Who this is for
The offer is a technician, nurse, warehouse or "highly skilled" role in the Netherlands, and the agent in India already has a letter that looks like a permit. You are being asked to pay before any Dutch employer will speak to you. This page is the public Dutch order of things, so you can see whether the agent's story matches it.
How Netherlands hiring works
The Immigration and Naturalisation Service, the IND, is the authority for residence. Work permission is tied to that residence decision. It is not a separate certificate an agent prints and posts.
For a highly skilled migrant, the employer usually has to be a recognised sponsor. The sponsor applies to the IND for the residence permit. The IND publishes who may apply and what a recognised sponsor is (IND, working in the Netherlands). If the company is not a recognised sponsor, it cannot use that fast route just because an agent says the salary is high. Recognition is the IND's list, not the agent's adjective.
For many other jobs the route is a combined permit for residence and work, the GVVA. The employer applies to the IND. The Employee Insurance Agency, UWV, advises on the labour market. Again, the application starts with the employer in the Netherlands, not with a shop in India (IND).
If you are in India you generally need an entry visa, an MVV, before you travel for a stay longer than three months. The IND explains that the MVV procedure is tied to the residence application. You collect the MVV through the Dutch mission or the visa centre the mission uses. You do not buy the MVV from the agent as a separate product called a work permit.
After you arrive you complete the residence formalities the IND describes, which can include biometrics and collecting the residence document. That document is issued in the Netherlands. A photo of it, sent to you before you have applied, is not the process.
A Dutch company can be looked up in the business register of the Chamber of Commerce, the KVK. Search it yourself (kvk.nl). Then contact the company on a number you found, and ask whether they offered you the job and whether they are a recognised sponsor if the agent used those words. A KVK hit proves a registration. It does not prove a hire.
Pay in the Netherlands is quoted in euro and is subject to Dutch minimums and, on the highly skilled route, to the salary the IND sets for that year. Do not treat a number in an Indian agent's brochure as the IND's number. Open ind.nl and read the current salary criterion for the route they named. If the PDF salary is below it, the route they named is not available, whatever the job title says.
Indian applicants often meet the visa-centre step in the city the Dutch mission assigns. The centre takes biometrics and the file. It does not grant the residence permit and it does not employ you. A message that says "VFS approved your job" is mixing up a courier desk with the IND.
The Netherlands is not a back door into Germany or Belgium. A Dutch residence permit is for the purpose it states. An agent who says you can "shift to Germany after one month" is describing a new application in another country.
| Route | Who applies | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Highly skilled migrant | Recognised sponsor | IND |
| Other employment | Employer, combined permit | IND, with UWV advice |
| Entry from India | MVV tied to the residence application | IND and the Dutch mission |
| Company check you can do | Search the KVK, then call the company yourself | KVK |
Red flags people already report
- A residence card shown in a WhatsApp chat before any IND application.
- The words "highly skilled" used for a warehouse job, with no recognised sponsor.
- Payment to the agent before the employer will confirm the offer.
- Gmail sender, no interview, offer only in chat.
- Salary that does not match Dutch adverts for that work, or a salary that is high only on the PDF.
- Visit visa or tourist entry now, permit later.
- A guaranteed IND decision, or a permit for the whole of Europe.
- Pay today.
- The agent's own verification website.
- No registration on eMigrate where the Emigration Act applies.
- A promise that the agent has "an IND login".
- Your passport held until you pay.
Why a photo or a software scan is not enough
Recognised-sponsor status and an IND decision are not things a text scanner can see. The employer either applied or did not. Ask them. A copied logo does not answer.
What Testiy does
You send the documents. A human expert confirms the case with the employer. You receive a certified report and a public verify link. Testiy does not apply to the IND and does not book MVV appointments. Packs start at ₹1,600 including GST. See pricing. The desk is open 10:00–22:00 IST.
Sample report shows the written outcome and the public link.
Cases people report
Families describe a Dutch offer that uses a well-known port or tech city, a salary in euro that changes when you ask for the employer’s email, and a card image "so your parents can see it is real". The IND process does not start with a card image in a family group. It starts with an employer application.
If you already paid
Keep the evidence. Report it at cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930. Tell the Protector of Emigrants and the police.
FAQ
Is my Netherlands job offer real or fake?
Ask whether the employer applied to the IND, and whether a "highly skilled" claim matches a recognised sponsor. If the employer will not confirm that, the PDF is unproven.
Can I check a Netherlands work permit online myself?
Read ind.nl and search the company at the KVK. There is no public passport-number lookup for an agent to run.
My agent says the embassy verified it. Is that enough?
The mission handles the MVV as part of the residence procedure. It does not certify an agent's PDF. The IND decides the residence permit.
Is it normal to pay the agent before getting the permit?
The employer applies. A large advance in India, before that employer will speak to you, does not match the process. Check the MEA ceiling on mea.gov.in/ras.
How long does a Testiy verification take?
See pricing. Many cases are decided the same day while the desk is open, 10:00–22:00 IST.
What do I get from Testiy?
A certified report and a public verify link.
Can I speak with Testiy in Malayalam or Hindi?
Yes. Our experts can speak with you in Malayalam, Hindi and English.
What if the offer turns out to be fake?
Stop paying. Report it on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.
Keep reading
Talk to an expert before you pay
Human expert · confirmed with the employer · certified report with public verify link