7.1     General information

With effect from 1 July 2024, due to a change in the policy current and new staff members will no longer have the option of requesting that the Ministry register a private servant (see Note Verbale DPG-Min-BuZa.2024.20297-18, 5 January 2024). Members of the staff of the mission in the domestic service of the mission can be registered as members of the service staff. 

This chapter outlines the Dutch policy on private servants of staff members of diplomatic missions and consular posts hired before 1 July 2024. Private servants are individuals in the service of persons who have been granted the privileges and immunities of diplomatic staff with AD status.

7.2     Employing private servants

Scope for employing private servants
Staff members of diplomatic missions who are not Dutch nationals or permanent residents and who have been accorded the same privileges and immunities as heads of mission on the basis of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations are permitted to employ a maximum of three private servants. 

Staff members of diplomatic missions who are not Dutch nationals or permanent residents and who have been accorded the same privileges and immunities as diplomatic agents (AD status) on the basis of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations may employ one private servant. No other staff members of diplomatic missions are allowed to employ a private servant. 

Staff members of consular posts who are not Dutch nationals or permanent residents and who have been accorded the same privileges and immunities as consular agents (AC status) on the basis of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations may employ one private servant. No other staff members of consular posts are allowed to employ a private servant.

No family member or relative by blood or marriage up to the fourth degree of kinship as defined in Dutch law (that is, no parent, child, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, grandparent, grandchild, great-grandparent, great-grandchild, great-great-grandparent, great-great-grandchild, great-aunt, great-uncle, great-niece, great-nephew or first cousin) of a staff member or of a staff member’s spouse may be employed as a private servant.

A private servant is not allowed to be accompanied by family members.

Privileged persons who submit a request for a private servant must ensure that the above-mentioned conditions are satisfied for the entire duration of the private servant’s stay in the Netherlands and that the private servant leaves the Schengen area once their contract has ended. 

In cases where irregularities arise in this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will withhold approval of any new requests for private servants by the privileged person or the latter’s successor. 

Work permit for private servants 
Employers of private servants are exempt from the requirement to obtain a work permit for their private servant(s). 

Private servants may not be employed by a person other than the person named in the employment contract. This restriction is indicated on the back of the servant’s identity card. 

Tax status of private servants
Private servants are exempt from taxes on their earnings from employment, provided that they are neither Dutch nationals nor permanent residents of the Netherlands. 

Social security status of private servants
Private servants are exempt from the obligation to pay social insurance contributions, provided that they are covered by the social security system of their home country or of a third country. Their coverage must be established by means of a declaration drawn up by the authorities of the country where the private servant is insured. The social security system must be a legally enacted national system. Social security systems involving private companies are not accepted as a legitimate alternative. An employer who employs a private servant who is not covered by the social security system of their home country or a third country must comply with the obligations which Dutch social security provisions impose on employers, and must register as an employer with the Tax Administration, see: Melding Loonheffingen Werkgever van personeel aan huis (Employer’s notification in respect of salaries tax and social insurance contributions for domestic staff) or belastingdienst themaoverstijgend. 

7.3     Identity card for private servants

The validity of a private servant’s identity card is linked to the validity of the employer’s identity card. The card will initially be issued twice for six months and afterwards for a maximum period of one year, unless the contract with the employer has a shorter duration. The identity card issued to private servants bears the code PD (if the employer is a diplomatic agent) or PC (if the employer is a consular agent). 

Private servants are expected to collect their cards (with a valid ID) in person from the Ministry’s Protocol Department, located at Rijnstraat 8, 2515 XP The Hague, after receiving notification that it is ready for collection.

7.4     Mandatory provisions of Dutch employment legislation 

It is imperative that the terms and conditions of employment comply with the mandatory provisions of Dutch employment legislation. Even if the employer and employee opt for the applicability of a foreign legal system as the basis of an employment contract, the contract must comply with the mandatory provisions of Dutch legislation. 
    
Mandatory provisions of Dutch employment legislation include the following:
•    employees must earn at least the minimum wage and must receive 8% of their annual salary as holiday pay in accordance with Dutch legislation (for the latest update on the minimum wage, please consult the website of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment: minimum wage amounts; Bedragen minimumloon 2025 | Minimumloon | Rijksoverheid.nl (minimum wage amounts for 2025);
•    amounts for food and lodging may be deducted only in so far as the remaining amount after the deductions is not lower than the minimum wage; Wat staat er in een arbeidsovereenkomst? | Rijksoverheid.nl (what’s in an employment contract?);
•    amounts for food and lodging may not exceed the following amounts: Tarieven, bedragen en  percentages loonheffingen vanaf 1  januari  2025 (salaries tax and social insurance contribution rates, amounts and percentages as of 1 January 2025);
•    an employment contract may not be terminated while the employee is sick or pregnant; *
•    salaries must be paid in a timely manner;
•    equal treatment of employees: employees must not be treated differently because of their gender, sexual orientation, religion or political beliefs;
•    employees must be given paid leave (a minimum of 20 working days’ leave per year).

These mandatory provisions should always be respected by both the employer and the employee: provisions to this effect should be included in the employment contract. The Dutch government website provides information (in Dutch) on employment in the Netherlands under Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment topics.  

7.5     Mandatory bank account

As of 1 June 2015, employers are obliged to pay a private servant’s salary into a Dutch bank account (or a bank account in another EU country) held by the private servant. Newly registered private servants must provide proof that they have a personal bank account within 90 days of their registration with the Ministry. The agreed salary must be paid into this account by the employer on a monthly basis. Cash payment of salaries is not permitted. The Ministry reserves the right to request private servants to provide bank statements for verification purposes. 

7.6     Health insurance for private servants

Private servants who are covered by the Dutch social insurance system must take out standard health insurance. Private servants who are not covered by the Dutch social insurance system cannot be insured under the national health insurance scheme (ziektekostenverzekering) but must take out an expatriate health insurance policy. 

If an insurer requires proof of registration in the Netherlands before issuing the policy, the Ministry can send a copy of the identity card. When a private servant comes to the Ministry to collect their identity card, the card will only be issued after a copy of the insurance policy has been presented. 
 
Employers can register private servants who fall under the Dutch social security system with the Dutch Tax Administration by means of the following link: Melding Loonheffingen (salaries tax and social insurance contribution notification).

The completed form should be emailed to: Haaglanden.CB_IFB@belastingdienst.nl, instead of the address mentioned on the form.

7.7     Duration of the employment contract

A private servant’s right to stay in the Netherlands depends on the existence of a valid employment contract with a privileged person as employer. Private servants are not allowed to change jobs in the Netherlands. The servant must leave the Netherlands in the following circumstances:
•    when the employment contract comes to an end or is terminated;
•    when the employer’s posting in the Netherlands ends; 
•    if the employer ceases to be a staff member of the diplomatic mission or consular post;
•    if the employer fails to comply with the conditions for employing a private servant.

7.8    Departure of the private servant

Privileged employers, at whose request the private servant has been granted entry to the Netherlands, are responsible for the final departure of their private servants from the Schengen area, except in those cases where the private servant is a national of an EU member state. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expects the employer to:
•    ensure that the private servant returns their identity card to the Ministry’s Protocol Department;
•    provide the Ministry with proof of the servant’s arrangements for travel to a non-Schengen country.

In cases where the employer fails to comply, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will withhold approval of any new requests for private servants.

 

 

*The prohibitions on termination are listed in the Dutch Civil Code (article 7:670). The Dutch provisions on the continued payment of wages in the event of sickness apply to staff locally engaged at the embassy who become sick. The prohibition on termination in the event of sickness applies for two years. A sick employee is entitled to at least 70% of their pay during this period (art. 7:634 Civil Code).