National support centre for labour migration: introduction and when to contact them

16 July 2023

On March 1, 2023 the Landelijk Steunpunt Arbeidsmigratie - LSA (national support centre for labour migration) was established within UWV- EURES. The LSA is set up to inform and assist employers with questions about the tewerkstellingsvergunning (TWV) and Gecombineerde Vergunning voor Verblijf en Arbeid (GVVA) work permit procedure in the Netherlands).

These permits must be requested by employers in the Netherlands from the Arbeidsjuridische Dienstverlening – AJD (legal affairs department) at the Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen – UWV (Employee Insurance Agency) when they intend to hire an employee from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland. The LSA is part of the EURES Employer Services national team and currently comprises 3 EURES advisers.

What does the LSA do?
LSA has a number of tasks and activities. These are:

• Inform employers in the Netherlands both reactively and proactively about the procedures for applying for a work permit.
• To inform employers in the Netherlands about the vacancy notification at UWV.
• Informing and advising on the labour markets in the Netherlands, the EEA + Switzerland.
• Exchanging information with AJD colleagues; topics such as employer recruitment efforts and the latest labour market information in the Netherlands and Europe.

Why was the LSA founded?

The Netherlands has a labour market shortage, which means for many professions there is a shortage of suitable employees. If an employer is unable to fulfil a vacancy with a job seeker from the Netherlands, the EEA or Switzerland, an employer could choose to expand their search to the rest of the world to find a candidate. If the employer has found a suitable candidate elsewhere, they must apply for a TWV or GVVA (link in Dutch). The main rule is that a work permit is only granted if the employer can demonstrate that it has not been possible to find suitable personnel in the Netherlands, the EEA or Switzerland.

In 2022, more than 1,200 work permits were applied for at AJD. Two thirds of these were rejected because employers did not meet the criteria of recruitment efforts or are unfamiliar with the conditions and procedures which need to be met before applying for a TWV or GVVA. The LSA informs employers about this procedure.