How to succesfully extend your Dutch American Friendship Treaty visa (DAFT) after 2 years

Applying for the DAFT visa is one thing. Extending the DAFT visa after 2 years is a totally different process. The initial DAFT application can be divided into 5 straightforward steps. At this early stage you won't have much business information to show to the IND, yet your application was granted by the IND nonetheless. We therefore like to think of the initial DAFT application as more of a promise. As part of the visa application, you promise to set up and run a viable business in the Netherlands. In most cases this will be a ZZP or a BV (which allows for a 30% ruling). In another article we dive into your Dutch tax and accounting situation under DAFT. If you start out with a ZZP, it is also possible to switch to a BV under DAFT. Just make sure the BV is a continuation of the ZZP (your bookkeeper can explain).

Two years down the line, your Netherlands business situation will have materialized, and you are going to have some numbers to show. And that’s exactly what the IND will ask for to check whether you kept your promise, as part of the DAFT extension application. Here are the 3 most important things to watch out for.

1. Your € 4,500 deposit

Everyone knows this: you must deposit € 4,500 into the company. This was a requirement of the initial application already. But at the extension, the IND is going to check whether you kept the € 4,500 in your company, and they are going to ask for a balance sheet drawn up by a certified accountant as proof. If you run a ZZP company, this will be a matter of checking whether there is still € 4,500 in liquidity on your balance sheet. But if you run a BV company, you must also make sure that the € 4,500 is part of the “Assets” of the company (“Eigen Vermogen”) on the credit side of the balance sheet. This can be as either the “Nominal Share Capital” (“Nominaal Aandelenkapitaal”) part of the Assets or additional Share premium payment (“Agioreserve”). Sometimes bookkeepers book loans or current accounts against the company’s Assets (“Eigen Vermogen”) in the balance sheet, instead of against the company’s liabilities (“Vreemd Vermogen”). If this happens, that would in effect lead to your Assets dropping below € 4,500, even though you deposited the initial amount into the company correctly. Having your Asset value on your balance sheet drop below € 4,500 during your extension is problematic, so please avoid this at all times. 

2. Positive cash flow
Remember that promise you made about setting up a viable business? The IND currently (2025) checks that promise by way of your yearly cash flow statements (“Winst en Verliesrekening”), again to be made out by a certified bookkeeper. The IND wants to see that your annual cash flow for each year is positive, both during year one and year two. If you run a BV company and choose to pay out as much of this positive cashflow as salary (for example because you have a 30% ruling), bear in mind that these salary payments are credited against your cash flow balance. So always make sure you are not paying out everything as salary, and leave some profits in there for your positive cash flow. If you have a 30% ruling in your BV, we advise to keep a lower baseline salary (we recommend € 67,000 for 2025) and make a bonus payment at the end of the year, when your financial situation is clear.

3. Be able to sustain yourself with your Dutch company
As a DAFT applicant, you must also be able to sustain yourself with your new Dutch business. The IND currently appraises this as follows: you must be able to make at least € 1,657 per month (2025) out of the Dutch business from month 7 onwards. If you run a ZZP, this amount is equivalent to your cash flow balance mentioned above under 2. If you run a BV, this amount is equal to the salary your draw, also mentioned under 2. 

So as you can see, the DAFT extension requires some more number crunching than the initial DAFT application. As with the initial DAFT application, you are going to need a BECON certified bookkeeper on board, who can attest to the veracity of your numbers. If you are not sure how to correctly file for your extension, please contact a lawyer or attorney who can help. You can submit your DAFT visa extension application starting 3 months prior to expiration of your initial DAFT visa. You can check this date on your residence card. Once you successfully obtain a DAFT extension, you will be good for another 5 years in the Netherlands!