Validity
Up to 12 months
The Start-up permit is not extendable as the same residence purpose.
Founder residence · One permit history, three separate applications
How to keep your residence permit as a founder in NL
The Start-up permit is not the whole route. It runs for up to one year, it cannot be renewed on the same basis, and what comes after it is a different application with a different legal action. This page keeps all three stages visible in one place.
Source-linked. Human-reviewed. General guidance, not legal advice. Core legal and time-sensitive facts on this page were checked on 20 Sept 2026. The fee and income figures shown are a 2026 snapshot, with their validity dates stated below. Later periods must be refreshed from the linked official sources.
Where are you now?
One answer changes what the rest of this page tells you. Your choices are not saved.
Your answers are not saved. Reloading the page resets your position, date and checklist ticks.
The shape of the whole route
Three applications, not one permit renewed twice. The two transitions are where the legal action changes.
Stage 1
Start-up residence permit
Up to one year. Facilitator required. Cannot be renewed on the same basis.
Stage 2
Self-employed after Start-up
A change of residence purpose, with a dedicated branch in form 7524.
Stage 3
Extend self-employed
The genuine extension in this journey. Income evidence becomes central.
How to read the page: structural rules get the strongest visual weight. Fees, codes, decision periods and thresholds are quieter and always linked back to the current authority because they can change.
On this page
Stage 1 of 3 · Start-up residence permit
First residence basisUse the Start-up year to build the business and prepare the next residence step
The Start-up route gives a founder a limited period to build an innovative business with a facilitator. It ends on a fixed date and is not renewed on the same basis.
The status you hold
Residence for the purpose of a start-up
The permit is tied to the Start-up route and its conditions, including the facilitator.
The action you are taking
A first application, or a change to the Start-up purpose
Whether an MVV is involved depends on nationality and the route into the Netherlands.
Facilitator
Required
Use the live RVO list. Provider self-claims do not establish official status.
RVOCheck the current sourceApplication fee
€423
2026 fact in the canonical model, effective through 31 Dec 2026.
INDCheck the current sourceDecision period
90 days
This is the IND decision period. Do not subtract it from the validity date printed on a later residence card.
INDCheck the current sourceBefore the checklist: which way in applies to you?
These questions decide whether you apply from abroad or from inside the Netherlands, and what your current permit already lets you do.
What you do
Tick a step when the evidence is actually in hand, not when you have only read it.
- 1
Choose a facilitator from the current RVO list
The facilitator is a condition of the Start-up route. Official status comes from RVO, not from a provider's own marketing.
Do this: Open the live RVO list, confirm the organisation is listed now, then agree the cooperation arrangement.
Documents- Signed cooperation agreement
- Facilitator registration details
TimingDo this before the rest of the dossier because the facilitator shapes the plan and later declaration.
Common mistake: Treating an IND recognised sponsor and a startup facilitator as the same status. - 2
Show what is innovative about the business
Innovation is about what is new to the Dutch market, not just how ambitious the company is.
Do this: State what exists in the Netherlands today and what your product, service, process or organisation adds that is not already available.
Common mistake: Using labels such as fast-growing or AI-powered instead of explaining the actual difference. - 3
Build the step-by-step plan with the facilitator
The plan covers the organisation, roles, legal form, goals, innovation and activities during the Start-up year.
Do this: Build it with the facilitator rather than handing over a finished document. Stage 2 later asks the facilitator to confirm the guidance and outcome.
Documents- Step-by-step plan
- Legal form and ownership
- Your role and planned activities
TimingTreat the plan as the baseline for the year, not just an application attachment.
- 4
Prepare KVK and sufficient-means evidence
The founder and facilitator must be registered in the Trade Register, and the Start-up route has a sufficient-means requirement.
Do this: Make sure the KVK details and financial evidence match the business and residence application you are submitting.
Documents- KVK registration details
- Evidence of sufficient means
Transition 1
This is a change of residence purpose, not a renewal
The Start-up permit ends. To stay on the founder route, the legal basis of your residence changes to self-employed.
Carries over
- The same business can continue.
- Your KVK registration and business history remain relevant.
- The record of facilitator guidance becomes evidence for the next application.
Does not carry over
- The Start-up residence purpose itself.
- The idea that another Start-up year can simply be added.
- The Stage 1 application logic as your default checklist.
Becomes new
- A self-employed residence purpose.
- The dedicated post-Start-up branch in form 7524.
- A facilitator declaration and current KVK evidence.
The highest-risk mistake here is treating Stage 2 as either a Start-up extension or automatically as the ordinary direct self-employed scoring route. It is neither.
Stage 2 of 3 · The transition that changes your legal basis
Change of residence purposeContinue as self-employed on the branch for founders leaving a Start-up permit
There are different ways to reach a self-employed permit. A founder coming from a Start-up permit has a dedicated evidence branch in IND form 7524.
The status you hold
Your Start-up permit, until the change takes effect
Your current right of residence does not become self-employed just because you are preparing the application.
The action you are taking
Change residence purpose to self-employed
Use form 7524 and the dedicated post-Start-up branch.
Purpose code
377
Form-level detail for the post-Start-up self-employed route.
INDCheck the current sourceFacilitator guidance
At least 3 months
The facilitator declaration is part of the dedicated branch.
RVOCheck the current sourceApplication fee
€423
2026 fact in the canonical model, effective through 31 Dec 2026.
INDCheck the current sourceResulting permit
Up to 24 months
Maximum validity of the self-employed permit.
INDCheck the current sourceWhy this branch matters
The post-Start-up route is not the ordinary direct self-employed dossier
Form 7524 separates the post-Start-up branch from the ordinary route. The dedicated branch asks for the facilitator declaration and KVK evidence. Do not automatically build the ordinary scoring dossier unless your actual route requires it.
Coming from a Start-up permit
Dedicated post-Start-up branch
- Facilitator declaration
- At least 3 months of guidance
- KVK extract or registration number
- Change of residence purpose
Applying directly as self-employed
Ordinary direct route
- Separate RVO assessment logic
- Experience and business-plan evidence
- Added-value assessment, with applicable exceptions
- Not the default evidence model for the post-Start-up branch
What you do
- 1
Request the facilitator declaration
The dedicated post-Start-up branch asks the facilitator to confirm at least 3 months of guidance and successful completion.
Do this: Do not leave this to the final days of the permit. It is a required document written by another organisation.
Documents- Signed facilitator declaration
TimingPrepare it while the Start-up permit is still valid.
- 2
Provide current KVK evidence
Form 7524 asks this post-Start-up branch for a recent KVK extract or the KVK registration number.
Do this: Check that the company registration reflects the business you are continuing.
Documents- Recent KVK extract or KVK registration number
- 3
Apply to change residence purpose before the Start-up permit ends
This is not an extension of the Start-up permit. You apply for the self-employed residence purpose using the post-Start-up branch.
Do this: Use the end date printed on the current residence card as the hard edge. Keep proof of submission.
TimingApply while the current Start-up permit is still valid.
Common mistake: Following the ordinary direct self-employed scoring checklist as if it were automatically the post-Start-up route.
If a partner or child depends on your permit
Check their residence route at the same transition
The IND has separate partner and minor-child residence routes. Family situations can depend on timing and the sponsor's residence position, so do not assume your change of purpose automatically updates everyone else's permit.
Transition 2
From here on, the next application really is an extension
Once you hold the self-employed residence permit, you are no longer changing from the Start-up purpose. The next application keeps the same residence purpose and tests whether you still meet its conditions.
Carries over
- The self-employed residence purpose.
- Your business and KVK history.
- The continuity of your residence, if you avoid a gap.
Does not carry over
- The post-Start-up form branch as the main evidence model.
- The facilitator declaration as the defining document.
- The Start-up-year transition logic.
Becomes new
- The extension window before expiry.
- Current self-employed income evidence.
- Form 7535 and its correct evidence branch.
This is where the journey changes from proving a Start-up transition to proving that the self-employed residence conditions still hold.
Stage 3 of 3 · Self-employed extension
Same residence purposeExtend the self-employed permit before it expires
This time the legal action really is an extension. The focus shifts to the current self-employed conditions, especially sufficient means and the evidence IND asks for.
The status you hold
Residence as a self-employed person
This is the residence purpose you are keeping.
The action you are taking
Extend the same residence purpose
Use the extension route and the correct branch of form 7535.
Extension window
3 months before expiry
Use the end date printed on the residence card. Apply while the permit is valid.
INDCheck the current sourceApplication fee
€423
2026 fact in the canonical model, effective through 31 Dec 2026.
INDCheck the current sourceDecision period
90 days
General regular temporary extension decision period.
INDCheck the current source2026 self-employed amount
€1,766.77 / month
Gross profit measure in the canonical fact layer, effective 1 Jul 2026 to 31 Dec 2026.
INDCheck the current sourceIncome evidence is more than one number
Use the amount for the right period and the actual self-employed income rules
The threshold changes over time. The current amount is useful only together with IND's rules for showing independent, sustainable and sufficient self-employed income. Do not treat one monthly number as the whole extension test.
What you do
- 1
Work from the expiry date on your current self-employed permit
The standard extension window opens 3 months before expiry.
Do this: Enter the card date in the tool above. It calculates the standard window without inventing an earlier legal deadline.
TimingApply while the current permit remains valid.
- 2
Prepare self-employed income evidence
At extension, the focus shifts to whether the self-employed income condition is met under the current IND rules.
Do this: Use the current required amount for the applicable period and the income documents requested for self-employed applicants.
Documents- Self-employed income declaration and supporting financial evidence
- 3
Use the correct branch of form 7535
The ordinary self-employed extension and the US/Japan treaty branches do not ask for exactly the same evidence.
Do this: Do not copy the treaty-specific balance-sheet and profit-and-loss checklist into every ordinary extension.
What comes after: the Start-up year is not automatically a lost year
IND classifies work as a self-employed person, including Start-up, as a non-temporary residence purpose. That matters for later routes, but it does not make permanent residence or naturalisation automatic.
Long-term residence
Keep the residence history continuous and check the separate later-route conditions
The canonical model records a 5-year continuity rule for the regular permanent-residence route and classifies Start-up/self-employed as non-temporary. Permanent residence and naturalisation still have their own separate conditions.
Related practical guides
This page orchestrates the residence journey. These practical tasks keep their own guides so the operational detail has one source of truth.
Facts and freshness
Core journey rules are structural. Fees, decision periods, form details and income thresholds are time-sensitive facts. This page keeps those categories visibly separate.
| Stage | Fact | Current period or check | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €423 application fee; 90-day decision period. | Fee through 31 Dec 2026; page checked 20 Sept 2026. | INDIND Start-up |
| 2 | Purpose code 377; at least 3 months of guidance; €423 fee; permit up to 24 months. | Checked 20 Sept 2026. | INDForm 7524 |
| 3 | 3-month extension window; 90-day decision period; €423 fee. | Checked 20 Sept 2026. | INDIND extension |
| 3 | €1,766.77 monthly self-employed income amount in the canonical fact layer. | 1 Jul 2026 to 31 Dec 2026. | INDRequired amounts |
What still deserves case-specific checking
Edge cases remain: replacing or losing a facilitator during the Start-up year; how an unusual income history is assessed at extension; a facilitator refusing to sign the declaration; and family situations that do not fit the standard simultaneous-route examples. Where your situation turns on one of these, use the linked IND or RVO source and get case-specific advice before acting.
Official sources
IND decides residence and publishes the residence, income and long-term-right rules. RVO holds the official facilitator list and facilitator declaration model.
Start-up residence permitOfficial facilitator list and requirementsResidence permit self-employed personForm 7524: self-employed application or change of residence purposeFacilitator declaration for self-employed after startup visaRegular temporary residence permit extensionForm 7535: extension of work-related residence permitFees: costs of an applicationRequired amounts income requirementsIndependent, sustainable and sufficient incomeProvisional residence permit (MVV)MVV exemptionsChange residence purposeResidence permit for partnerResidence permit for minor child to stay with parentPermanent residence permitResidence permit for orientation yearTemporary and non-temporary purposes of residenceBecoming a Dutch national through naturalisationReport changes in situation