DAFT visa support from Americans who’ve done it

DAFT, the Dutch American Friendship Treaty, lets US citizens live in the Netherlands while running their own business. You need US citizenship and a genuine self-employed business in the Netherlands, with an initial investment of at least €4.500 for most business forms, and you must maintain at least €4.500 of equity in the business at all times. On a first application, if you don’t yet have a Dutch residence permit, you apply first, then register with the KvK and make the investment within 6 months of the IND’s decision letter. The IND asks for your KvK registration, a business bank statement, and an opening balance checked by an accountant or financial advisor that shows the investment as equity in your business. There’s no minimum income test for the permit itself. Source: IND.

The IND application fee is €423. You also make an initial investment of at least €4.500 in your business and must maintain at least €4.500 of equity in it at all times, so that money stays yours. Add the KvK registration, an accountant’s check, and any help you choose: our packages run from €995 to €2.895, or start with a free consultation. Source: IND (2026 fee); our prices.

Plenty of people do it themselves. With us, you still do it yourself, with someone to ask instead of a forum. DAFT visa help is worth it when the conflicting advice is costing you sleep, when you want a second pair of eyes on your plan, or when you want help with everything that comes after the permit. If you’re doing it yourself, a free consultation is a good way to check you’re on the right track.

No. You submit your own application, and we make sure you’re never guessing: the right form, the documents it asks for, where to go and how to book each appointment, and an answer to every question in between. We’re not lawyers, and if your case needs one, we’ll tell you.

Your first permit lasts up to two years. To renew, the IND asks for an interim balance sheet and profit and loss for the current and previous year, checked by an accountant, showing you’ve maintained at least €4.500 of equity in the business. A bank statement alone isn’t enough. The IND also looks more closely at whether your business has been active, and it can ask for your business plan, so keep yours current. Source: IND extension form.

Partners and minor children can usually apply to join you. Adult children are a different case with stricter rules, which is why we used a lawyer for our own move. Check the IND’s family pages for your situation. Source: IND; our experience.

No, and be careful of anyone who does. The decision is the IND’s. What we can promise is an application you understand, and real help getting ready for renewal.

Most self-employed work qualifies. Common DAFT business ideas range from freelancing in your profession to trade between the Netherlands and the US. You can set up as a sole proprietor (eenmanszaak, frequently referred to as ZZP), a general partnership (VOF), or a private limited liability company (BV). We started as a ZZP and later formed a VOF. The permit covers working for yourself; working as an employee for a Dutch company needs a separate work permit. The better question is which idea will actually earn a living here. That’s what our Business Idea & Market Check answers. Source: IND.

Usually not for the application itself. A business plan isn’t on the IND’s list for a first DAFT application, and the IND didn’t ask for ours. But the IND can request one at any time, and renewal is when it checks more closely that your business has actually been active, so have a plan ready. More than that, a business plan backed by strategy is important to your business’s success: it sets who you’ll sell to, what you’ll charge, and how you’ll reach them. A plan written only for the IND won’t do that. That’s where we’re different: every plan we write starts with a Market Check of your demand, competitors and price, so it’s a plan you’ll actually run. Source: IND; our experience.

This is where most of our work goes. Every package starts with a Market Check on demand, competitors and price, then your DAFT business plan, built on what you find. Launch adds a one-page website and business email so clients can find you from your first week. Complete adds a 90-day plan for your first Dutch clients, your Google Business Profile, and a check at month 18 that the business is on track for renewal. We built our own business here under DAFT, so the advice comes from doing it.

Start before you move. Talk to five potential customers, test your price with them, and pick one or two channels instead of trying them all. Many DAFT entrepreneurs keep US clients while they build Dutch ones, which takes pressure off the first months. Our First Clients Plan (€495) gives you a 90-day plan: who to approach first, which channels to use, and your Google Business Profile set up. It’s included in Complete.

It isn’t one of the documents the IND asks for, but clients will look you up before they reply. A one-page site with your own domain and business email is enough to start. Our DAFT Starter Website (€995, a DAFT special price) is live in one to two weeks, and it’s included in Launch and Complete.

No. We’re not accountants, and we don’t do bookkeeping, tax returns or your opening balance check. We help you find the right people: what to look for in an accountant who works with Americans, what to ask them, and what they’ll need from you for the opening balance and again at renewal.