Moving to the Netherlands from Italy (2026): no visa, so here is what you actually have to do

As an Italian you move as an EU citizen: no visa, no residence permit and no registration with the IND.

For a stay of more than 3 months the IND does set conditions: you work, you have enough income, or you study (IND).

• Working: your work counts as genuine and effective if your income is at least 50% of the social assistance benefit that applies to you, or you work at least 40% of a normal full working week.
• Looking for work: show that you were registered as a job seeker with the UWV during the first 6 months.
• Not working: your income should reach the Dutch minimum wage with holiday pay, from any source, such as a pension or a partner.
• After 5 years in which you met the conditions, you have permanent residency.

Some rules that matter most for you come from Italy, or depend on where you lived before the move.

• AIRE is Italian law, not Dutch. Italians who set up their habitual residence abroad must register with AIRE within 90 days of registering with the local municipality. You are exempt for a stay abroad of less than a year without local registration, and as a seasonal worker. You declare the move to the consular office for your area through the FAST IT portal, which also removes you from your Italian comune’s population register (Embassy of Italy).
• The AIRE fine. Law no. 213 of 30 December 2023 sets a fine of €200 to €1,000 for each year you are not registered, for up to 5 years, from 1 January 2024 and not for earlier years. The comuni impose it, and registering is free (Italian consulate).
• The 30% ruling distance test. In the 24 months before your first working day here, you must have lived more than 150 km from the Dutch border for more than 16 months. The Belastingdienst names Belgium, Luxembourg and parts of Germany, France and the United Kingdom as too close, and Italy is not on that list. What counts is where you lived, not your passport: those months in Belgium would rule you out. In 2026 the salary must also be above €48,013 (Belastingdienst).
• Your driving licence. An EU licence stays usable for 15 years from its date of issue for the car and motorbike categories, as long as it is valid; for truck and bus categories the limit is 5 years. A licence issued more than 15 years ago works for another 2 years after you move (RDW). A valid EU licence can always be exchanged through your municipality once you are in the BRP (RDW).
• Architects. An architecture title listed with its additional certificate in Annex V or VI of Directive 2005/36/EC qualifies for automatic recognition, at no cost. Without that certificate, you first complete the Dutch professional traineeship (Architects Register).
• Lawyers. An avvocato can practise here under the Italian title after registering with the Supervisory Council. After 3 years, a statement from that council lets you join the National Register of Lawyers without a competence test (Business.gov.nl).
• Other professions. A regulated profession needs recognition from the competent authority (Government.nl). Check the European Commission database: if your profession is not on the Dutch list, you can simply work in it. Pharmacists, physiotherapists and nurses can use a European Professional Card (Nuffic).
• Tax. The Netherlands and Italy signed a tax treaty on income and wealth in 1990 (wetten.nl). A tax adviser who knows both systems can tell you how it applies to you; this guide gives no tax advice.

Read four rules before you sign a Dutch employment contract.

• Probation. At most 1 month on a temporary contract of more than 6 months but less than 2 years, or one without an end date; at most 2 months on a permanent job or a contract of 2 years or more; and none on a contract of 6 months or less (Rijksoverheid). See our probation period guide.
• Holiday allowance. At least 8% of your gross annual salary (Rijksoverheid); our holiday allowance guide explains when it is paid.
• Sick pay. In the first year of illness at least 70% of your wages and at least the minimum wage, and in the second year at least 70% (Rijksoverheid). See our sick leave guide.
• Contract after contract. If you work in a restaurant, hotel or anywhere else on fixed-term contracts, count them. With gaps of at most 6 months, the last contract counts as permanent once the contracts have run for more than 36 months, or once more than 3 have followed each other. A collective agreement can raise that to 48 months and 6 contracts for functions it names (Civil Code, article 7:668a).
• Leaving or dismissed? Check our notice period guide and what to do after a dismissal; expecting a baby, see maternity leave.