Netherlands – Cross border workers no longer limited to 90 out of 180 days
Effective immediately, third country nationals resident in another member state (for example Belgium or Germany) who work in the Netherlands with a work permit but return to their country of residence at least once a week (so-called “cross border workers” or “frontier workers”) are no longer limited to 90 days stay in the Netherlands in any 180-day period.
The Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) has removed the reference to this limit from its website and confirmed that cross border workers are indeed exempt from the 90/180 days limit.
Background
According to the 1990 Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 1985, and the Schengen Borders Code (562/2006), a non-EU national holding a residence permit issued by a Member State of the EU can enter another Schengen State for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180 days.
Since a new Dutch migration policy was introduced in 2013, the IND website has made reference to the restriction of 90 days out of 180 for Cross Border Worker status. On the other hand, the labour office (UWV) has continued to issue work permits for cross border workers with full time contracts. In practice many companies have continued to allow their cross border workers to work full time in the Netherlands.
Action Items
- Employers of cross border workers in the Netherlands who may benefit from this clarification are advised to consult their immigration specialist for more details.