How can an American entrepreneur obtain Dutch permanent residence?

If an American entrepreneur has been holding a Dutch entrepreneur permit (“arbeid als zelfstandige”) for five consecutive years or longer, they can potentially qualify for permanent residence, provided that they meet a myriad of conditions.

Income requirement

First of all, a US entrepreneur needs to show that they will have sufficient and sustainable income to provide for themselves. It is worth noting that this income requirement is different from the capital requirement under the Dutch American Friendship Treaty (often abbreviated as “the DAFT”). Under the DAFT, a US entrepreneur must make sure that their company’s equity always stays above €4500. However, when it comes to the status of permanent residence, the income requirement is stricter than the capital requirement under the DAFT.

Depending on the business form, the IND has a plethora of different documentation requirements. If a US entrepreneur owns a sole proprietorship (“eenmanszaak”) or is a partner of a general partnership (“vof”), the IND will want to see their company’s annual accounts (“jaarrekeningen”) of the last 1.5 to 2 years. In this case, the IND will scrutinise the company’s gross profit. If the gross profit is below par, the IND will probably make a fuss about the income requirement. If a US entrepreneur is a director/large shareholder (“DGA” in Dutch) of a limited liability company (“besloten vennootschap”), the IND will want to see the records of salary payments and tax payments (such as, bank statements and salary tax filings). The monthly salary must be above par. Each year, the statutory minimum salary gets indexed twice in line with inflation, per 1 January and 1 July. The IND expects that an applicant should be able to earn at least 70% of the applicable minimum salary (“minimumloon” in Dutch).

Established case law

Nevertheless, when it comes to the income requirement, the IND should also take the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) and that of the Court of the Hague into account. For example, in Chakroun, the CJEU holds that a Member State should take a totality of the financial factors into account, and that a Member State may not go beyond necessity. In practice, this means that, if an applicant has a substantial amount of savings, the IND should take their savings (in the Netherlands, the United States or elsewhere) into account. The same applies to stock portfolios and other types of passive incomes (eg. rental incomes and dividends).

Integration exam

Another prerequisite for the permanent residence permit is the integration exam. To obtain a Dutch permanent residence permit, a US entrepreneur needs to pass the civic integration exam (“inburgeringsexamen”).

Book a consultation

If you are interested in asking for permanent residence, please feel free to book a consultation within one of our lawyers.