Immigration Services
The Netherlands
The Asian catering industry regulation is a promising procedure for owners of an Asian restaurant. This arrangement is intended to easily persuade and hire Asian cooks from outside of the EU and Switzerland to work in the Netherlands, as there is a shortage of Asian cooks in the Netherlands.
This regulation is an exception to the regular GVVA procedure. Are you an owner of an Asian restaurant and would you like to hire an Asian cook of chef from outside the EU and Switzerland? Then the Asian catering industry regulation is a huge opportunity for you. The cook has to be a specialty cook at level 4 to 6. This concerns a specialty cook, sous chef/all-round cook or a chef. The application is submitted to the IND, for which you must apply for a combined permit for residence and work (GVVA). The GVVA is a combination of a residence permit and a TWV/ work permit. The IND then forwards the application to UWV. UWV will issue an advice to the IND within 5 weeks. The IND will always accept the advice of the UWV.
To be eligible for the Asian catering industry regulation, you and your cook have to meet a number of criteria.
Your restaurant has to meet the following criteria;
- You have an Asian specialty restaurant, which must concern the following cuisines; Chinese cuisine, Japanese cuisine, Tibetan cuisine, Korean cuisine, Thai cuisine, Vietnamese cuisine, Indonesian cuisine, Indian cuisine and Malaysian cuisine;
- You must explain why you need a specialty cook and you must explain that it is a level 4 to 6 cook;
- During the term of the cook’s residence permit, you must;
– train kitchen staff from the Netherlands or from the European Union or;
– you must employ an intern from an ROC cook training course;
– have an employee from your kitchen staff follow a training course. This employee isn’t required to have a residence permit. You must submit a certificate of this;
– allow a person who does not require a permit to follow a training course;
– you had an intern complete his internship at your restaurant.
- You must report the vacancy to UWV three weeks prior to submitting the application.
The cook has to meet the following criteria:
- It must be a cook of level 4 / to 6, which means that the cook is a specialty cook, a sous chef/ all-round cook of a chef;
- The cook must have a certificate or diploma proving that the cook is qualified for working as a cook at level 4 to 6;
- The salary has to be competitive, according to the Horeca CAO.
From January the 1st2022 the following salary criteria apply. These are the competitive salaries, established by the Horeca CAO;
- For a Specialty cook, the monthly gross salary is €1945,96;
- For a sous chef/ all-round cook the monthly gross salary is € 2169,09;
- For a chef the monthly gross salary is €2399,25.
Given our experience at the IND and UWV, INLS would be more than happy to manage the Asian catering industry application for you.
For more details about the procedure, please refer to the FAQ list below for more information about the Asian catering industry application.
Frequently asked questions
A specialty cook who is residing in the country of origin needs an mvv. The mvv procedure is indeed included within the Asian Catering Industry procedure
No, the Asian catering industry regulation is different from the regular GVVA procedure, which means that you don’t have to find a suitable candidate from the EU first.
The IND fees for the Asian catering industry procedure are €350
As an employer you must oversee that the salary is always guaranteed and paid to the cook. UWV will monitor this via a system of the Dutch tax authorities, called Suwinet. You’re also responsible that the cook always works at the restaurant. If the cook resigns from the job, you need to notify us immediately so we can start the deregistration process.
The costs for the deregistration procedure are €150 exclusive of the VAT costs.
The costs for the deregistration procedure are €150 exclusive of the VAT costs.
The residence permit has a validity of 2 years.
The IND has a legal term of 90 days. Once the IND receives the application completely, the IND will forward the application to UWV. UWV will issue an advice within 5 weeks. The procedure can take up to 2-3 months.
Yes, it is possible. INLS manages the application for the spouse or partner as well. Please visit our partner of a Dutch residence permit holder page and family of a Dutch residence permit holder page.
Legal disclaimer
The information contained in this site is for general guidance on matters of interest only. The application and impact of laws can vary widely based on the specific facts involved. Given the changing nature of laws, rules and regulations, and the inherent hazards of electronic communication, there may be delays, omissions or inaccuracies in information contained in this site. Accordingly, the information on this site is provided with the understanding that INLS is not liable for the above content. As such, it should not be used as a substitute for consultation with our professionals before making any decision or taking any action.
