Many of us need to work alongside our studies to afford tuition and living costs. When looking for work in the Netherlands, non-EU students need to have a working permit (TWV) and have a limited amount of hours they can work. Often employers are frightened off by the phrase ‘I need a working permit’, despite it being incredibly easy (and free) for them to apply for one. Here is some information you can share with them to show how simple the process is, and what needs to be done to apply for one:
In Dutch, a work permit is called a tewerkstellingsvergunning, often abbreviated to TWV. Your employer or employment agency must apply for a work permit for you. They can do so at the UWV, afdeling TWV, T: 088 898 20 70. You cannot do this yourself. Your employer or employment agency needs to apply for this work permit (TWV) at least 5 weeks prior to the start of your employment as it can take up to 5 weeks for this application to be processed. You can give your employer the following link(opens in a new tab) if they are not familiar with the TWV for student jobs. All they need to apply for the permit is a copy of the front and back of your residence permit for study purposes and proof of enrolment, which you can ask for from school.
Dutch law restricts the number of hours that you are allowed to work in a contracted position (you can work as much as your like as a freelancer): you may either do seasonal work full-time (but only in June, July and August) or you may work part-time throughout the rest of the year (but no more than 16 hours a week); you may not do both.