Dutch Startup Visa
built around the business.
A one-year founder programme for innovative non-EU entrepreneurs building a Dutch company with an experienced facilitator and a credible path from idea to operation.
↓What is the Dutch Startup Visa programme?
The Dutch Startup Visa is a one-year residence route for ambitious entrepreneurs from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland who want to establish an innovative company in the Netherlands. It is not awarded for an idea alone: the founder must work with an experienced facilitator, demonstrate genuine innovation and present a structured plan for developing the venture into a viable business.
The programme connects three parties. The facilitator guides the founder and the business, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) advises on the facilitator, innovation and step-by-step plan, and the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) makes the residence decision. A strong application therefore needs to work as both a credible startup strategy and a coherent residence file.
What makes a Startup Visa case credible.
The programme tests more than novelty. The founder, facilitator, innovation, execution plan and resources must form one realistic Dutch startup case.
Innovative
The product, service, technology, process or organisational approach must be new or meaningfully different—and its value in the Dutch market context must be clear.
Facilitated
The founder needs a signed cooperation agreement with an experienced facilitator whose support package, independence and expertise fit the venture.
Executable
A step-by-step plan must show how the founder will move from the current development stage to an operating company through concrete activities, roles and milestones.
Founder-ready
The applicant must take an active entrepreneurial role, meet the applicable registration and financial-resource requirements, and be capable of delivering the proposed plan.
From innovative venture to Dutch startup.
Facilitator selection, application development and government assessment are connected. Every stage must strengthen the same innovation and execution story.
Test the route
Assess founder eligibility, innovation, Dutch relevance, development stage, evidence gaps and whether the Startup Visa is the right pathway.
Align with a facilitator
Establish strategic fit, define the guidance relationship and agree the tailored support the venture needs during its first year.
Build the application case
Prepare the business plan, innovation argument, market evidence, financial logic, founder profile and step-by-step execution roadmap.
Submit for assessment
Present one coherent file so RVO can advise on the startup and facilitator while IND assesses the complete residence conditions.
Execute the first year
Deliver the agreed milestones with facilitator guidance, document progress and prepare the transition to the appropriate self-employed route.
Built for founders
with a market to enter.
International founders building a genuinely innovative product, service, technology or operating model
Early-stage ventures needing facilitator alignment and a defensible Dutch execution plan
Founders seeking strategic guidance from route assessment through first-year delivery
One connected
preparation strategy.
Founder and innovation assessment
We test the founder, venture, innovation, Dutch relevance and evidence gaps before major application work begins.
Facilitator-led application strategy
We connect the guidance relationship, business plan, innovation case, milestones and financial logic into one application strategy.
Application and first-year execution
We prepare the assessment file and shape a practical roadmap that remains useful after the residence permit is granted.
Assess.
Prepare.
Establish.
Assess
Evaluate programme fit, innovation strength, founder readiness and the strategic case for establishing in the Netherlands.
Build
Develop the facilitator alignment, business plan, evidence package, financial logic and step-by-step execution roadmap.
Execute
Coordinate the application path and turn the approved plan into measurable first-year progress with facilitator guidance.