Internship related to a Dutch study programme
30 May 2011
If you wish to do an internship as part of your study programme in the Netherlands, you are obliged to conclude a standard internship agreement with the employer.
Internship agreement
The employer does not need to apply for a work permit (tewerkstellingsvergunning, TWV) for you. The employer must, however, be able to present a standard internship agreement if the Labour Inspectorate so requests. Consequently, the employer must keep a copy of the internship agreement at the place of work and attach a copy of your passport to the agreement.
The standard internship agreement has been developed by the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU), the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (HBO-raad) and Nuffic. Employers are obliged to use this standard document. The internship agreement must be signed by you, the company providing the internship and the Dutch education institution where you are enrolled.
Download the internship agreement in English (159 KB)
Residence permit
You are resident in the Netherlands on the basis of a residence permit for the purpose of ‘study’. This residence permit remains valid while you are doing your internship. In other words, you do not need to apply for another residence permit.
Please note that you are only allowed to do an internship if you actually possess a pass-format residence permit. If your application for a residence permit or an extension of your residence permit is still being processed, you cannot begin the internship.
If you have either Bulgarian or Rumanian nationality, you may voluntarily apply for a residence permit. Also if you have no residence permit, you may use the internship agreement and it will not be necessary to apply for a TWV.
Internship remuneration
There are no rules governing the remuneration of internships or specifying how high internship remunerations should be. This is a matter between you and the internship provider. Internship remunerations have consequences for your liability to pay tax, your social security status and your obligation to have health insurance.
As long as a remuneration only concerns compensation for expenses, it will not be subject to taxation. Expenses include, for example, travel expenses. If any other form of payment is made, the internship provider must pay payroll tax and social security contributions. As an intern, you are socially insured in the Netherlands.
Healthcare insurance
If an actual remuneration is made for the internship (not including compensation for expenses), you will be obliged to take out a Dutch healthcare insurance policy as you will then come under the Dutch social security system. In that case, you can apply for a healthcare allowance.
If you do not receive an actual remuneration for the internship, the insurance policy under which you are insured during your study programme remains in force.