Startup visa Netherlands

Applicants must be at least 18 and secure private healthcare insurance in the Netherlands once the residence permit is granted. They also need a detailed business plan covering the innovative idea and their active role in it, support from a government-approved facilitator along with an agreement to join the facilitator's incubation program, and enough money to develop the startup and cover their stay. A gross income of at least EUR 35,868 per year is expected for living costs, while developing the startup typically calls for at least EUR 50,000 per year.

The main applicant can include a spouse, a registered partner, an unmarried partner in a sustainable relationship, and minor children under 18. An unmarried partner who has lived with the applicant for at least 6 months can generally be included.

The program grants a one-year residence permit on approval and lets the applicant include dependent family members, with the spouse or partner free to work for any employer in the Netherlands once they hold the dependent permit. It offers quick processing, no language requirements, no upper age limit, and no minimum investment requirement. After one year, holders can apply for a two-year residence permit under the Self-Employed Person program, and they can move toward permanent residence after 5 years of legal residence.

The program accepts innovative ideas that show at least one of three features: a product or service that is new to the Dutch market, new technology used in production, distribution, or marketing, or a novel way of working and organizing operations. The idea must demonstrate innovation, viability, and the applicant's active involvement in developing it.

The applicant first prepares a business plan for a government-approved facilitator to review. The facilitator may hold interviews and sign agreements with those who present promising ideas. After signing, the applicant submits the application package to the Netherlands immigration authority, which usually takes about 90 days to decide. Once approved, the applicant schedules a biometrics appointment within 3 months, and after biometrics are submitted a visa is issued so the applicant can travel to the Netherlands to collect the residence permit.

Processing times vary by case, but the authority usually takes about 3 to 8 months.

A one-year Start-up Visa holder can move to a two-year permit under the Self-Employed Persons Program as the first permit nears expiry, provided they meet that permit's requirements and supply a facilitator declaration confirming the mentoring process was completed. After the two-year permit ends, they can extend for another five years. Permanent residence is usually possible after 5 years of legal residence and meeting the criteria, which include passing the civic integration exam at level A2 or being exempt, no history of misrepresentation, registration in the Personal Records Database for 5 years without gaps, holding a valid permit that has always been renewed on time, and meeting the income requirement. For the self-employed in 2025 this means gross profits averaging EUR 1,697.82 per month over the 18 months before the application, or EUR 2,425.46 per month when family members are included, shown through bank statements for that period.

The path runs through the same permits: a one-year Start-up Visa holder moves to a two-year Self-Employed Persons permit, then extends for another five years. Citizenship is usually possible after 5 years of legal residence and meeting the criteria, which include being willing to renounce existing nationality or being exempt, passing the civic integration exam at level A2 or being exempt, not posing a danger to public order or national security, and holding a valid permit that has always been renewed on time.

Exemptions cover people with a civic integration certificate under the Civic Integration Act 2021, Belgian or Luxembourg nationals, anyone under 18 (who can only apply for Dutch citizenship together with a parent), people who lived in the Netherlands for 8 years or more during their school years, those holding a document that exempts them from the requirement, those who cannot attend for medical reasons, and those who can prove they are sufficiently integrated. Most applicants must complete the exam, but anyone seeking an exemption or dispensation needs to provide supporting evidence, such as medical opinions, to the government.

Renouncing is not required in several situations. These include being married to or in a registered partnership with a Dutch citizen when becoming Dutch, holding a residence permit based on asylum, and having received a permit in 2007 or 2008 under the RANOV regulation and becoming Dutch after 1 November 2021 (with 1 June 2021 applying to minors who were in the Netherlands at that time). It also covers people born in the Kingdom of the Netherlands who currently live there, where continuous residence is not required and the Kingdom includes the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten, along with the special municipalities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba. The final case is holding the nationality of a country the Netherlands does not officially recognize, such as Taiwan or the Palestinian Territories.

Turkish nationals receive several advantages. They pay reduced application fees for residence permits, they can bring a spouse or registered partner who is at least 18 rather than the usual 21, and they can bring children up to the age of 21.