Private servants - NL Host Nation
6. Private servants
6.1 General information
This chapter outlines the Dutch policy on private servants of staff members of international organisations. Private servants are individuals in the service of persons who have been granted privileges and immunities under the relevant headquarters agreement.
6.2 Employing private servants
Scope for employing private servants
Only staff members of international organisations who enjoy the privilege of employing a private servant can register a private servant.
No family member or relative by blood or marriage up to the fourth degree of kinship as defined in Dutch law (that is, no parent, child, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, grandparent, grandchild, great-grandparent, great-grandchild, great-great-grandparent, great-great-grandchild, great-aunt, great-uncle, great-niece, great-nephew or first cousin) of a staff member or of a staff member’s spouse may be employed as a private servant in the staff member’s household.
A private servant is not allowed to be accompanied by family members.
Work permit for private servants
Employers of private servants are exempt from the requirement to obtain a work permit for their private servant(s).
Private servants may not be employed by a person other than the one whose name is stated in the employment contract. This restriction is indicated on the back of the servant’s identity card.
Tax status of private servants
Private servants working for employers with AO status are exempt from taxes on their earnings from employment, provided that they are neither Dutch nationals nor permanently resident in the Netherlands.
Social security status of private servants
Private servants of staff members with AO status are exempt from the obligation to pay national social insurance contributions, provided that they are covered by the social security regulations of their own country or of a third country. An employer with AO status who employs a private servant who is not covered by the social security system of their own country, of a third country or of the International 22 Organisation, must comply with the obligations which Dutch social security provisions impose on employers, and must therefore register as an employer with the Tax and Customs Administration., see: Melding Loonheffingen Werkgever van personeel aan huis
6.3 Admission of private servants
Before private servants from a country whose nationals require a visa for the Netherlands may enter the country, they must apply for a visa at a Dutch diplomatic mission or consular post in their country of origin or of habitual residence. If there is no Dutch diplomatic mission or consular post in their country of origin or of habitual residence, their employers are requested to send an email to the Short Stay Visa Service of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), which falls under the Ministry of Justice and Security (email address: visa.posten@ind.nl). The Short Stay Visa Service provides advice on visa issues on a case-by-case basis.
Please bear in mind that processing a visa application can take up to four weeks, as it is sometimes necessary to consult one or more of the other Schengen countries.
Before the visa application is submitted to the Dutch diplomatic mission or consular post, the international organisation must report the private servant’s appointment to the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by means of a Note Verbale. The Note Verbale should include the following details:
The Protocol Department will determine whether the servant and the employer have complied with the conditions and notify the Short Stay Visa Service of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), which falls under the Ministry of Justice and Security.
6.4 Registration of private servants
The international organisation for which the employer works must register the private servant with the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within ten working days of the servant’s arrival in the Netherlands through the ePortal.
6.5 Identity card for private servants
The validity of a private servant’s identity card is linked to the validity of the employer’s identity card. The card will initially be issued twice for six months and afterwards for a maximum period of one year, unless the contract with the employer has a shorter duration.
Private servants are expected to collect their cards (with a valid ID) in person from the Ministry’s Protocol Department, located at Rijnstraat 8, 2515 XP The Hague, after receiving notification that it is ready for collection.
6.6 Mandatory provisions of Dutch employment legislation
It is imperative that the terms and conditions of employment comply with the mandatory provisions of Dutch employment legislation. The employer and employee may opt for the applicability of a foreign legal system as the basis of an employment contract, but even then the contract should contain the mandatory provisions of Dutch legislation.
Mandatory provisions of Dutch employment legislation include the following:
6.7 Mandatory bank account
As of 1 June 2015, employers are obliged to pay a private servant’s salary into a Dutch bank account (or a bank account in another EU country) held by the private servant. Newly registered private servants must produce proof of existence of a personal bank account within 90 days of their registration with the Ministry. The agreed salary must be paid into this account by the employer on a monthly basis. Cash payment of salaries is not permitted. The Ministry reserves the right to request private servants to provide bank statements for verification purposes.
6.8 Health insurance for private servants
Private servants registered in the Dutch social insurance system must take out standard health insurance. Private servants not registered in the Dutch social insurance system cannot be insured under the national medical insurance scheme (ziektekostenverzekering) but must take out an expatriate health insurance policy.
If an insurer requires proof of registration in the Netherlands before issuing the policy, the Ministry can send a copy of the identity card. If a private servant collects the identity card from the Ministry, the card will only be issued after a copy of the insurance policy has been submitted.
Employers can register private servants who fall under the Dutch social security system, with the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration through the following link: Melding Loonheffingen
The completed form should be sent to the server mailbox: Haaglanden.CB_IFB@belastingdienst.nl, instead of the address mentioned on the form.
6.9 Duration of the work contract
A private servant’s right to stay in the Netherlands depends on the existence of a valid employment contract with a privileged person as employer. Private servants are not allowed to change jobs in the Netherlands. The servant must leave the Netherlands in the following circumstances:
6.10 Departure of the private servant
Privileged employers, at whose request the private servant has been granted entry to the Netherlands, are responsible for the final departure of their private servants from the Schengen area, except in those cases where the private servant is a national of an EU member state. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expects the employer to:
6.11 Locally recruited private servants
Only holders of a valid residence and work permit may be employed.
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This chapter outlines the Dutch policy on private servants of staff members of international organisations. Private servants are individuals in the service of persons who have been granted privileges and immunities under the relevant headquarters agreement.
6.2 Employing private servants
Scope for employing private servants
Only staff members of international organisations who enjoy the privilege of employing a private servant can register a private servant.
No family member or relative by blood or marriage up to the fourth degree of kinship as defined in Dutch law (that is, no parent, child, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, grandparent, grandchild, great-grandparent, great-grandchild, great-great-grandparent, great-great-grandchild, great-aunt, great-uncle, great-niece, great-nephew or first cousin) of a staff member or of a staff member’s spouse may be employed as a private servant in the staff member’s household.
A private servant is not allowed to be accompanied by family members.
Work permit for private servants
Employers of private servants are exempt from the requirement to obtain a work permit for their private servant(s).
Private servants may not be employed by a person other than the one whose name is stated in the employment contract. This restriction is indicated on the back of the servant’s identity card.
Tax status of private servants
Private servants working for employers with AO status are exempt from taxes on their earnings from employment, provided that they are neither Dutch nationals nor permanently resident in the Netherlands.
Social security status of private servants
Private servants of staff members with AO status are exempt from the obligation to pay national social insurance contributions, provided that they are covered by the social security regulations of their own country or of a third country. An employer with AO status who employs a private servant who is not covered by the social security system of their own country, of a third country or of the International 22 Organisation, must comply with the obligations which Dutch social security provisions impose on employers, and must therefore register as an employer with the Tax and Customs Administration., see: Melding Loonheffingen Werkgever van personeel aan huis
6.3 Admission of private servants
Before private servants from a country whose nationals require a visa for the Netherlands may enter the country, they must apply for a visa at a Dutch diplomatic mission or consular post in their country of origin or of habitual residence. If there is no Dutch diplomatic mission or consular post in their country of origin or of habitual residence, their employers are requested to send an email to the Short Stay Visa Service of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), which falls under the Ministry of Justice and Security (email address: visa.posten@ind.nl). The Short Stay Visa Service provides advice on visa issues on a case-by-case basis.
Please bear in mind that processing a visa application can take up to four weeks, as it is sometimes necessary to consult one or more of the other Schengen countries.
Before the visa application is submitted to the Dutch diplomatic mission or consular post, the international organisation must report the private servant’s appointment to the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by means of a Note Verbale. The Note Verbale should include the following details:
- the personal details (name, date and place of birth and nationality) of the private servant;
- their passport number and passport expiration date;
- the employer’s name and the position the employer holds at the international organisation;
- a copy of the servant’s full-time employment contract;
- a declaration in which the employer guarantees to take full responsibility for the servant and pay all costs that may arise during the period in which the private servant resides in the Netherlands, plus any repatriation costs;
- if the private servant is covered by the social security regulations of their own country or of a third country, a statement to this effect by the authorities of their own country or of the third country;
- in cases where the private servant is not covered by the social security regulations of their home country or a third country: evidence that the employer is registered with the tax authorities in the Netherlands as the servant’s employer;
- the starting date and duration of the servant’s employment contract;
- private servants of persons who are themselves employed by a member of a diplomatic mission do not benefit under the permit free arrangements and therefore require work permits and have to follow Dutch regulations (see section 6.6).
The Protocol Department will determine whether the servant and the employer have complied with the conditions and notify the Short Stay Visa Service of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), which falls under the Ministry of Justice and Security.
6.4 Registration of private servants
The international organisation for which the employer works must register the private servant with the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within ten working days of the servant’s arrival in the Netherlands through the ePortal.
6.5 Identity card for private servants
The validity of a private servant’s identity card is linked to the validity of the employer’s identity card. The card will initially be issued twice for six months and afterwards for a maximum period of one year, unless the contract with the employer has a shorter duration.
Private servants are expected to collect their cards (with a valid ID) in person from the Ministry’s Protocol Department, located at Rijnstraat 8, 2515 XP The Hague, after receiving notification that it is ready for collection.
6.6 Mandatory provisions of Dutch employment legislation
It is imperative that the terms and conditions of employment comply with the mandatory provisions of Dutch employment legislation. The employer and employee may opt for the applicability of a foreign legal system as the basis of an employment contract, but even then the contract should contain the mandatory provisions of Dutch legislation.
Mandatory provisions of Dutch employment legislation include the following:
- employees must earn at least the minimum wage and must receive 8% holiday pay, in accordance with Dutch legislation (for the latest update on the minimum wage, please consult the website of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment at ammount minimum wage;
- no employment contract may be terminated while the employee is sick or pregnant;
- salaries must be paid in a timely manner;
- different treatment of employees is not permitted; treatment must be on an equal basis, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, religion or political beliefs;
- employees must be given paid leave (a minimum of 20 working days’ leave per year).
6.7 Mandatory bank account
As of 1 June 2015, employers are obliged to pay a private servant’s salary into a Dutch bank account (or a bank account in another EU country) held by the private servant. Newly registered private servants must produce proof of existence of a personal bank account within 90 days of their registration with the Ministry. The agreed salary must be paid into this account by the employer on a monthly basis. Cash payment of salaries is not permitted. The Ministry reserves the right to request private servants to provide bank statements for verification purposes.
6.8 Health insurance for private servants
Private servants registered in the Dutch social insurance system must take out standard health insurance. Private servants not registered in the Dutch social insurance system cannot be insured under the national medical insurance scheme (ziektekostenverzekering) but must take out an expatriate health insurance policy.
If an insurer requires proof of registration in the Netherlands before issuing the policy, the Ministry can send a copy of the identity card. If a private servant collects the identity card from the Ministry, the card will only be issued after a copy of the insurance policy has been submitted.
Employers can register private servants who fall under the Dutch social security system, with the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration through the following link: Melding Loonheffingen
The completed form should be sent to the server mailbox: Haaglanden.CB_IFB@belastingdienst.nl, instead of the address mentioned on the form.
6.9 Duration of the work contract
A private servant’s right to stay in the Netherlands depends on the existence of a valid employment contract with a privileged person as employer. Private servants are not allowed to change jobs in the Netherlands. The servant must leave the Netherlands in the following circumstances:
- when the employment contract comes to an end or is terminated;
- when the employer’s posting in the Netherlands ends;
- if the employer ceases to be a staff member of the diplomatic mission or consular post;
- if the employer fails to comply with the conditions subject to which they may employ a private servant.
6.10 Departure of the private servant
Privileged employers, at whose request the private servant has been granted entry to the Netherlands, are responsible for the final departure of their private servants from the Schengen area, except in those cases where the private servant is a national of an EU member state. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expects the employer to:
- ensure that the private servant returns their identity card to the Ministry’s Protocol Department;
- ensure to provide the Ministry with proof of the servant’s arrangements for travel to a non-Schengen country.
6.11 Locally recruited private servants
Only holders of a valid residence and work permit may be employed.
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