How to Apply for DAFT Visa Netherlands: Step-by-Step Application Guide

The DAFT application is straightforward on paper — file with the IND, register your business, deposit €4,500, get your balance sheet. In practice, the process involves navigating dependencies between multiple Dutch agencies that do not coordinate with each other. Here is how each step works.

Step 1: File with the IND (Day 1-2)

Within your first 48 hours in the Netherlands, submit your residence permit application to the IND (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst). You can file online through the IND portal or by post.

What you pay: €423 application fee (iDEAL, credit card, or bank transfer).

What you receive: A V-number (vreemdelingennummer) — your immigration file number. Use this immediately to book two appointments: biometrics (fingerprints, photo, signature) and a residence endorsement sticker appointment.

Step 2: Get Your Residence Sticker (Week 1-2)

The verblijfssticker is a physical sticker placed in your US passport. It proves your legal right to stay and work as a self-employed person while the IND processes your application. Without it, you are on your 90-day tourist clock.

The sticker is essential for your next steps — landlords and banks are far more willing to work with someone who can show legal immigration status. Biometrics appointment wait times vary: Amsterdam is 2 to 4 weeks, smaller IND desks can be under a week.

Step 3: Build Your Dossier (Weeks 2-6)

With your residence sticker in place, you work through the administrative sequence:

1. Secure a registrable address — serviced apartment, private rental, or briefadres
2. Register at the gemeente — BRP registration, which issues your BSN
3. Register at the KvK — requires BSN, costs €85.15
4. Open a business bank account — Bunq for Americans (FATCA-compliant)
5. Deposit €4,500+ — into the business account
6. Engage a BECON accountant — produces the opening balance sheet

Step 4: Submit Your Complete Dossier

Upload to the IND portal:

• Opening balance sheet signed by BECON accountant
• KvK extract
• Business bank statement showing the €4,500+ deposit
• BRP registration confirmation
• Proof of Dutch basic health insurance (basisverzekering)

Processing time: 4 to 8 weeks. The IND may request additional documents. Once approved, you receive your biometric residence card — valid for two years.

Renewal at Year Two

Your initial permit expires after two years. Renewal is not automatic. The IND evaluates:

Equity maintenance. A BECON accountant must certify that your business equity never fell below €4,500 for a single day during the two-year period.

Active trading. Invoices to multiple clients, a professional website, evidence of business development. A burst of activity in month one followed by silence is not enough.

Living wage progress. The IND benchmarks your income against approximately €1,735 per month (the Dutch social assistance level). This is not a hard legal threshold, but consistently low income raises questions about genuine entrepreneurship.

Multiple clients. Single-client arrangements — especially invoicing a former US employer — trigger the pseudo self-employment flag.

Renewal fee: €423. Processing: 4 to 8 weeks. The renewed permit is valid for five years.

For the complete arrival sequence with the day-by-day timing that avoids deadlocks, the equity protection strategy, and the renewal roadmap, see the Netherlands DAFT (Self-Employment) Visa Guide.

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