Tens of thousands of third-country nationals working in Netherlands without permits
An estimated tens of thousands of third-country nationals live and work in the Netherlands without having permits, the Labor Inspectorate told Nieuwsuur. It increasingly encounters these undocumented migrants from outside the European Union during its inspections.
According to the Inspectorate, a large proportion of third-country nationals work here illegally in the construction, agriculture and horticulture, meat processing, and hospitality sectors. Others end up in informal employment, for example, working as a babysitter or cleaner at people’s homes.
“Where we used to see mainly Eastern Europeans, we now increasingly see third-country nationals working in various sectors,” May Verstappen of the Labor Inspectorate told the current affairs program. This group is at high risk of being exploited, she added. “But because they are here illegally, it is difficult to check whether this is the case.”
The Inspectorate is encountering many Brazilians in particular. It has no official figures but estimates that around 35,000 Brazilians are working without a permit in the Amsterdam region alone. The Inspectorate is also encountering many Georgians during its investigations into abuses in the labor market.
Other organizations, including Doctors of the World and Fairwork, also told Nieuwsuur that they are encountering a striking number of undocumented Brazilians. “We have seen more and more Brazilians in our consultations in recent years,” said Lisa Vliegenthart of Doctors of the World, an organization that provides care to people who do not have access to regular healthcare. “They come to us with care questions because they are not entitled ot health insurance.”
Brazil and Georgia, like 59 other countries, have a visa-free arrangement with the EU, in which citizens can enter the Schengen zone for a short stay with only a passport. According to the Inspectorate, some undocumented migrants then use a backdoor into the Dutch population register. After arriving in the Netherlands, they report to the Registration of Non-Residents (RNI) office, where they receive a citizen service number (BSN) without having to provide an address or explanation. With a BSN, they can open a bank account or register a company with the Chamber of Commerce and thus work in the Netherlands.
The RNI is intended for people who come to study or work in the Netherlands for less than four months. But according to the Inspectorate, it is often abused because no one checks whether they have left again four months later.
Law enforcement agencies and municipalities have repeatedly warned the government that the RNI offers a backdoor into undocumented work. “The Ministry [of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations] has known for years that it is being abused, but in practice nothing has changed,” the Inspectorate said. The most recent warning was by the police and the Inspectorate in July last year. At the time, the Ministry said it had no plans to change the registration system.
Undocumented workers are very vulnerable to exploitation, and the Inspectorate sees many abuses in this type of illegal work. Employers underpay their workers, withhold their wages, or dismiss them without reason. Many don’t dare to report abuses to the authorities for fear of being deported.
