Good news! Ukrainian war refugees will no longer need a work permit to get a job in the Netherlands.
This work permit exception will come into effect on April 1 and will make it easier for Dutch employers to hire Ukrainians looking for a job, reports RTL Nieuws.
Hiring non-EU nationals
Under normal circumstances, a Dutch employer would have to go through a whole series of steps to be able to hire someone from outside the EU or Switzerland, including applying for a visa for the potential employee.
Hiring a non-EU/non-Swiss national would also require the employer to prove that they couldn’t find a suitable candidate on the Dutch and European labour market through a so-called ‘labour market test’.
Sounds like a bureaucratic nightmare? That’s because it is. These rules make it pretty much impossible to hire someone from outside the EU/Switzerland who doesn’t count as, for example, a highly skilled migrant.
No more paperwork
The work permit exception is great news for the many Ukrainians fleeing the war. “I want to work. I don’t want to sit on the couch all day and watch my country being destroyed,” Ela Lochalowa tells RTL Nieuws.
What do you think of the government’s decision? Let us know in the comments!