The DAFT permit: €4,500 and a business plan get an American into the Netherlands.

A 1956 treaty gives US citizens a self-employment residence route no other non-EU nationality has. You don't need a job offer, a salary threshold, or a points test — you need a real business, registered in the Netherlands, with €4,500 of your money in it. Here's the whole process, including the parts the relocation industry glosses over.

What DAFT actually is

The Dutch-American Friendship Treaty (formally the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation, signed 27 March 1956) obliges the Netherlands to admit US citizens who invest in a business there. In practice, the IND grants US applicants the standard "self-employed person" residence permit while waiving the points-based economic test that Canadians, Britons, Australians, and everyone else must pass. The capital requirement was set in policy at €4,500 — unchanged for years, and startlingly low by golden-visa standards.

It is not a retirement visa with paperwork attached. The IND expects a genuinely operating business, and at renewal it looks at whether the business is real. But there is no minimum revenue in the rules, no employee requirement, and no business-plan scoring for Americans. Consultants, therapists, writers, photographers, and one-person B2B firms are common DAFT businesses.

Who qualifies

• US citizenship. Green-card holders don't qualify; this is treaty-based. Canadians have no equivalent — here are their options.
• A business registered at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK), in any legal form — a sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak) or a private limited company (BV) both work.
• At least 25% ownership of that business.
• €4,500 in equity, evidenced by an opening balance sheet (and at renewal, by accounts showing it never fell below €4,500). For an eenmanszaak, a dedicated Dutch business account holding the funds is the standard evidence; a BV shows it as capital. Most applicants have a Dutch bookkeeper prepare the balance sheet — budget a few hundred euros.
• Genuine self-employment. The main applicant can't take a salaried job with a Dutch employer while on DAFT. Your income comes from the business — US clients are fine.

Step by step

1. Enter the Netherlands. Americans are MVV-exempt — no consular visa. You arrive as a visitor and switch to the application in-country.
2. Register your address at the gemeente (municipality) and receive your BSN (citizen service number). You'll need a rental contract or landlord permission — in the current housing market, this is genuinely the hard step. See Housing.
3. Register the business at KVK (€85.15 one-off registration fee, 2026). You'll get your KVK number on the spot.
4. Open a Dutch business bank account and deposit the €4,500. Expect FATCA paperwork — Dutch banks will ask US citizens for a W-9 and SSN.
5. Have an opening balance sheet prepared by a bookkeeper or accountant showing the €4,500 equity.
6. File the IND application (fee €423) with passport, KVK extract, balance sheet, bank evidence, and proof of ownership share. You can lawfully await the decision in the Netherlands; the IND issues a residence-endorsement sticker that lets you stay (and your business operate) meanwhile.
7. Biometrics and decision. Statutory window 90 days; straightforward files are often faster. The permit is issued for 2 years.
8. Within 4 months of registering, take out Dutch health insurance — it's mandatory and backdated. See the insurance guide.

Renewal: the €4,500 rule never sleeps

The renewal permit runs 5 years, giving 7 years total on two applications. The critical condition: your business equity must never have dropped below €4,500 — not on average, not at year-end, but at any point. Take a distribution that dips the account and you've broken the condition. Keep the €4,500 as untouchable ballast and pay yourself from earnings above it. Your accountant's annual figures are the evidence.

Partner and kids

Your spouse or registered partner and minor children get dependent permits (2026 fees: €254 and €85). Here's the asymmetry worth knowing: dependants may work freely for any Dutch employer — their permits carry "arbeid vrij toegestaan" (work freely permitted). The DAFT holder is the one locked into self-employment.

What DAFT doesn't give you

• Not the 30% ruling. That tax facility is for employees recruited from abroad. Self-employed DAFT holders generally can't use it; routing yourself through your own BV as an employee only works in narrow circumstances — take professional advice before assuming any of it.
• Not an escape from Dutch tax. Live here 183+ days (or make it your home) and you're a Dutch tax resident: business profits in box 1 (up to 49.5% in 2026), worldwide savings and investments in box 3. US citizens keep filing US returns on top; the 1992 treaty and foreign tax credits prevent most — not all — double taxation. See Tax & Finance.
• Not easy dual citizenship. Permanent residency at year 5 is straightforward (A2 Dutch required). Citizenship at year 5 generally means renouncing your US passport — most DAFT veterans stop at permanent residency.
• Not a housing fast-pass. You still need an address to register at all, in a market roughly 384,000 homes short. Sort housing before the paperwork, not after.

Realistic budget for a couple, year one

Indicative. At €1 = $1.14 (1 July 2026). Excludes movers, flights, and the Dutch driving lessons you'll probably need (see Living).