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Can you sit on a board there?
Pick a market. You get the residency test, the nationality test, the work-authorisation position, the appointment steps in order, and the frictions that actually delay appointments — each cited to the instrument that creates it.
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Open to foreign directorsNL
No nationality or residency test applies to a supervisory or non-executive director. In practice this is the most accessible continental board market for an English-speaking candidate.
- Residency test
- None.
- Nationality test
- None.
- Work authorisation
- A non-executive or supervisory director attending meetings does not require a residence permit. Executive roles for non-EU nationals require a permit, commonly under the highly skilled migrant scheme.
- Board language
- Listed-company board process is routinely in English — the most accessible continental market.
- Tenure limit once appointed
- Twelve years, as 4+4+4, with reasons required for reappointment beyond eight.
- Time commitment
- Typically 6–8 supervisory board meetings a year plus committees; boards within the structure regime carry additional works-council engagement.
- What a seat pays
- €60,000 – €120,000 a year for a supervisory board member of an AEX or AMX company, with the chair commonly at around double.
- Tax on your fees
- Supervisory board fees paid to a non-resident are Dutch-source income; VAT treatment of supervisory directors has changed following CJEU case law and should be checked before invoicing.
The appointment steps, in order
- 1Appointment by the general meeting, or on the works council's recommendation where the structure regime applies
- 2Registration of the appointment in the Dutch trade register (Kamer van Koophandel)
- 3Confirm the appointment does not breach the statutory limit on supervisory positions at large Dutch entities (Civil Code Book 2, art. 2:142a / 2:252a)
- 4For a bank, insurer or fund manager, DNB or AFM fitness-and-propriety assessment before the appointment takes effect
What actually gets in the way
- A non-compliant gender appointment is void, not merely reportable — so a board's composition arithmetic genuinely governs who can be appointed next
- The statutory cap on the number of supervisory positions at large entities is stricter than most candidates expect
- Works council recommendation rights under the structure regime change who effectively controls a third of the nominations
The instruments behind these answers
- Dutch Civil Code, Book 2 — Establishes both the two-tier model, with a separate supervisory board (raad van commissarissen), and the one-tier model with executive and non-executive directors. A Dutch company may choose either. (Kingdom of the Netherlands)
- Act on gender balance on boards (Wet ingroeiquotum en streefcijfers) — In force since 1 January 2022: the supervisory board of a Dutch listed company must be composed of at least one-third men and at least one-third women, and an appointment that does not achieve this is void. Large companies must set and report appropriate and ambitious targets. (Kingdom of the Netherlands)
- Dutch Corporate Governance Code (2022 revision) Best practice 2.1.7–2.1.9 — All supervisory board members other than at most one must be independent, and the chair must be independent. Independence is tested against defined criteria applied to each member. (Monitoring Commissie Corporate Governance Code)
- Dutch Corporate Governance Code Best practice 2.2.2 — A supervisory board member is appointed for four years and may be reappointed twice, giving a maximum of twelve years, with reasons required for any reappointment beyond eight. (Monitoring Commissie Corporate Governance Code)
- Structuurregime (structure regime), Civil Code Book 2 — Large Dutch companies meeting defined thresholds must have a supervisory board with enhanced powers, and the works council has a strengthened right of recommendation for one-third of its members. (Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Reviewed against primary sources in August 2026. This is governance decision-support, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and transitional provisions frequently apply — verify against the primary instrument before you rely on it.
Eligibility is only the first question
Being allowed to sit on a board there is not the same as being read for one.
The mobility index answers the second question: whether your record is legible to a board in that market, whether you hold what it is currently short of, and whether you can do the job in the language its board works in.