Application procedure for young companies to become recognised sponsor have changed

13 April 2016 As a rule, a company that wants to employ and file for visa and work permit applications for highly skilled migrants from outside the EU must be approved as recognised sponsor by the Dutch Immigration Service. For companies existing for longer than 1.5 years this application procedure is relatively straightforward. Companies existing less than 1.5 year have to go through a thorough assessment by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.

This is changed as of 1 April 2016 for four categories of companies:

1. The company is a full daughter company of a company that is already a recognised sponsor.
2. The company is the result of a merger between companies, and the merged companies are recognised sponsors.
3. The company is taken over by a company that is already a recognised sponsor.
4. The legal entity of the company that is a recognised sponsor has changed, and the notary deed of the new legal entity shows that the commercial activities of the new company have not been expanded, and the control or management in the company have remained the same.