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How to start a business in the Netherlands

The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) has a lot of information on the various aspects of doing business in the Netherlands (taxation, labour, business law, establishing a facility, etc.). It is freely available through their website www.nfia.nl. You will find similar information on the website of the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce www.kvk.nl, (click on ‘English’) as well as on the website of the Netherlands Foreign Trade Agency (www.holland.com, click on 'Trade and Industry') or the website www.hollandtrade.com.

For information on customs, the website of the Netherlands customs, www.douane.nl has a variety of information available. When bringing products to the Netherlands and back to New Zealand, you should under certain circumstances use a carnet. Information on a carnet is available from the New Zealand customs website www.customs.govt.nz, click on importers or exporters.

Information on immigration rules and procedures in the Netherlands are available through the website of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND), a department of the Ministry of Justice, www.immigratiedienst.nl.

Concerning taxation, the Ministry of Finance publishes the brochure 'Taxation in the Netherlands', see www.minfin.nl.

Various (commercial) organizations provide similar information on their websites, mostly for free. The list below does not purport to be all-inclusive, nor can it in any way be construed as an endorsement by the embassy of the companies referred to or the information provided by those companies.
  • Ernst & Young publishes 'Starting up in the Netherlands' and 'A helping hand in the Netherlands', see www.ey.nl, click on 'Services and Solutions', then on 'Specialised Services' and then on 'Foreign Entrepreneurial Services';
  • KPMG publishes 'Investment in the Netherlands' and 'International Business Support', see www.kpmg.nl, click on 'English' and then on 'international business support';
  • UHY publishes 'Doing Business in the Netherlands', see www.uhy.com, click on 'publications';
  • WorldBiz.com publishes ‘Doing Business in the Netherlands’, see http://www.worldbiz.com. Available at a fee;
  • www.geoinvestor.com, click on 'Global Database';