Internship
Dutch and American citizens
If you are a Dutch or American citizen and you are planning to do an internship in the Caribbean Netherlands, then the following information is relevant to you.
Should or should you not submit an application?
If your are doing an internship in the Caribbean Netherlands and if you are staying 90 day or less within a period of 365 days, it is not necessary to submit an application for a Declaration of Admittance by Law. In that case you will use the visa-free period.
If you are going to do an internship and will stay longer than 90 days in a 365-day period, you will need to apply for a Declaration of Admittance by Law at the IND. The length of the internship has no influence on this.
Example 1: In a 365-day period, you stay 60 days on Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius, of which you work 20 days. You then have 30 days left of the free period, because 90 - 60 = 30.
Example 2: In a period of 365 days, you will stay on Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius for 100 days, of which you will do an internship for 21 days. You will exceed the free period by 10 days, because 90 - 100 = -10. You must therefore apply for a Declaration of Admittance.
When applying for a Declaration of Admittance by Law, you will need the following documents:
- Aan IND application form
- MBES08, completed and signed
- A valid passport
- You must also show your original passport at the service counter
- Proof of accommodation
- This can be either a tenancy agreement or for instance a letter from the internship organisation. If the organisation offering the internship arranges housing for you (cost and accommodation) then this must be proven in writing by means of a letter
- Proof of sufficient means of existence
- Your internship contract or an employer’s statement (MBES29) completed by the internship organisation. This statement must include the internship period and any internship allowance
- An overview of your student finance (DUO). A DUO overview stating your name and the amount of your student finance.
Certificate of Good Conduct
If you have resided outside the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the past five years, you need to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct (Verklaring omtrent gedrag, hereinafter VOG) issued by these countries. The VOG must bear an apostille or legalisation stamp.
If you have only lived in the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the past five years, you do not need to submit a VOG but the IND will obtain this ex officio.
Submission and course of the application
Submission of the application is possible by appointment. If you wish to make an appointment you must do this by telephone via +599 715 8330.
The fee for the application is $143,- for interns with the Dutch or American nationality. You can pay by debit card at the service counter during submission of your application. If you meet the requirements, you will receive a Declaration of Admittance by Law which you can use to prove that you are lawfully residing in the Caribbean Netherlands.
Whether you must register, depends on how long you will stay in the Caribbean Netherlands. More information on this topic can be obtained from your municipality and/or the Census Office department of the island where you will be residing.
Other citizenships
Do you have another nationality (not Dutch or American)? Then another procedure applies to you. In order to be able to do an internship in the Caribbean Netherlands, the internship organisation should apply for a work permit and residence permit for you first. The duration of the work and residence permits for interns is maximum one year.
Depending on your citizenship you must wait for completion of the procedure abroad:
- Individuals who have citizenship in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, South and Central America, and the Caribbean region must apply for a regular provisional residence permit (Machtiging Voorlopig Verblijf, hereinafter MVV) prior to your entry. The MVV is a type of entry visa.
- Individuals who have citizenship in one of the EU Member States, Member State of the European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Vatican City, the United States, South Korea or Switzerland may enter Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba immediately.
Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG)
You need to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct (Verklaring omtrent gedrag, hereinafter VOG) issued by the countries in which you have resided in recent years. The VOG must bear an apostille seal or legalisation stamp.
Means of existence
Your income should be at least 50% of the gross minimum wage. The gross minimum wage differs per island and is established annually by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. You can retrieve it here.
Your monthly income may also comprise an internship allowance, student finance or a combination of internship allowance and student finance. If the internship organisation reimburses your cost and accommodation, this can also be included. A condition is that the total of aforementioned components should at least equal 50% of the minimum wage.
Submission and course of the application
Submitting the application is possible by appointment. If you want to make an appointment you can do this by telephone via +599 715 8330.
The fee for the application is $237,- for trainees with other than a American and Dutch nationality. You can pay per debit card at the desk when you submit your application. If you meet the requirements, you will receive a Declaration of Admittance by Law which you can use to prove that you are lawfully residing in the Caribbean Netherlands.
Whether you must register depends on how long you will stay in the Caribbean Netherlands. You can request more information about this from your municipality and / or from the Civil Affairs Department of the island where you will be staying.