The Dutch equivalent of a UK private limited company is called a “Besloten Vennootschap met Beperkte Aansprakelijkheid”, more commonly known as a “Besloten Vennootschap” or BV. It is the most common form of incorporated business in the Netherlands. You can set up a BV as an individual or with others, in which case the ownership is divided into shares. We recommend this to most of our clients wishing to set up their business in the Netherlands.

One of the benefits of setting up a company in the Netherlands, it that in most cases, company names are available to foreign companies. This is due both to relatively small size of the country (with a population of approximately 17 million people) and the fact that the primary language is used in domain registration is Dutch. We perform full checks on the company name you wish to register as well as related domain names.

Legally speaking, you can set up a company in The Netherlands without any Dutch Directors, or even any Netherlands-resident Directors at all. However, if you wish to obtain a VAT number, essential for full access to the EU Single Market, you will need a Netherlands-resident Director, although that Director may work on a part-time basis for a management fee.

In The Netherlands, companies are incorporated by legal notaries who must perform full due diligence on their clients prior to any incorporation. How long this process takes of course also depends on the clients themselves in terms of submitting all documentation in a timely manner. At EUify our aim is to make the process as speedy and efficient as possible, working closely with the notaries and our clients. Where all documents are submitted on time the company can be incorporated within a month of payment to EUify.