Looking to join partner but not sure how to continue working remotely

I believe that 16 hours limit would only be for direct employment with a Dutch company. So far as I'm aware, no work limitation from the IND affects remote work with a non-Dutch company. You should call the IND and inquire directly, they're very helpful.

@carincan Thank you!! I wasn't sure about this. I'll call and see what they say

@carincan Thank you!! I wasn't sure about this. I'll call and see what they say

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

I hope you get a yes from the IND, but I suspect you will be told no; in the link you provided is the statement "you are allowed to work full-time, but not for one and the same employer for the duration of the entire year".

Further, self-employed are required to be working for more than one customer in an activity that is of benefit to the Dutch economy (I'm paraphrasing, but I hope you get the gist).

There are other difficulties that are yet to be addressed by the Dutch Government, i.e. compulsory medical insurance, work contracts, holiday pay, health and safety in the workplace, 3rd party insurance protection are all requirements for every other employer in the Netherlands, so how will your employer meet their legal obligations.  It may be worthwhile checking if there is a Collective Labour Agreement (CAO) in place for your profession.

Please come back to us and let us know what the IND say.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

UPDATE:

I spoke with the IND directly and since I am not linked to the dutch labour market, i.e. working for a company outside of Netherlands, I am allowed to work as many hours as I want.

Hopefully this helps someone.

Hi Dave, thanks for the post.

I am in a similar situation to you. My partner and I are both Canadians and she'll be starting a masters program in the fall in Amsterdam. I also currently work full-time as an independent contractor software developer for a Swiss tech company. I am also considering getting a Working Holiday Permit (WHP) in order to get a residence permit in the Netherlands.

Good to hear that the IND told you that since you're not linked to the Dutch labour market you can work as many hours as you want. That is really useful information, thanks. I got, what I perceive to be, slightly different information from the IND but I think this may be because they just don't have a well defined a policy on the situation.

I sent an email to the IND asking: "Under the Working Holiday Programme, would I be allowed to work remotely full-time as a contractor for a Swiss company while living in the Netherlands?". They reply a few days ago saying:

Residence under the WHP scheme is meant to learn about Dutch culture and society.
Therefore your employment rights in the Netherlands are limited.
Also see https://ind.nl/en/exchange/Pages/working-holiday.aspx on the bottom of this page you will find information about your employment rights.

However these restrictions applies to work in the Netherlands. But the IND does not give allowance at all for employment abroad.
Be aware the IND might conclude remote employment abroad is in conflict with your purpose of residence, which is finally to experience and to learn about Dutch society and culture.
If so the IND will inform you about the possibility to withdraw your residence right.

Would love to hear if you've any further thoughts or information on the matter.

Dave, as a follow up, could I ask what your plan is for paying taxes in the Netherlands if working as a Canadian for a non-Dutch company?

I have looked into the Canada-Netherlands Income Tax Convention which I understand to be the double taxation agreement between Canada and the Netherlands. I inquired to a tax firm in the Netherlands and they said

We have
article 7 that profit you earn is taxed in the country where you life.
Article 14 that you are nearly an employee, but not an entrepreneur
Article 15 that you are an employee

Article 21A you refer to is unknown source of income, but not applicable for labour you have done.

So what will it be?

For all articles the main rule is that you are to pay the tax of the country where the labour is actually done.

My best guess is that the relevant article to my (our?) situation is article 14. Therefore, as far as I understand, we will need to pay taxes to the Dutch government on the portion of income while we are in the Netherlands.

Do you have any thoughts or information on the taxation topic?

Hi John!

So I have called the IND / Dutch consulate in Toronto many times and I did get a few different answers until finally they said basically the IND said, let us confirm with the "higher ups" and we'll call you with a definite answer. So I am fairly confident in this answer.

As long as you can prove a committed relationship with your girlfriend, you are eligible to be sponsored on her residency permit (which you can apply for in Canada by mail or once you're in the Netherlands at the local IND office)  This is the application my fiancee will use to apply on my behalf for my residency permit. I am basically hitched to her residency permit.

Since she is a student she has no working rights, I am technically given no working rights. However, the IND said since I am not linked to the Dutch labour market with my current role, I am free to work for a Danish company as much as I want. Which is great news. Since I will just continue invoicing my current company and work in the Netherlands but not break any residency permit laws.

I also called the Schiphol airport border control (very kind people if you have questions haha), about me entering and they said as long as I enter the Netherlands with my fiancee and we can prove we are going to love together, I can enter without a residency permit. Because I wasn't sure if the Netherlands was allowing Canadian tourists to enter or not. Since I would have technically have been a tourist if I didn't have my own residency permit because I am applying once I am in Utrecht. I would recommend filing out this form before, although they didn't seem like it was a necessity. https://www.government.nl/documents/for … -exemption

I was told by the IND I would need to pay taxes to the Netherlands since I'll be earning an income while living there. I haven't looked into it too deeply, but from what you sent Section 14 seems the most applicable to our very similar situation.

I apologize if this is confusing but I'm here to answer any questions you have. So don't hesitate to ask. I know how stressful this was for me so I'm happy to pass on what I've learned.

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your update. I looked at the Partner visa but I was initially dissuaded by the income requirement because my partner, as a student, will not have income while she is studying. However, reading the info a bit further, it seems that in the case of a student "funds in a bank account" can work. So I plan to pursue the Partner visa as well.   

For those interested: https://ind.nl/en/Pages/income-requirements-family.aspx

You have a residence permit for study, scientific research, orientation year or start-up
Besides income from work you may include other income sources. For example, a grant, funds on a bank account or financing by another person.