Settling in the Netherlands as a self-employed artist

If you are a non-EU citizen already in the possession of a residence permit in the Netherlands for example for the purpose of study, looking for work after your studies or cultural exchange you can switch to a residence permit for the purpose of self-employment based on the cultural interest your presence in the Netherlands serves***.  

The application for a residence permit for the purpose of self-employment based on cultural interest is open to for example: visual artists, designers, musicians and performers. The residence permit allows you to work in self-employment only, which means that you will have to work on the basis of sending invoices. If your first application is approved you will receive a residence permit with a validity of 2 years.

The key part of a first application is to prove that your presence is 'in the cultural interest of the Netherlands’. This can be done by including an invitation letter from a publicly funded cultural organisation that wants to include you in their upcoming programme or by showing that you received a grant from one of the public funds yourself.  

It is important to understand that the project is planned in the future (you actually need the residence permit to allow you to be present in the Netherlands to do the work). The funding should come from:

- the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science; or,  
- one of the national public art funds: Performing Arts Fund, Dutch Film Fund, Dutch Foundation for Literature and the Mondriaan Fund; or,
- one of the four main cities directly (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag or Utrecht) or one of their art funds: for example Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunsten (AFK) and Stroom Den Haag.  

In addition to an upcoming project, you need to have an active business registered at the Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel), an updated CV and a bookkeeper to draft a projection of your estimated income for the coming two years (the validity of the residence permit you are applying for) stating that you will meet the income requirement for self-employed entrepreneurs currently (1 January- 30 June 2024) € 1,564.47 on average gross profit per month.  

The application fee is currently (2024) € 380,-. Please check the IND website for the most up-to-date information

***For relevant legislation please refer to art. 3.30 Vreemdelingenbesluit and Vreemdelingencirculaire B6/§4.5 (in Dutch).

This article has been written by Laurens Meijer. Additional research and information is gathered and edited by Judith van der Kooij at DutchCulture’s Mobility Info Point. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to us via infopoint@dutchculture.nl.

Please be aware that although the information provided is gathered with utmost care this article cannot serve as a legal basis for any type of action and no rights can be derived from it.