Visas and workpermits

International cultural exchanges often involve travelling and staying in foreign countries and inviting foreign cultural professionals to the Netherlands. You have to deal with the rules regarding working in another country and/or the Netherlands.

Before you travel abroad, you need to check which documents you must have. If you want to have someone from a foreign country work in the Netherlands, you will also have to find out first under which conditions this is permissible.

Stringent conditions apply to the admission and employment of foreign professionals.

• The Aliens Act regulates entry into and residence in the Netherlands. The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) enforces this act. A visa represents official permission to travel into a country. A person from a country subject to the visa requirement who wishes to come to the Netherlands must apply for this at a Dutch embassy in the country of origin. If the person stays for longer than three months, a Provisional Residence Permit (MVV) must be requested from the IND. A revised Alien Act will probably enter into force on 1 January 2011.
  
  
• The Foreign Nationals (Employment) Act states who may work in the Netherlands. Applications for a work permit (TWV) are handled by the public employment service, UWV WERKbedrijf (formerly, the CWI). An employer may need a TWV to temporarily or permanently employ a foreign artist. This is frequently the case with employees from outside Europe.