Netherlands' long visa waiting times frustrating foreign entrepreneurs

Foreign entrepreneurs who want to travel to the Netherlands sometimes have to wait months for their visas. As a result, they often can’t get to the Netherlands in time for the business they wanted to do, BNR reports after speaking with business clubs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Turkish entrepreneurs sometimes have to wait four months for a visa, Ethem Emre, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Netherlands & Turkey, said to the broadcaster. “If you want to visit a trade fair or close a deal with someone, you must postpone it for four months. That is not conducive to trade relations,” he said. “If you trade fruit and vegetables, you cannot wait months for a deal. That is seasonal, so you must be able to act quickly.”

According to Anton Valk of the Dutch-British Chamber of Commerce, British people who want to come to the Netherlands are also having a hard time getting their visas on time. British entrepreneurs are losing assignments as a result. “If people who have to come from the UK are not quickly on-site, a client within the European Union will look for an alternative supplier.”

But the visa problems also affect Dutch entrepreneurs looking for personnel abroad because of the tightness of the Dutch labor market, Valk added. “What you want is a flexible international labor market so that you can bring people with knowledge to the Netherlands. Because the waiting times are now so long, it is becoming difficult,” he said to the broadcaster.

The Netherlands Bureau for Tourism & Congresses (NBTC) receives signals that “participants are having difficulty coming to the Netherlands because their visa application could not be processed,” director Jos Vranken said. “After Covid, global travel traffic is increasing strongly again. The capacity to process visa applications is lagging behind.”

According to Vranken, right now, the situation is harmful to events because not everyone can attend them. “But if the problems persist, this can also hurt the Netherlands’ reputation as a place where you can properly organize a meeting or a conference.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged to BNR that it was insufficiently prepared for the rapid growth in the number of visa applications. “Applicants may have to deal with long waiting times to book an appointment and longer turnaround times.” The Ministry is working hard to process the applications “but faces several personnel and technical challenges” it expects will last at least till the end of the year. Until then, the Ministry advises entrepreneurs to plan their trips well in advance.