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Working Holiday Program: regulation more strict
The regulations for the Working Holiday Program (WHP) and Working Holiday Scheme (WHS) are more strict. Under these programs persons until the age of 31, with the nationality of Argentina, Australia, Canada, South Korea and New-Zealand can easily qualify for a residence permit in the Netherlands. They only have to show that they have a return ticket or the means to buy a return ticket.
Foreigners holding a WHS or WHP permit are also free on the Dutch labour market, meaning that their employer does not have to have a work permit. Employers in the Netherlands made use of the Working Holiday Program and Working Holiday Scheme to have foreigners that qualify for this permit to work for them a full year. This is no longer allowed with the change in regulation. Foreigners in the possession of a Working Holiday Program or Working Holiday Scheme permit are only allowed to perform ‘incidental work’. That is work that is required to earn sufficient means to be able to pay for the costs of their living in the Netherlands. The new regulation explicitly states that the Working Holiday Program and Working Holiday Scheme are nor meant for labour migrants, highly skilled migrants or au-pairs. The regulation enters into force retroactively as of 1 October 2017.