How to work part-time as an international student in NL

You want to earn money alongside your studies without putting your work or residence status at risk. The first question is not where to find a job. It is whether your employer needs permission to hire you. Once that is clear, you can look for work, agree your hours, check the contract and arrange the insurance and payroll details that change when you start earning a salary.

This guide covers regular paid employment alongside study. Internships and self-employed work can follow different rules. If you hold a Dutch residence card, check the work wording on the back before applying.

Start with nationality, then check your residence document if you have one. The standard student-permit rule does not apply to every international student.

• EU, EEA or Swiss citizen

  You can work in the Netherlands without a Dutch work permit. Move to the normal job-search, contract, payroll and insurance steps.

• Non-EU with a Dutch study residence permit

  Your employer normally needs a TWV before you start. You must choose between working up to 16 hours per week or working full-time in June, July and August.

• You have another residence status

  Check the work wording on the back of your residence card. If it says 'Arbeid vrij toegestaan. TWV niet vereist.', the employer does not need a TWV. If the wording is different or unclear, verify it with the IND before starting.

1. 1

   Check your right to work

   Start with your nationality and, if you have one, your residence document. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can work without a Dutch work permit. If you hold the standard Dutch study residence permit, paid employment normally requires the employer to have a TWV for you.

   Do this: Confirm whether you can work without a TWV or whether your employer must arrange one before you start.

   Documents needed

   • Passport or identity document
   • Dutch residence card, if you have one

   Processing time

   Usually under an hour if your residence status is clear.

   Common mistake: Do not rely on nationality alone if you hold a residence card. The work wording on the card can change which rule applies.

   Official source

   Government.nl · Work rights for EU, EEA, Swiss and other foreign workers
2. 2

   Get your BSN and job basics ready

   Have your BSN, identification, bank details, CV and realistic weekly availability ready before you accept shifts. If you still need a BSN, complete the registration route first so the employer can put you into payroll correctly.

   Do this: Collect your BSN, ID, bank details, CV and class schedule before you accept a start date.

   Get a BSN in NL

   Documents needed

   • BSN
   • Passport or identity document
   • Bank account details
   • CV
   • Class schedule

   Common mistake: Do not share your BSN with organisations that have no legitimate reason to hold it.

   Official source

   Government.nl · Citizen service number (BSN)
3. 3

   Find a job and raise the TWV question early

   Use university career services, job boards, employers around your city and companies that already work with international teams. If your residence status requires a TWV, raise that before the final interview or offer stage so both sides know what has to happen before you can start.

   Do this: If you need a TWV, ask the employer early whether it can apply for one for a work student.

   Find a job as an international

   Documents needed

   • Your CV
   • Your weekly availability
   • Your residence-card work wording, if relevant

   Common mistake: An employer may not know the student work-permit rules. Point it to UWV and IND rather than relying on an informal answer.

   Official source

   Work in NL · Finding work in the Netherlands
4. 4

   If required, let the employer arrange the TWV

   The employer applies to UWV. For the standard study residence permit, you choose between working up to 16 hours per week or working full-time in June, July and August. The permit has to be in place before the employment starts.

   Do this: Agree the intended hours with the employer, let the employer submit the TWV application, and wait for the decision before starting work.

   Documents needed

   • Your valid study residence permit
   • The employment details the employer needs for its application

   Processing time

   UWV says the employer receives a decision within 5 weeks after the application. If information is missing, UWV asks the employer for it before deciding.

   Common mistake: Do not start paid work while a required TWV is still being processed.

   Official source

   UWV · TWV application process and decision period
5. 5

   Check the contract and your hourly pay

   Read the contract before starting and check the gross hourly wage, agreed hours, contract type and when you are paid. From 1 July 2026 the statutory minimum wage is €14.99 gross per hour for workers aged 21 and over. Workers under 21 have age-based minimum rates.

   Do this: Compare the offered hourly wage with the current government minimum-wage table, then read the contract before you sign.

   Check your employment contract

   Documents needed

   • Draft employment contract

   Processing time

   Do this before you accept the final start date.

   Common mistake: Minimum-wage amounts change. Check the current government table instead of relying on an old rate or screenshot.

   Official source

   Government.nl · Minimum wage amounts from 1 July 2026
6. 6

   Recheck health insurance when the job starts

   International students can have a different insurance position while they are only studying. Starting paid work can change that position. Government.nl says the answer for foreign students depends on where they are from and what else they do besides studying, so recheck the rule when your job starts.

   Do this: Check whether the job makes Dutch basic health insurance compulsory for you and arrange it promptly if it does.

   Get Dutch basic health insurance

   Documents needed

   • Employment contract
   • Details of your current health coverage

   Processing time

   Check this when you accept the job, not months after the first payslip.

   Common mistake: Do not assume the insurance arrangement you used while only studying remains sufficient after you start paid work.

   Official source

   Government.nl · Compulsory health insurance for people who live, study or work in the Netherlands

• Passport or identity document
• Dutch residence card, if you have one
• Citizen service number (BSN)
• Bank account details for salary payments
• Your CV
• Your class schedule and realistic weekly availability
• Employment contract before your first shift

If you do not need a TWV, there is no immigration work-permit waiting period. If a TWV is required, the employer applies to UWV and UWV says the employer receives a decision within 5 weeks after the application. Missing information can delay the decision.

Requirements depend on your situation. Check the latest requirements with the relevant authority.

• Starting work before the TWV is in place when your residence status requires one.
• Assuming every non-EU student has the same restriction instead of checking the work wording on the residence card.
• Treating the 16-hour limit as a rule for all international students. It applies to the standard study-permit employment route.
• Waiting until the end of the hiring process to tell an employer that a TWV is required.
• Assuming your student health insurance position stays the same after you start paid work.
• Applying loonheffingskorting at more than one employer at the same time, which can mean too little tax is withheld.

• Keep your employment contract and payslips, and keep track of your hours if your permit limits how much you may work.
• When your employer asks about loonheffingskorting, apply the tax credit at only one employer if you have more than one job at the same time.
• If Dutch basic health insurance becomes compulsory for you, check whether you may also qualify for zorgtoeslag.
• If you want to do an internship or work as a self-employed person instead, check those rules separately because they are not the same as regular paid employment.