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Pathway

Netherlands DAFT Self-Employment Residence

Netherlands Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

The Dutch-American Friendship Treaty (DAFT) lets eligible U.S. citizens apply to live in the Netherlands while running a business. You must actually carry out business activity there and meet the treaty's requirements. This is part of the Dutch self-employment permit system. Japanese citizens have a separate, similar treaty route.

Citizenship
United States citizenship required
Business
Real Dutch business activity and required registration
Capital
Usually €4,500 for most business forms, retained in the business; check the applicable amount

Summary

The Dutch-American Friendship Treaty provides a Dutch residence route for qualifying American entrepreneurs carrying on real business activity, with the required registration and capital kept in the business. For most business forms the investment is €4,500, but the applicable form matters. Renewals require accounts demonstrating active operations, not merely a one-time deposit.

Fit the treaty activity, then meet the Dutch business obligations
  1. Confirm US citizenship and qualifying activity Match the planned self-employment to the IND’s treaty categories.
  2. Plan registration and required capital Choose the business form and check whether the first-application six-month completion rule applies to your case.
  3. Maintain the operating business Complete the required KvK and investment steps and preserve the qualifying capital and activity for continued residence.

DAFT is not passive residence from owning a US company. The capital requirement depends on business form, and separate employee work remains subject to the residence document’s endorsement.

Could this pathway work for you?

Eligibility

This pathway is a possible fit when all of the following are true:

Since April 2024, a person making a first treaty application who does not yet have a Dutch residence permit may register the business and make the investment within six months after receiving the permit. The IND can revoke the permit if those steps are not completed in time. Someone changing from another Dutch residence purpose must provide as much of the business and investment evidence as possible with the application.

At extension, the IND asks for annual accounts and a balance sheet or income statement. Those records must show that the business has been active and that the required invested capital remained in it. This is an operating-business route, not a one-time deposit test.

More about this route

The IND's self-employed permit page is the practical source. It says a DAFT applicant must trade between the Netherlands and the United States or develop and lead the Dutch operations of a qualifying business. This can include representing a US business in a key role, practicing an independent profession outside excluded government and healthcare work, or investing substantial capital in a Dutch business.

For most business forms, the IND currently treats €4,500 as the minimum substantial investment. The required amount can differ with the business form, so do not assume €4,500 applies to every structure.

What This Route Allows

An approved permit allows you to live in the Netherlands and carry out the self-employed activity stated on the residence document. The IND says the permit is normally valid for up to two years and can be extended if the treaty and business requirements continue to be met.

Your residence document will state your labor-market endorsement. It generally permits the approved self-employed work. Taking a separate job as an employee is different: the employer normally needs a work permit (TWV). Check the wording on the actual residence card before accepting other work.

Eligible family members may apply under the ordinary Dutch family rules. Their work rights depend on the endorsement placed on their own residence documents; the IND self-employed page currently states that the partner is free to work.

Time on this permit can form part of a longer Dutch residence history, but permanent residence or citizenship is a later, separate application with its own requirements.

What This Route Is Not

Next Steps

  1. Read the treaty section on the IND self-employed permit page and confirm that your citizenship and planned activity fit one of its listed situations.
  2. Choose the Dutch business form before relying on an investment figure. Confirm the capital rule for that form in the IND application instructions.
  3. Prepare clear evidence of what the business will do, your role, customers or trade links, any professional permissions, and the lawful source and transfer of the invested capital.
  4. Decide whether the first-application six-month registration and investment process applies to you, or whether evidence must accompany a change-of-purpose application.
  5. Follow the IND application process, including an MVV application if your circumstances require one. Use the current application form and fee shown by the IND rather than an amount quoted by a private website.
  6. After approval, complete KvK registration and the investment by the deadline stated in the decision. Keep business banking and accounting records from the start.
  7. Before extension, prepare annual accounts and evidence that the business operated and the required capital stayed in the business.

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Similar self-employed pathways in Netherlands and other destinations.

Sources