[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":243},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-en-asielzoekers-aannemen-horeca":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"description":13,"extension":228,"meta":229,"meta_description":230,"navigation":231,"path":232,"published":231,"publishedAt":233,"readingTime":234,"seo":235,"stem":236,"summary":237,"tags":238,"__hash__":242},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fasielzoekers-aannemen-horeca.md","Hiring asylum seekers in hospitality: what Dutch business owners need to know","Horecaflix",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":214},"minimark",[10,14,19,57,61,67,70,74,81,88,92,95,98,105,109,112,146,149,153,156,159,163,166,169,173,176,189,193,196,199,203,206],[11,12,13],"p",{},"Your vacancy has been online for weeks and the phone stays silent, while in regions like Rijnmond (the greater Rotterdam area) a growing group of people with a valid work permit is actively looking for work in hospitality. Asylum seekers with a tewerkstellingsvergunning (TWV, the Dutch work permit required to employ a non-EU national) are increasingly finding jobs in hospitality and logistics, two sectors with a chronic staff shortage in the Netherlands. This article explains what you need to know as a business owner: how the permit process works, what onboarding across a language barrier means in practice, and which opportunities and risks to weigh beforehand.",[15,16,18],"h2",{"id":17},"key-takeaways","Key takeaways",[20,21,22,34,43,46,54],"ul",{},[23,24,25,26,33],"li",{},"The number of work permits (TWVs) issued for asylum seekers in the Rijnmond region grew from 127 in Q3 2024 to 608 a year later, averaging roughly 500 per quarter in the first half of 2026 (",[27,28,32],"a",{"href":29,"rel":30},"https:\u002F\u002Fdrimble.nl\u002Fregio\u002Fzuid-holland\u002Frotterdam\u002F108403778\u002Frijnmond-telt-steeds-meer-werkende-asielzoekers-vooral-in-de-horeca-en-logistiek.html",[31],"nofollow","Drimble\u002FRijnmond",", 2026, Dutch source). Most jobs are in hospitality, logistics and retail.",[23,35,36,37,42],{},"As an employer, you apply for a TWV free of charge through UWV (the Dutch employee insurance agency); a complete application gets a decision within two weeks (",[27,38,41],{"href":39,"rel":40},"https:\u002F\u002Finspiratie.uwv.nl\u002Fwerkgeverschap\u002Fasielzoekers-aannemen-vraag-een-tewerkstellingsvergunning-aan",[31],"UWV",", 2026, Dutch source).",[23,44,45],{},"Since late 2023, there's no longer a cap of 24 working weeks per year for asylum seekers with a TWV; that limit was scrapped after a ruling by the Dutch Council of State.",[23,47,48,49,42],{},"Large Dutch companies together helped 13,500 status holders and asylum seekers into jobs last year, often in sectors facing staff shortages such as hospitality and logistics (",[27,50,53],{"href":51,"rel":52},"https:\u002F\u002Fdekanttekening.nl\u002Fnieuws\u002Fgrote-bedrijven-nemen-steeds-vaker-asielzoekers-en-statushouders-aan\u002F",[31],"Tent Nederland, via De Kanttekening",[23,55,56],{},"The language barrier and onboarding time are the two practical bottlenecks employers mention most; a structured knowledge base with microlearning modules narrows that gap.",[15,58,60],{"id":59},"hospitalitys-staff-shortage-why-the-usual-channels-fall-short","Hospitality's staff shortage: why the usual channels fall short",[11,62,63,64,42],{},"Posting a vacancy through the usual channels increasingly fails to produce a suitable candidate in hospitality, because you're competing with construction, retail and logistics for the same limited pool of students, school-age workers and flex staff. With roughly 20,000 open vacancies in the sector, that shortage isn't incidental, it's structural (",[27,65,53],{"href":51,"rel":66},[31],[11,68,69],{},"That shortage explains why more employers are looking beyond the obvious candidate pools. A vacancy that stays open for weeks costs you not just revenue through understaffing, but also puts pressure on the existing team that has to cover the gaps. A group that's often overlooked, while actively looking for work, is worth considering.",[15,71,73],{"id":72},"the-new-candidate-pool-asylum-seekers-with-a-work-permit-in-hospitality-and-logistics","The new candidate pool: asylum seekers with a work permit in hospitality and logistics",[11,75,76,77,80],{},"Asylum seekers with a work permit are a growing, underused pool for hospitality vacancies, because more of them are already finding jobs in exactly the sectors where the shortage is biggest. In the Rijnmond region, the number of issued work permits grew from 127 in the third quarter of 2024 to 608 a year later, averaging around 500 per quarter in the first half of 2026 (",[27,78,32],{"href":29,"rel":79},[31],", 2026, Dutch source). The jobs that actually materialize sit largely in hospitality, catering, transport, logistics, retail, cleaning and the metal industry, often arranged through staffing agencies that also file most of the permit applications.",[11,82,83,84,87],{},"That's not a coincidence. Since the rules for working asylum seekers were relaxed at the end of 2023, hiring this group has become more attractive for employers: the 24-working-week-per-year cap was dropped, so an asylum seeker with a permit can in principle work all year round. Nationally, large companies grouped in the Tent Nederland network helped 13,500 status holders and asylum seekers into jobs last year, often in sectors facing shortages such as hospitality, logistics, technical trades and facility services (",[27,85,53],{"href":51,"rel":86},[31],", 2026, Dutch source). Employers already working with this group often describe their new hires as loyal and motivated, with notably low absenteeism.",[15,89,91],{"id":90},"what-is-a-tewerkstellingsvergunning-twv-and-when-do-you-need-one","What is a tewerkstellingsvergunning (TWV) and when do you need one?",[11,93,94],{},"You need a tewerkstellingsvergunning (TWV), the Dutch work permit, as soon as you want to employ an asylum seeker, because Dutch law requires it for any employer hiring someone without Dutch or EU nationality. The TWV is a separate permit from the asylum seeker's residence procedure, and you, the employer, apply for it, not the future employee.",[11,96,97],{},"An asylum seeker is only allowed to work once their asylum application has been in process for a minimum period; for applicants with a reasonable chance of being granted residency, that waiting period was shortened as of June 2026. Asylum seekers from a country considered \"safe\" under Dutch policy are, in practice, barred from working or face heavy restrictions. If you're unsure about a candidate's status, check with the relevant COA location (the Dutch agency for reception of asylum seekers) or UWV before moving ahead.",[11,99,100,101,104],{},"The application itself runs through UWV's employer portal and is free. If your application is complete and meets the requirements, you'll receive a decision within two weeks (",[27,102,41],{"href":39,"rel":103},[31],", 2026, Dutch source). So don't expect a new hire to start tomorrow; build those two weeks into your hiring timeline, the same way you'd account for a notice period with a regular candidate.",[15,106,108],{"id":107},"step-by-step-how-to-hire-someone-with-a-work-permit","Step by step: how to hire someone with a work permit",[11,110,111],{},"The process broadly follows the same steps as a regular hire, with the TWV application as an extra step upfront:",[113,114,115,122,128,134,140],"ol",{},[23,116,117,121],{},[118,119,120],"strong",{},"Check the status."," Ask the asylum seeker for proof that their asylum procedure has run long enough to permit work, and that their country of origin isn't on the Dutch \"safe country\" list.",[23,123,124,127],{},[118,125,126],{},"Apply for the TWV."," Do this free of charge through UWV's employer portal, specifying the actual role and the number of hours you're offering.",[23,129,130,133],{},[118,131,132],{},"Wait for the decision."," Expect around two weeks for a complete application, and only start the employment contract after a positive decision.",[23,135,136,139],{},[118,137,138],{},"Draw up an employment contract."," The same collective labor agreement (cao) rules, minimum wage and employment terms apply as for any other employee; there's no separate, lower pay scale for this group.",[23,141,142,145],{},[118,143,144],{},"Set up the onboarding plan."," Budget extra time for instruction, especially where language is a factor, and build that into your scheduling rather than treating it as an afterthought.",[11,147,148],{},"Not sure about a specific case, say, a candidate who's switching procedures? Check with UWV or the relevant COA location before filing the application, so you don't end up having to withdraw the permit later.",[15,150,152],{"id":151},"language-barrier-and-onboarding-getting-new-staff-up-to-speed-quickly","Language barrier and onboarding: getting new staff up to speed quickly",[11,154,155],{},"Language is, in practice, the biggest bottleneck when onboarding a new, non-Dutch-speaking employee, more so than the administrative side of the permit. Instructions you'd normally give verbally and in one pass often only partly land across a language barrier, and you usually notice only once something goes wrong on the floor: an order entered incorrectly, a missed HACCP (food safety) checkpoint, or a procedure carried out slightly differently than intended.",[11,157,158],{},"The most workable approach is to not rely on verbal handover alone, but to capture knowledge in short, repeatable instructions an employee can revisit on their own, at their own pace, whenever it suits them. Nobody remembers a verbal explanation given mid-shift word for word, but a step-by-step instruction they can reopen, they do. Visual steps and short videos tend to work better than dense blocks of text, especially in the first few weeks.",[15,160,162],{"id":161},"opportunities-and-risks-worth-weighing-beforehand","Opportunities and risks worth weighing beforehand",[11,164,165],{},"The opportunity is direct: a candidate pool that's actively looking for work, in a labor market where you as a hospitality owner usually have to wait for whoever happens to apply. Employers already experienced with this group cite motivated staff and low absenteeism as a recurring upside.",[11,167,168],{},"The risk sits mainly in planning and expectations, not in the employee. Expect a longer onboarding period than with a comparable Dutch-speaking candidate, especially in the first month, and build that time into your schedule deliberately. Also keep in mind that a residence status can change during employment, which can affect the TWV, so stay in touch with the relevant authorities as a staff member's situation evolves. And set aside time for the permit application itself: anyone counting on a new hire starting tomorrow will always be too early.",[15,170,172],{"id":171},"how-horecaflix-makes-onboarding-new-non-dutch-speaking-staff-easier","How Horecaflix makes onboarding new, non-Dutch-speaking staff easier",[11,174,175],{},"A well-structured onboarding plan offsets a large part of the language bottleneck, and that's exactly where the knowledge base and microlearning modules in Horecaflix help. Procedures, food safety instructions and point-of-sale steps are documented centrally, in short modules a new employee works through on their own and can revisit at any time, instead of depending on one colleague repeating the same explanation.",[11,177,178,179,183,184,188],{},"With ",[27,180,182],{"href":181},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmicrolearnings-personeel-inwerken-horeca","microlearning modules",", a new hire learns in the app, at their own pace, and the progress overview shows exactly which parts are done and where attention is still needed. That's valuable for any new hire, and worth a little more when language is a hurdle: repetition costs nothing extra inside an app, while a colleague explaining the same thing for the third time costs real working hours. New staff are also easy to invite into the system directly; that process is covered in ",[27,185,187],{"href":186},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmedewerkers-uitnodigen-horecaflix","inviting employees to Horecaflix",".",[15,190,192],{"id":191},"a-practical-example-from-vacancy-to-onboarded-employee","A practical example: from vacancy to onboarded employee",[11,194,195],{},"A café owner in the greater Rotterdam area has had a front-of-house vacancy open for six weeks, without a single suitable response through the usual channels. Through a local partnership with the municipality, he connects with an asylum seeker who already holds a work permit from an earlier, short-term logistics job. He applies for a new TWV for the role at his café, and within two weeks receives a positive decision.",[11,197,198],{},"Rather than putting the new hire straight onto the floor with verbal instructions only, he first has him work through the basic modules in the knowledge base: taking orders, the point-of-sale system, and core food safety rules, each broken into short steps with visuals. For the first shifts, the new employee works alongside a regular colleague, using the app as a reference for anything he's unsure about. After three weeks, he's running shifts independently, slightly longer than the average onboarding time at that location, but with noticeably fewer repeated questions than previous new hires who didn't have that reference material.",[15,200,202],{"id":201},"getting-started-first-steps-this-month","Getting started: first steps this month",[11,204,205],{},"Start by reaching out to a local COA location, municipality, or staffing agency already working with status holders and asylum seekers, to see which candidates are available for hospitality roles in your area. In parallel, apply for the TWV through UWV's employer portal as soon as you have a specific candidate and role, and build two weeks of processing time into your plan.",[11,207,208,209,213],{},"Set up the onboarding plan before the new hire starts: capture your key procedures and safety instructions in short, repeatable steps, so language isn't a reason to only half-transfer knowledge. Not sure how to best use the knowledge base and microlearning modules in Horecaflix for a new, non-Dutch-speaking employee? ",[27,210,212],{"href":211},"\u002Fcontact","Get in touch"," with Horecaflix, and we'll help you figure it out.",{"title":215,"searchDepth":216,"depth":216,"links":217},"",2,[218,219,220,221,222,223,224,225,226,227],{"id":17,"depth":216,"text":18},{"id":59,"depth":216,"text":60},{"id":72,"depth":216,"text":73},{"id":90,"depth":216,"text":91},{"id":107,"depth":216,"text":108},{"id":151,"depth":216,"text":152},{"id":161,"depth":216,"text":162},{"id":171,"depth":216,"text":172},{"id":191,"depth":216,"text":192},{"id":201,"depth":216,"text":202},"md",{},"Hiring asylum seekers in Dutch hospitality: how the tewerkstellingsvergunning (work permit) process works, what it costs in time, and how to onboard new, non-Dutch-speaking staff quickly. A practical guide.",true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fasielzoekers-aannemen-horeca","2026-11-02",9,{"title":5,"description":13},"blog\u002Fasielzoekers-aannemen-horeca","A growing number of asylum seekers with a work permit are finding jobs in hospitality and logistics in the Netherlands. Here's how the Dutch work permit process works, what onboarding across a language barrier looks like, and which opportunities and risks to weigh beforehand.",[239,240,241],"hospitality staff shortage","hiring asylum seekers","Dutch work permit","-XYG7rxbDkUAQ5bRTuvKjUSIx8dJ1oSXpvUU5YFcxl8",1793601604547]