by phone. For immediate danger, call 112.
If you think online fraud has happened, contact your bank quickly and report it to the police. Keep the messages and payment details.
Get help if you face hiring discrimination
If you believe discrimination played a part in a hiring decision, help is available. Use the table below to choose between advice and a formal judgment.
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| What you need | Route |
|---|---|
| Advice or help deciding whether the treatment may be discrimination | Contact Discriminatie.nl (discrimination advice service). Support is free and confidential. The service takes no action without your consent |
| A formal equal-treatment judgment about recruitment or work | Ask the College voor de Rechten van de Mens (Netherlands Institute for Human Rights) whether it can assess your case. Its judgments are not legally binding |
Keep the full vacancy, your application, messages, names, dates and screenshots. Write down what was said as soon as you can.
Use a weekly plan for your job search
This weekly plan can be a starting point. Change the numbers to match the time you have.
- Pick five to ten current vacancies where you understand the work-right and language requirements.
- Label each one: direct employer, official portal, agency or commercial lead.
- Change the top third of your CV and a short message to fit the tasks in each vacancy.
- Where possible, apply through the employer’s verified page and keep a copy of the vacancy.
- Contact two or three agencies you have checked, giving your exact availability, travel area, languages and certificates.
- After seven days, review the results: replies, rejections, missing requirements and one change to make for the next cycle.
Fix common problems in your job search
If your applications lead to no replies or shifts, look at what is blocking you. Try the change that suits your situation.
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| Blocker | Useful change |
|---|---|
| The vacancy needs Dutch you do not yet have | Target English-language or ‘Dutch is a plus’ vacancies, and keep building Dutch for the roles you want later |
| Agencies register you but offer no shifts | Ask which exact requirement is missing; if realistic, widen your hours, travel area or job titles and keep more than one checked agency active |
| Employers do not understand your diploma | Ask whether an evaluation is needed; use professional recognition instead if the occupation is regulated |
| Your work rights are unclear | Resolve the residence-document wording or employer-permit route before sending more applications for jobs you may not be allowed to start |
| Many applications get no answer | For one week, send fewer applications. Apply only for jobs where you meet the essential requirements. Show that match in the first lines of your CV |
Choose what to do today
Today, check your work-right route and save three vacancies that state their language requirements clearly. Then make one accurate CV, verify every employer or agency and keep the terms in writing. Choose jobs where you can legally start and where you understand the work and the offer.
For your next decision, use these guides:
- Dutch employment contracts: what to check before you sign
- Foreign diploma recognition: choose the right route
- Free and subsidised legal help in the Netherlands
Official Sources
- UWV: EU, EEA or Swiss national - work-permit rules for EU, EEA and Swiss nationals, the role of the BSN and DigiD, and ways to look for work
- UWV: Work permits - when an employer needs a TWV, when a GVVA route applies and which residence-document wording allows unrestricted work
- IND: Employing a foreign national - current work-authorisation routes, including rules for EU nationals, students and residence permits tied to specific work
- UWV: Login methods for the Werkmap (job-search account) - DigiD login for the Werkmap and the BSN needed to apply for DigiD
- EURES: European job mobility portal - European vacancies, EURES advisers and information about living and working in participating countries
- Work in NL: Employment agency - how agency work is organised, what to check before signing and where to obtain free information about work, wages, contracts and housing
- Business.gov.nl: Waadi registration and check - the registration duty for businesses that supply workers and what the KVK Waadi check confirms
- Rijksoverheid (Dutch central government): Conditions for agency workers - equal-treatment rules, the ban on charging a worker for placement and the agency's duty to explain workplace conditions before work starts
- Work in NL: Types of employment agreement - the main contract types and the written information an employer must provide about pay and employment conditions
- Government.nl: Who may copy your identity document - which organisations may make an identity-document copy and how to reduce identity-fraud risk
- NetherlandsWorldwide: Foreign qualification evaluation for work - when a credential evaluation may help, its advisory status and the separate recognition route for regulated professions
- Discriminatie.nl: How support works - free and confidential advice, reporting options and the evidence that can help with a discrimination complaint
- College voor de Rechten van de Mens: English information - information about requesting a formal equal-treatment judgment, including recruitment and employment cases
- Netherlands Labour Authority: Report unfair work or exploitation - how to report underpayment, excessive hours, unsafe work, illegal employment or labour exploitation, including anonymous reporting
- Dutch Police: Money mule - why letting someone use your bank account or moving money for another person can make you part of money laundering
- Rijksoverheid: Good Landlord Act rules - the separate rental-agreement and understandable-information rules for housing offered to labour migrants
- DUO: toelichting resultaatkaarten (result-card explanations) for ONA - the ONA card 7 language rule: application forms always in Dutch, the letter and CV in Dutch unless all vacancies are in English
- IND: Buitenlandse werknemer in dienst nemen (employing a foreign worker) - Dutch source for nationality-based work rights, work-permit routes and paid employment under a study residence permit
- KVK: Waadi check - the official tool for checking whether an agency is registered to supply workers
- Waadi: law on supplying workers - Articles 3, 7a, 8 and 9: placement fees, registration and equal-treatment rules, including cao exceptions
- Wet goed verhuurderschap (Good Landlord Act) - Articles 1, 2 and 23: the EU labour-migrant scope, separate rental agreements and the rules on understandable tenant information
- Work in NL: Identity documents - showing a valid identity document at work and keeping your original document
- DigiD: Security - keeping your DigiD login details private
- College voor de Rechten van de Mens: Work - discrimination during recruitment and the College’s role in assessing complaints
- Politie: What to do after becoming a money mule - bank and police contact and preserving evidence after bank-account misuse
- Politie: Companies and accounts held for someone else - how criminals use companies and bank accounts registered in another person’s name
- Politie: Advice after online fraud (PDF) - contacting your bank quickly and reporting online fraud to the police
- IND: Paid employment and work-permit wording - the unrestricted-work wording on residence documents and what it permits
- Work in NL: Salary - gross salary means pay before taxes and other deductions
- UWV: Work-permit exemptions - the conditions for TWV-free employment required by an Academie voor Bouwkunst programme, including employer notification and a maximum of 32 hours a week
- IND: Student residence permit for university or higher professional education - the choice between at most 16 hours of ordinary paid work a week and full-time work in June, July and August, plus the exception for programme traineeships
- Rijksoverheid: Employer identity-check duties - the employer must check the original identity document before employment and keep a copy
- Dutch Police: Cryptocurrency payments in vacancy fraud - police advice to stop cryptocurrency payments to suspected vacancy fraudsters
- Work in NL: Information points - free advice about work and housing, with locations, available languages and opening information
- DigiD: Apply for a DigiD - how to apply for a DigiD to access government services
- Council of Europe: Common reference language levels - A2 is a basic language level for simple, routine communication
- Work in NL: Veilig werken (working safely) - employers must provide and pay for protective equipment, such as helmets, gloves and ear protection