One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is: how long does the immigration process take? In other words, when can my employee start working?

When your non-EU employee can start working, depends on your company’s and your employee’s individual situation.

A recognized sponsorship is an important condition to attract non EU highly skilled migrants. You can check on the IND list of sponsors if your company and more specific the entity that is in the contract of your employee already has this in place. Is your company/the entity not on the list of recognized sponsors? Please contact us at info.nl@anywr-group.com. Our specialized immigration team gladly assists with the application recognized sponsorship.

The recognized sponsorship also speeds up considerably your applications for other immigration procedures, like for the EU Blue Card or the Intra Corporate Transferee Directive.

How long it takes to become a recognized sponsor differs. If your company has had a presence in the Netherlands for more than 1,5 years this will be 1 month in most cases. If your company is new to the Netherlands the application might take up to 6 months and if the IND has doubts it may even take longer.

Once your company is a recognized sponsor and upon submitting a complete application it will take two to six weeks before your employee can travel to the Netherlands. How long exactly depends on your future employee’s situation.

We receive approval for highly skilld migrant procedures after around two weeks in most cases. However, sometimes it may take more time before your employee can travel to the Netherlands. Some non-EU nationals need to obtain a visa at the Dutch embassy or consulate in their country of residence.

Applications for EU Blue Card and Intra Corporate Transferee Directive usually take two weeks (max 30 days) with recognized sponsorship. Without sponsorship it may take up to 90 days.

In other situations, when the employee is already in the Netherlands with a valid residence permit, the procedure might be completed instantly or within just a few weeks.

Non EU employees who travel to the Netherlands with an entry visa (MVV) can start working immediately. Non EU employees who do not need an MVV have to register before they can start working.

When you ask us to assist your company with the immigration procedure we always analyze the specific situation. You will receive our advice on the feasibility and the best procedure(s) to follow. Depending upon the actual situation, our specialised immigration team can assist your with all immigration procedures

Feel free to reach out to us for advice. We’d be happy to inform you which procedure is most appropriate in your specific situation and which start date would be feasible.