---
title: "How to place your engineer at a Dutch client site"
description: "Two questions, not one: who legally employs your engineer in the Netherlands, and who sponsors the work permit. What the Dutch rules turn on, in plain words."
canonical: https://www.teamed.global/insights/engineer-at-a-dutch-client-site
datePublished: 2026-09-15T12:00:00.000Z
---

Last updated: 15 September 2026

This is two questions, not one. Someone has to be the legal employer of your engineer in the Netherlands. And if your engineer is not an EU national, an employer recognised by the Dutch immigration service, the IND (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst), has to sponsor the work permit. The IND has up to 90 days to decide, so the permit, not the contract, usually sets the start date.

Working at a client office does not make the client the employer. Direction on site and legal employment are separate things in Dutch law. But placing your own worker with another company does raise a second Dutch question, about making workers available to a third party. That rule is covered further down.

This page explains what the Dutch rules turn on, in plain words. It does not settle your case. Project length, the salary, the permit route and the client own checks all change the answer. Treat what follows as the shape of the problem, not the ruling on yours.

A situation we see

A large engineering consultancy with no Dutch entity needed to place one of its own engineers at an end client office in the Netherlands. The project ran six to eight months, and the engineer needed a Dutch work permit. The client wanted a fast yes or no on whether it was possible at all, before anyone talked about price.

## Who is the legal employer when your engineer works at a client site?

The legal employer is whoever holds the Dutch employment contract, not whoever owns the desk your engineer sits at. Dutch employment law attaches to that contract. It decides who runs payroll, who withholds wage tax, who pays social security, who owes leave and sick pay, and who has to give notice if the work stops early.

If your company has no Dutch entity, it cannot hold that contract itself. Two routes are common. You set up a Dutch entity and employ the engineer yourself. Or a third party employs the engineer in the Netherlands for you, which is what an [employer of record](/employer-of-record) does. Which one fits depends on how long the work lasts and what you plan to do in the country next.

Either way, your commercial contract with the end client is a separate document. It covers scope, rates and delivery. It does not employ anyone. Keep the two apart in your own head, because Dutch rules follow the employment contract while your client expectations follow the services contract. The table below shows who normally carries what.

| Who | What they agree | What they carry |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Your consultancy | A services contract with the end client, and a contract with whoever employs the engineer. | The commercial promise: scope, rates, dates, and the day to day direction of the work. |
| The end client | The services contract, site access and project supervision on the ground. | Its own duties as the company the work is done for, including checking who it takes staff from. |
| The legal employer in the Netherlands | The Dutch employment contract with the engineer. | Payroll, wage tax, social security, leave, sick pay and notice under Dutch law. |
| The permit sponsor | The permit application with the IND. | The sponsor duties: keeping records, reporting changes and meeting the salary criterion. |

## What permit does a non-EU engineer need?

For most experienced engineers the route is the [highly skilled migrant permit](https://ind.nl/en/residence-permits/work/highly-skilled-migrant) (kennismigrant), run by the IND. It is built for skilled workers coming to a Dutch employer, and it is judged mainly on salary rather than on a diploma or a labour market test. The engineer does not apply for it. The employer does.

And not just any employer. Only a recognised sponsor can apply. A recognised sponsor is a company the IND has approved in advance to bring workers in, and which has agreed to keep records, report changes and answer for the permit. The IND keeps a [public register of recognised sponsors](https://ind.nl/en/public-register-recognised-sponsors), so you can check whether a company is on it before you rely on anyone.

The salary criterion is a set monthly figure. The IND updates it every year on 1 January. For applications between 1 July and 31 December 2026, the [IND required amounts](https://ind.nl/en/required-amounts-income-requirements) are 5,942 euro gross a month for an engineer aged 30 or over, and 4,357 euro for someone under 30. Holiday allowance does not count towards it. A lower amount applies to recent graduates of Dutch institutions.

On timing, the IND must decide within 90 days, and says a shorter period applies in some cases. Treat that as the outer edge, not a promise. Gathering papers, a consulate appointment and the engineer own notice period all sit outside the IND clock. The [EU Blue Card](/insights/hsw-visa-vs-eu-blue-card-key-differences-explained) is a separate route with its own rules.

## Does placing staff at a client site count as hiring out labour?

The Netherlands regulates making workers available to a third party. The law is the Waadi, short for Wet allocatie arbeidskrachten door intermediairs. In plain words, it covers the case where one company supplies a worker to work under another company direction, for payment. Temp agencies, secondment firms and payrolling firms all sit inside it. The point of the law is to stop workers being exploited by the companies in the middle.

The main duty is a registration one. Per [business.gov.nl](https://business.gov.nl/staff/hiring-and-secondment/hiring-and-posting-staff-waadi-registration-and-waadi-check/), every intermediary that supplies personnel in the Netherlands must be registered in the KVK Business Register, and the registration has to state that the company supplies workers. Getting that wrong can bring a fine. The duty runs the other way too. A company hiring staff in is expected to check that whoever it hires from holds that Waadi entry. A certification system for temporary employment agencies comes into effect on 1 January 2027.

Whether any one arrangement falls inside that rule is a question about the facts, not about a job title. Who directs the work, who pays and how the contracts are written all matter. This page defines the rule and stops there. If you want to know where your own placement sits, that is a conversation with a lawyer or with us.

## What should you settle before you promise the client a date?

Settle three things: who legally employs the engineer, who sponsors the permit, and what happens if the project runs long. The first two decide whether the placement is possible at all. The third decides whether it stays clean at month nine, which is when these arrangements tend to creak.

The extension point is worth a minute now rather than later. Under Dutch rules, as set out by [business.gov.nl](https://business.gov.nl/regulations/contract-employment/), an employee must get a permanent contract after 3 consecutive temporary contracts, or after 3 years of temporary contracts, unless a collective labour agreement says otherwise. A six to eight month project that rolls twice is no longer the short job you sold. Our note on [fixed term versus permanent contracts](/insights/can-we-offer-fixed-term-vs-permanent-contracts-key-factors) covers the choice.

Cost is the last thing to pin down, not the first. Short engagements are priced case by case, because the permit work, the contract shape and the country all move the number. [Hiring in the Netherlands](/country-hiring-guides/netherlands) sets out the statutory costs that sit under any Dutch employment, whoever holds the contract.

Teamed is an Employer of Record in 187+ countries, including the Netherlands. If you are working out how to place someone at a Dutch client site, [Talk to an Expert](/contact?source=insights-engineer-at-a-dutch-client-site) and you will be matched with an HR and legal expert within 24 hours.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can we place our engineer in the Netherlands without a Dutch entity?

In principle, yes. Someone still has to be the legal employer under Dutch law. The usual routes are setting up your own Dutch entity, or having a third party employ the engineer for you. Which one fits depends on the project length, the permit and what you plan to do in the country afterwards.

### Who applies for the work permit, us or the client?

The employer that the IND recognises as a sponsor applies. Not the engineer, and not the end client unless the end client is also the employer. If nobody in your chain is a recognised sponsor, the permit route is the first thing to fix.

### What happens if the project runs past eight months?

You extend, and the Dutch rules on repeat temporary contracts start to bite. The right answer depends on your engineer situation and how the contract was written. Talk to an Expert at Teamed to work through yours.