The DAFT visa and the new IND pilot

The DAFT visa is a huge opportunity for US (and Japanese, under the Japanese Trade Treaty) entrepreneurs who want to reside and work in the Netherlands.

The general requirements for the DAFT visa are well-known, such as having to open a business in the Netherlands, having to invest a minimum of 4.500 euros and running an active business. What is less known is that as of April 1, 2024, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) has a new, temporary pilot for dealing with DAFT visa applications.

The standard DAFT visa process

Prior to April 1, 2024, before the IND would approve a DAFT visa application, they would check to see if the applicant had fulfilled all the conditions of the DAFT visa. The DAFT visa applicant had to provide:

• A chamber of commerce registration
• A business bank account with the investment of 4.500 euros
• A balance sheet from their accountant
• The deed of incorporation for a company

The IND would only issue an  approval for the DAFT visa if the aforementioned documents were provided to the IND in advance.

The new IND DAFT visa pilot

As of April 1, 2024, the IND will now give approval for a DAFT visa application upfront. The DAFT visa applicant no longer needs to provide the chamber of commerce registration, business bank statement or the balance sheet of the accountant in advance in order to get approval for their DAFT visa.

The new IND DAFT visa pilot has huge benefits for DAFT visa applicants. They’re no longer tied to long, time-consuming procedures before being able to obtain the DAFT visa approval from the IND. Before the new IND pilot began, ensuring they were registered and had all the necessary paperwork meant the procedure could often take up to six months.

Because of the new IND pilot, the path to the IND approval now only takes one or two months.

Challenges with the new IND pilot

While the new pilot shortens the length of getting the DAFT visa approval, it also brings its own challenges for DAFT visa applicants. While the applicant no longer needs to obtain these documents and proofs in advance of getting their DAFT visa approved, they still need to make sure that within six months of their DAFT visa approval, they have obtained:

• A chamber of commerce registration
• A business bank account statement
• A balance sheet from their accountant

A part of the IND pilot is that the IND might audit the DAFT visa applicant to see if the company is registered within the chamber of commerce, the business bank account is set-up and the balance sheet form the accountant is obtained.

Important to know

There are restrictions on who can make use of this new pilot process:

• The new IND pilot only extends to DAFT visa applicants who are registered and are residents outside of the Netherlands.
• DAFT visa applicants who are already registered in the Netherlands with a valid residence permit don’t fall under the IND pilot. They will have to provide a chamber of commerce registration, a business bank statement and a balance sheet from their accountant to the IND in order to obtain approval from the IND.
• The information in this article also applies to entrepreneurs with the Japanese nationality, under the Japanese Trade Treaty.