Legal guides

Practical guides to Dutch law, arranged by area of law: from employment and corporate law to family law, immigration, criminal law and real estate. Written by the lawyers of Law & More in Eindhoven and Amsterdam.

Latest articles

Yellow police taser in a holster on an officer's belt, with an Amsterdam canal in the background
Criminal Law

Taser use by Dutch police: when is it allowed?

31 October 2026 · Reading time: 9 min

Dutch police may only use a taser in the situations listed in Article 12c Ambtsinstructie. What does that mean for the delivery driver tasered in Amsterdam?…

Stacked moving boxes with a set of keys in an empty apartment
Employment Law

Repaying relocation costs, a sign-on bonus or study costs: when is a repayment clause valid?

27 October 2026 · Reading time: 9 min

You only repay relocation costs, a sign-on bonus or study costs under a clear written clause that is reasonable in your situation, and never for training…

Desk with a closed laptop, a mug of tea, medicine and a wallet by a window
Employment Law

Sick as a highly skilled migrant: does long-term illness affect your residence permit?

27 October 2026 · Reading time: 9 min

Your employer must pay you during illness for up to 104 weeks, but if your sick pay drops below the IND salary threshold, your residence permit…

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Spouse Visa Netherlands: Complete 2025 Guide
Immigration Law

Partner visa Netherlands: requirements and IND procedure

8 August 2025 · Reading time: 9 min

To bring a non-EU spouse or partner to the Netherlands, the Dutch sponsor usually applies to the IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Service) for a provisional residence…

A hand holding a smartphone displaying a messaging app
Employment Law

Employer reading your WhatsApp messages: what Dutch law allows

8 October 2025 · Reading time: 12 min

Your employer may not simply read your WhatsApp messages, on a private phone or on a company phone. Reading them is only lawful as an exception…

Dutch Residence Permits Explained
Immigration Law

Dutch residence permits: types and the route to permanent residence

27 December 2025 · Reading time: 22 min

If you are a non-EU national, you start with a temporary Dutch residence permit tied to a purpose of stay, such as work, study or family…

Business Law

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Empty boardroom with meeting documents and a view over Amsterdam canal houses
Business Law

Supervisory board in a Dutch BV or NV: when is it required and what does it do?

24 October 2026 · Reading time: 7 min

When a Dutch BV or NV must have a supervisory board, what supervisory directors may and must do, how they are appointed and when they are…

Ownership structure chart on paper with a magnifying glass next to a laptop
Business Law

UBO register in the Netherlands: who must register, and how?

24 October 2026 · Reading time: 7 min

Almost every Dutch entity must register its UBOs with the KVK and report changes within one week. Who counts as a UBO, who can see the…

Unlabelled green beer bottles next to scales of justice and a case file on a wooden table.
Business Law

Damages for abuse of dominance: what does the Heineken/MTB judgment mean?

21 October 2026 · Reading time: 6 min

On 21 October 2026 the Amsterdam District Court (rechtbank Amsterdam) ordered Heineken N.V. and its Greek subsidiary Athenian Brewery to pay €111.2 million, jointly and severally…

Employment Law

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Stacked moving boxes with a set of keys in an empty apartment
Employment Law

Repaying relocation costs, a sign-on bonus or study costs: when is a repayment clause valid?

27 October 2026 · Reading time: 9 min

You only repay relocation costs, a sign-on bonus or study costs under a clear written clause that is reasonable in your situation, and never for training…

Desk with a closed laptop, a mug of tea, medicine and a wallet by a window
Employment Law

Sick as a highly skilled migrant: does long-term illness affect your residence permit?

27 October 2026 · Reading time: 9 min

Your employer must pay you during illness for up to 104 weeks, but if your sick pay drops below the IND salary threshold, your residence permit…

Meeting table with two closed folders and glasses of water by a window
Employment Law

Settlement agreement for international employees: what to check and negotiate

27 October 2026 · Reading time: 8 min

A settlement agreement for an international employee needs the usual checks plus one more: the end date starts your IND search period. Here is what to…

Server room with an open rack door and bundled network cables
IT Law

IT supplier liability: when are you liable for damage and delay?

23 September 2026 · Reading time: 9 min

When is an IT supplier liable for damage and delay under Dutch law? Breach, default, recoverable loss and the limits of exclusion clauses…

Empty meeting room with a blank screen and a closed notebook
IT Law

IT supplier not delivering: your legal options under Dutch law

23 September 2026 · Reading time: 10 min

Performance, notice of default, suspension, rescission and damages: the legal route when your IT supplier structurally fails to deliver…

Laptop showing lines of code on a wooden desk beside coffee
IT Law

Bespoke software copyright: who holds the rights and how to get them

23 September 2026 · Reading time: 8 min

Paying for bespoke software does not make you the rightholder. Employer copyright, assignment, licence, source code escrow and the writing requirement…

Criminal Law

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Yellow police taser in a holster on an officer's belt, with an Amsterdam canal in the background
Criminal Law

Taser use by Dutch police: when is it allowed?

31 October 2026 · Reading time: 9 min

Dutch police may only use a taser in the situations listed in Article 12c Ambtsinstructie. What does that mean for the delivery driver tasered in Amsterdam?…

An empty wooden bench in a quiet courthouse corridor with tall windows and soft daylight.
Criminal Law

Sexual assault: what is punishable under the Sexual Offences Act?

13 October 2026 · Reading time: 9 min

Sexual assault (aanranding) means performing sexual acts that do not involve sexual penetration with someone who does not want them. Since 1 July 2024, coercion or…

Nederlandse politie strafrecht
Criminal Law

Dutch Criminal Law Guides: Every Article by Topic

1 September 2026 · Reading time: 3 min

An ordered index of every guide we have written on Criminal law in the Netherlands…

Family Law

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Two sets of house keys on a kitchen table on either side of a closed grey folder
Family Law

Contribution agreement: who pays the mortgage after divorce?

1 October 2026 · Reading time: 7 min

A contribution agreement (draagplichtovereenkomst) governs the relationship between you and your ex-partner: who ultimately bears the mortgage payments, interest, repayments and other costs. It does not…

Legal guides
Family Law

Dutch Family Law Guides: Every Article by Topic

1 September 2026 · Reading time: 4 min

An ordered index of every guide we have written on Family law in the Netherlands…

An older woman and a man looking together at a document at a dining table
Family Law

Dutch inheritance law: statutory division and legitimate portion

31 August 2026 · Reading time: 13 min

Without a will, Dutch law gives the surviving spouse or registered partner all the assets of the estate, while the children receive only a money claim…

Real Estate Law

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Furnished canal-house apartment with a suitcase and house keys by the door, ready for a temporary tenant
Real Estate Law

Diplomat clause: how do you rent out your home temporarily and get it back?

14 October 2026 · Reading time: 7 min

With a diplomat clause (diplomatenclausule), you agree in the tenancy agreement that you will rent out your own home for a certain period and then move…

Tenant replacing a tap part above the kitchen sink, with a toolbox in the background
Real Estate Law

Minor Repairs Decree: which maintenance is for the tenant and which is for the landlord?

14 October 2026 · Reading time: 7 min

The tenant of a home carries out and pays for the minor repairs (kleine herstellingen) listed in the Minor Repairs Decree (Besluit kleine herstellingen). Examples are…

An empty, newly built rental apartment with an oak floor and keys on the window sill overlooking a canal.
Real Estate Law

Mid-market rent: which rules apply and how much may the rent be?

13 October 2026 · Reading time: 8 min

Mid-market rent (middenhuur) applies to a self-contained rental home with 144 to 186 points under the housing valuation system (woningwaarderingsstelsel), with a maximum basic rent in…

Civil Law

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Office desk with an overdue invoice, a calculator and a calendar
Civil Law

Statutory interest in the Netherlands: how high is it and how do you calculate it?

24 October 2026 · Reading time: 7 min

Dutch statutory interest is 4 per cent since 1 January 2026 and commercial interest 10.4 per cent since 1 July 2026. When interest runs and how…

Stack of contract documents and a fountain pen on a conference table
Civil Law

Framework agreement: what do you record, and what not?

1 October 2026 · Reading time: 7 min

A framework agreement (raamovereenkomst) sets the terms for future orders, such as prices, delivery times and liability. It can also contain obligations regarding purchase volumes, supply…

Debt Collection Guide Netherlands
Civil Law

Civil law guides for the Netherlands

1 September 2026 · Reading time: 3 min

An ordered index of every guide we have written on Civil law in the Netherlands…

Immigration Law

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Desk with a closed laptop, a mug of tea, medicine and a wallet by a window
Employment Law

Sick as a highly skilled migrant: does long-term illness affect your residence permit?

27 October 2026 · Reading time: 9 min

Your employer must pay you during illness for up to 104 weeks, but if your sick pay drops below the IND salary threshold, your residence permit…

Modern open-plan office with desks and monitors and large windows overlooking a canal
Immigration Law

The single permit (GVVA): hiring employees from outside the EU

27 September 2026 · Reading time: 5 min

If you want an employee from outside the European Union to work in the Netherlands for more than three months, they usually need a single permit…

Two closed passports on a wooden desk next to a pen and a folder
Immigration Law

Dual citizenship in the Netherlands: when can you keep two passports?

27 September 2026 · Reading time: 4 min

If you become Dutch through naturalisation, you must in principle give up your current nationality. Many people can still keep two passports, because the renunciation requirement…

Energy Law

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Industrial substation beside a factory site under a clouded sky
Energy Law

Energy Act for large consumers: connection, transport and congestion

22 September 2026 · Reading time: 8 min

Connection, transport and congestion management for large consumers under the Dutch Energy Act: new rights, flexible transport products and sharper obligations…

High-voltage pylons in a Dutch polder at first light
Energy Law

Dutch Energy Act: what changed after the Electricity Act and Gas Act

22 September 2026 · Reading time: 7 min

The Energiewet replaces the Electricity Act 1998 and the Gas Act. What changes for connection, transport, data, energy communities and existing contracts…

Legal guides
Energy Law

Dutch Energy Law Guides: Every Article by Topic

1 September 2026 · Reading time: 2 min

An ordered index of every guide we have written on Dutch energy law…

Administrative Law

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A project manager checking hours records and receipts against a spreadsheet on screen
Administrative Law

Subsidies in Dutch law: how award, withdrawal and recovery work

31 August 2026 · Reading time: 17 min

A Dutch subsidy comes in two decisions: the award creates a conditional right, and only the later determination fixes the amount you may keep. Until that…

Two people with a folder and a notepad facing an empty chair in a municipal meeting room
Administrative Law

Objection procedure (bezwaar): how to challenge a government decision

31 August 2026 · Reading time: 9 min

If a Dutch public authority refuses your permit, withdraws a subsidy or imposes an enforcement order, you must normally first lodge an objection (bezwaar) with that…

Someone opening an official letter at a kitchen table in the evening
Administrative Law

General Administrative Law Act (Awb): decisions, deadlines and objection

31 August 2026 · Reading time: 13 min

The General Administrative Law Act (Algemene wet bestuursrecht, Awb) governs almost every dealing you have with a Dutch public authority: how it must prepare a decision…