Netherlands DAFT Visa

The Netherlands doesn't have a separate “DAFT visa.” What U.S. applicants usually mean is the Dutch self-employed residence permit, applied for under the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty. That treaty gives American entrepreneurs and freelancers a much cleaner route than the standard self-employed permit and it’s a real residence permit, not a tourist workaround.

For most Americans, the appeal is simple. You’re not trying to squeeze business activity into a 90-day Schengen stay and you’re not stuck with the stricter points test used for ordinary self-employed applications. If you qualify, you can live in the Netherlands and work for yourself on a legal basis.

Who it’s for

• U.S. nationals: The treaty route is aimed at Americans, though the IND also applies similar treaty rules to Japanese nationals under a separate agreement.
• Self-employed workers: Freelancers, sole proprietors and business owners who want to operate in the Netherlands.
• Business operators: People developing and leading a Dutch business or representing a U.S. company in a key role.
• Independent professionals: Some solo professionals can qualify, though a few professions are excluded.

The headline financial requirement is straightforward. For most business forms, the IND requires a minimum investment of €4,500 in the Dutch business. That money has to stay in the business and the permit is generally valid for a maximum of 2 years at a time.

What you still have to do

• Register with the KvK: You still need to set up the business properly in the Dutch Chamber of Commerce.
• Meet general permit rules: Passport validity, public-order checks and health insurance still matter.
• Show the business is real: The IND still expects proper documentation, plus annual accounts or a balance sheet when you renew.
• Apply for family members if needed: Spouses and children can usually come as dependants and family members of self-employed permit holders are free to work without a work permit once they have residence status.

One big upside is that this route gives you actual residence rights. That means you can register in the municipal database, get a BSN and plug into Dutch systems that tourists can’t access. It’s paperwork-heavy and the extension process isn’t especially fun, but if you want a stable base in the Netherlands, this is the route Americans usually use.

Who qualifies for DAFT

The Dutch-American Friendship Treaty is a narrow route, not a broad freelance visa. It’s open to U.S. citizens who are setting up or running a business in the Netherlands and can put €4,500 of substantial capital into that business. The treaty is handled under the regular self-employed residence permit, but the usual points test doesn’t apply here.

You still need to meet the standard immigration rules, which means a valid passport, no public-order or national-security issues and no immigration fraud on your record. The IND also expects you to be genuinely self-employed in the Netherlands, not just holding a paper company.

• Main applicant: U.S. citizen only. U.S. permanent residents don’t qualify and the treaty also has a separate Japanese track that doesn’t help other nationalities.
• Business setup: You need to be working as an entrepreneur, usually as a sole proprietor, partnership or BV registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce.
• Capital: At least €4,500 invested in the Dutch business. For extensions, that money is expected to stay in the business.
• General conditions: Valid passport, clean immigration history and no threat to public order or national security.

DAFT isn’t for people employed by a foreign company who want to keep things exactly as they are. If you’re a remote worker, you usually need to structure yourself as a real business owner or freelancer so the application matches the permit category.

Family members can often come along under the self-employed residence rules, but they file their own applications. Spouses or partners and minor children normally get residence permits with work allowed, no separate work permit required.

What the money side looks like

The capital requirement is a one-time investment, not a monthly income floor. The official material doesn’t give a DAFT-specific monthly income threshold, so don’t rely on blog claims about a fixed earnings minimum unless the IND says so.

The main government fee for the self-employed permit, including DAFT cases, is €423. The IND says the decision period is up to 90 days for a complete application, though it can stretch if something’s missing or extra review is needed.

The DAFT route is the Dutch self-employed residence permit for U.S. citizens under the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty. The Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service or IND, treats it like the regular self-employed permit, just with a treaty-based shortcut and a much simpler capital rule.

The main financial requirement is blunt: €4,500 in business capital. That money has to stay in the business, not just pass through an account for a day. For extensions, the IND asks for annual accounts plus a balance sheet or income statement to check that the company stayed active and the capital remained in place.

The IND’s 2026 application form also makes the paperwork side pretty clear, though not exactly light. You’ll need:

• Application form: Form 7524, the self-employed application that includes the DAFT appendix.
• Passport copies: A copy of your passport identity page and all pages with travel stamps. Empty pages don’t need to be copied.
• KVK registration: Proof of registration with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, no older than 3 months or the KVK number entered on the form.
• Financial proof: Supporting documents checked by an independent expert such as a chartered accountant, bookkeeping professional or financial adviser.
• Business bank documents: A statement showing the invested amount and the opening balance, plus the right formation or incorporation papers for your business type.

The exact supporting papers depend on how you set up the business. A sole trader needs a business bank statement and an opening balance sheet. A partnership needs the formation deed or contract showing each partner’s contribution, plus the opening balance and bank statement. A BV or NV needs the deed of incorporation, opening balance and business bank statement.

The fee is €423 for the main self-employed application. The IND says it should decide within 90 days, though that can be extended by up to 6 months if it needs outside advice or if your file isn’t complete. The permit can be issued for a maximum of 2 years and after 5 years of lawful residence you can apply for permanent residence if you meet the other conditions.

Source 1 | Source 2

The money side of DAFT is straightforward, but it isn’t cheap. The main government fee for a residence permit to work as a self-employed person, which covers DAFT, is €423 for a first application, a change in purpose of stay or an extension. The IND uses the same fee table for 2026 and it doesn’t publish a separate DAFT processing charge on top of that.

That €423 is the official fee for the main applicant. Using a rough exchange rate of €1 to $1.08, that comes out to about $457, though the Dutch government only charges in euros.

• Main applicant fee: €423, about $457
• Partner fee: €254, about $274
• Child under 18 fee: €85, about $92

If your partner or children apply under a family route tied to your status, the IND fee schedule lists those separate charges. Private costs are a different story and the official portals don’t bundle them into one neat total.

The core DAFT financial requirement is also pretty clear, even if some blogs muddy it. The IND says most forms require a minimum investment of €4,500 in your business and that’s the figure currently tied to the self-employed and DAFT route. Using the same rough conversion, that’s about $4,860.

One thing the IND doesn't give you is a tidy all-in budget. You’ll still need to pay for Dutch health insurance, translations, legalization or apostilles for foreign documents and, if you hire one, legal or relocation help. Those costs vary too much to pin down from the official sources alone.

Timing matters too, because cash tied up in the application isn’t moving anywhere fast. The IND says it must decide within 90 days, though it can extend that by up to 6 months if it asks RVO or OCW for advice or if your file is incomplete. The initial permit can be valid for up to 2 years and after 5 years of legal residence you can apply for permanent residence.

Source 1 | Source 2

The DAFT route sits inside the Dutch self-employed residence permit, so you’re not applying for a separate “DAFT visa” in the strict sense. For U.S. citizens, the treaty gives you a much easier path, but the core requirement is still the same: you need to put at least €4,500 into a Dutch business.

The official IND fee for the main applicant is €423 in 2026. If you’re bringing family, the fees are separate, with a partner application listed at €254 and a child under 18 at €85.

How the application works

The IND doesn’t run a special DAFT portal. You use the self-employed application and follow the DAFT conditions inside it. The process depends on whether you need an MVV, which is the provisional residence permit used before entry.

• If you need an MVV: apply at a Dutch embassy or consulate, bring the completed form, passport photo and valid passport, then send the full application to the IND in the Netherlands within 3 weeks.
• If you’re already in the Netherlands and MVV-exempt: submit the application by post within 3 months after arrival.
• If you’re applying as a U.S. citizen under DAFT: the usual path is the in-country, written-by-post application, but the IND page doesn’t spell out the exemption on this form, so check the MVV rules before you file.

What you need to show

The public IND page doesn’t publish one neat DAFT document checklist and that’s annoying. The application form itself lists the required documents, but the basics are straightforward.

• Passport: a valid U.S. passport for identity and nationality.
• Business evidence: proof of your Dutch business activity and the €4,500 investment.
• Legalized papers: any foreign documents that need legalization and translation into Dutch, English, French or German.
• For extensions: annual accounts plus a balance sheet or income statement showing the business has been active and the invested capital is still in the business.

The IND doesn’t list a fixed processing time on the DAFT page, so don’t build your move around a guess. File early, keep your paperwork clean and make sure the business money really sits in the Dutch company, because the IND checks that again when you extend.

DAFT doesn’t give you a forever visa on day one. It gives you a 2-year residence permit first, under the self-employed person category and that’s the standard starting point for U.S. citizens using the treaty route.

After that first permit, the usual renewal is 5 years, assuming you still meet the DAFT conditions. The Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service doesn’t publish a fixed total cap on how long you can stay under DAFT, so in practice you can keep extending it as long as your business remains active and your required capital stays in place.

What IND checks at renewal

• Business activity: IND wants annual accounts plus a balance sheet or income statement to show the company has actually been operating.
• Required capital: The investment in the business needs to remain at or above €4,500.
• Registration: You should still be registered with the municipality and the Chamber of Commerce, with your main residence in the Netherlands.

The renewal fee is €423 for both the initial application and the extension. The official decision period is 90 days, though IND can extend that if it needs outside advice or if your file isn’t complete. In real life, some cases move faster, but you shouldn’t plan your life around that.

How DAFT leads to permanent status

Once you’ve had lawful residence for 5 years, you can apply for permanent residence. Dutch citizenship is also an option after 5 years if you meet the general rules, but that’s a separate process and it doesn’t happen automatically just because you’ve renewed DAFT a few times.

So the clean version is this, DAFT starts with 2 years, usually renews into a 5-year permit and can keep going beyond that if your business and paperwork stay in good shape. It’s not the most relaxed system, but it's one of the more stable long-term routes for American entrepreneurs in the Netherlands.

The DAFT permit is an immigration route, not a tax break. If you live in the Netherlands under DAFT, the Dutch tax authorities generally treat you like any other resident taxpayer, so your income is taxed under the normal Dutch rules for residents and self-employed people.

That usually means Dutch tax on your worldwide income if the Netherlands is your real home base. There’s no DAFT-specific reduced rate, no special exemption and no separate tax regime built into the permit itself. Any double-tax relief comes from the usual tax-treaty rules, not from DAFT.

What that means in practice

• Resident tax status: If you live in the Netherlands, you’re generally a resident taxpayer. The tax office looks at where you actually live, not just the label on your residence permit.
• Foreign income: Income earned outside the Netherlands can still fall into the Dutch tax picture. Whether it’s taxed, exempt or offset with a credit depends on the treaty and the type of income.
• No DAFT discount: The DAFT track doesn’t come with its own lower income tax rate or flat tax deal.
• Expat tax relief: The 30% facility is a separate employee scheme. It’s not part of DAFT, though someone who later switches into Dutch employment may be able to apply if they meet the normal rules.

You should also expect standard Dutch filing and registration obligations once you settle in. DAFT holders are normally registered as residents in the municipal records and that lines up with resident taxpayer status. The paperwork side can feel fussy, but that’s the Dutch system for you.

Don’t ignore the US side

For Americans, this gets more annoying, not less. The Netherlands and the United States have treaty rules to reduce double taxation, so you don’t pay tax twice on the same income, but you still may need to file in both countries.

That means the Dutch return, treaty relief and your US filing position all need to match up cleanly. If your income is mostly freelance or business income from clients outside the Netherlands, it’s smart to get tax advice early, because the answer can change depending on how you’re paid and where the work is tied to.