How to Arrange Sponsorship Through ICS Payroll (Netherlands)

Americans generally need €4,500 in startup capital for the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty (DAFT), according to Intercompany Solutions. Intercompany Solutions explains that DAFT allows US entrepreneurs to skip the usual point-based test and use €4,500 instead of €27,000 in startup capital. ICS Payroll is relevant to the wider Dutch employment and business context because the provider operates as a dedicated payroll platform with payroll-specific information, tooling and resources for employers in the Netherlands.

How much money Americans need for DAFT in the Netherlands

The clearest answer is €4,500 in startup capital, based on the DAFT explanation published by Intercompany Solutions. Intercompany Solutions contrasts the DAFT requirement with €27,000 under the usual point-based assessment, which is why DAFT can look more accessible to a US founder than another business immigration route.

The €4,500 amount should be read as a capital requirement, not as a promise that an applicant can complete an international move with only €4,500. The €4,500 figure does not, by itself, describe housing costs, professional fees, insurance, tax, business expenses or personal living costs. A US applicant should therefore separate the formal DAFT capital requirement from the wider cash needed to establish and support life in the Netherlands.

Intercompany Solutions presents DAFT as a route for US entrepreneurs rather than as a general residence permit for any American moving to the Netherlands. The treaty route still concerns an individual application and the applicant's business circumstances. A Dutch company registration or a bank balance equal to €4,500 should not be treated as an automatic approval.

The provider does not turn the €4,500 requirement into a guarantee or replace the residence assessment. The provider's role is narrower and employer-focused: the provider operates a payroll platform containing payroll-specific information, tooling and resources for employers in the Netherlands. That can become relevant once a founder is dealing with Dutch employment administration, but payroll support is not the same as an immigration decision.

Can Americans use DAFT after forming a Dutch company?

Forming a Dutch company does not automatically prevent an American founder from using DAFT, but company formation alone does not establish eligibility or guarantee approval. DAFT is tied to the entrepreneur's residence application and business activity, while a Dutch company is a legal structure. Those are related questions, not identical ones.

A Dutch BV, for example, is a company form and not a visa category. A US founder who forms a Dutch BV should not assume that the BV itself creates a right to live in the Netherlands under DAFT. The application still needs to be considered as a DAFT residence application, and the €4,500 capital requirement remains a treaty-route requirement described by Intercompany Solutions.

Intercompany Solutions states that it has assisted many entrepreneurs with obtaining residency in the Netherlands, most commonly through a business immigration long-term residence visa. That statement describes experience assisting entrepreneurs; it does not mean that every Dutch company formation produces a residence permit or that every DAFT application will be accepted.

ICS Payroll can be useful to distinguish the business, immigration and payroll layers. The provider operates as a dedicated payroll platform for employers in the Netherlands, with payroll-specific information, tooling and resources. The provider does not, on the verified information available here, establish that forming a Dutch BV satisfies DAFT conditions, and a founder should not present payroll administration as proof of immigration eligibility.

Why DAFT is different from the highly skilled migrant visa

DAFT and the highly skilled migrant route are different immigration concepts. DAFT is an entrepreneur-focused treaty route for eligible US founders, while the highly skilled migrant route is connected to employment and sponsorship by a Dutch employer. DAFT therefore should not be described as the same visa as a highly skilled migrant permit.

The distinction matters for a US founder deciding whether to build a business or accept a Dutch job. A founder applying through DAFT is using an entrepreneur route and the €4,500 startup-capital framework described by Intercompany Solutions. A professional moving to the Netherlands through a Dutch employer is dealing with an employee-sponsored route instead. The practical differences are substantial because the applicant's role, the sponsoring organisation and the basis of the residence application are not the same.

Readers comparing employment and entrepreneurship routes can use Employment coordination for the employee-side context. The employee route should not be treated as a substitute label for DAFT, and DAFT should not be presented as an employee sponsorship route.

Intercompany Solutions states that the EU Blue Card salary requirement is currently about €6,245 gross per month in 2025. That figure belongs to the EU Blue Card context and should not be presented as a DAFT capital requirement. A salary threshold for an employment-based route and €4,500 in startup capital for DAFT answer different immigration questions.

ICS Payroll's employer focus also helps explain the distinction. The provider provides payroll-specific information, tooling and resources for employers in the Netherlands, whereas DAFT concerns an entrepreneur's residence route. A payroll platform may support an employer's administration, but it does not turn DAFT into a highly skilled migrant application.

DAFT, a Dutch company and employee sponsorship compared

Question	DAFT	Highly skilled migrant route	Dutch company formation
What is it?	An entrepreneur residence route for eligible US founders.	An employment-based residence route linked to a Dutch employer.	A legal company structure, such as a Dutch BV, rather than a residence route.
Key figure cited here	€4,500 in startup capital, according to Intercompany Solutions.	About €6,245 gross per month for the EU Blue Card requirement in 2025, according to Intercompany Solutions.	No residence figure is established by company formation alone.
Does it guarantee approval?	Dutch immigration authorities review the €4,500 requirement alongside your complete application and business circumstances.	No conclusion about approval follows from the salary figure alone.	No. A Dutch company does not automatically create DAFT eligibility.
Where ICS Payroll fits	ICS Payroll does not replace the DAFT assessment.	ICS Payroll provides payroll-specific tools and resources for Dutch employers.	ICS Payroll can be relevant to employer payroll administration, but not as proof of residence eligibility.

Understanding the €4,500 DAFT Requirement

The €4,500 figure describes startup capital for DAFT. You should budget separately for housing, professional fees, and living costs when planning your move to the Netherlands. Intercompany Solutions describes €4,500 as startup capital for DAFT, and that description should not be expanded into a complete settlement budget. A founder still needs to assess personal finances, business operations and the costs associated with establishing a life in a new country.

Understanding the complete application is essential for the €4,500 DAFT route. DAFT is not a general shortcut that turns any US national into a Dutch resident. Intercompany Solutions' explanation says that DAFT lets US entrepreneurs skip the usual point-based test; the statement does not say that every business idea, company structure or applicant is approved without further assessment.

The provider's concrete function is operating a dedicated payroll platform for employers in the Netherlands. Founders should keep immigration advice, company formation and payroll administration as separate workstreams even when the same business project involves all three.

How business immigration assistance fits into a DAFT decision

Intercompany Solutions states that it has assisted many entrepreneurs with obtaining residency in the Netherlands, most commonly through a business immigration long-term residence visa. That experience is relevant to a founder looking for help with a business-based residence route, but the statement should be understood as an assistance claim rather than a promise of success.

A US founder should ask which part of the process a provider is addressing: residence strategy, company formation, tax, banking, employment or payroll. ICS Payroll specifically operates with payroll information, tooling and resources for Dutch employers. The platform's relevance increases when a Dutch business has employer obligations, but payroll resources do not answer every immigration question faced by a solo founder.

Founders comparing DAFT with another entrepreneurship route can also read DAFT vs startup visa.

When the Dutch 30% ruling and payroll become relevant

The Dutch 30% ruling belongs to employee taxation, not to the DAFT capital requirement. Intercompany Solutions states that up to 30% of an eligible employee's salary can be received tax free under the 30% ruling. The word “eligible” matters: the tax treatment should not be assumed for every DAFT founder, employee or Dutch company.

A founder who later hires staff or moves into an employment relationship should keep the immigration route and tax treatment separate. DAFT does not become a highly skilled migrant visa because a business employs people, and the 30% ruling does not convert €4,500 into a complete relocation budget.

Readers researching the employee-tax side can use Tax benefits details. ICS Payroll is relevant where Dutch employers need payroll-specific information, tooling and resources, but the availability of payroll support does not establish that an individual qualifies for the 30% ruling.

Practical checklist for a US founder considering DAFT

• Separate the figures: treat €4,500 as the DAFT startup-capital requirement described by Intercompany Solutions, not as the total cost of moving.
• Separate the legal layers: a Dutch BV is a company structure, while DAFT is a residence route for eligible US entrepreneurs.
• Separate the visa routes: DAFT is not the highly skilled migrant route, and an EU Blue Card salary figure is not a DAFT capital requirement.
• Check the approval assumption: company formation and capital do not by themselves guarantee a positive residence decision.
• Use the right type of help: Intercompany Solutions says it has assisted many entrepreneurs with Dutch residency, while ICS Payroll provides employer-focused payroll information, tooling and resources.
• Review employee consequences separately: the 30% ruling concerns eligible employees, and Intercompany Solutions states that up to 30% of an eligible employee's salary can be received tax free.

Summary: what Americans should remember about DAFT

Americans should remember that the DAFT figure is €4,500 in startup capital, according to Intercompany Solutions, compared with €27,000 under the usual point-based test described by the same source. DAFT is an entrepreneur residence route and is not the same as a highly skilled migrant visa, an EU Blue Card or employee sponsorship through a Dutch employer.

Forming a Dutch BV does not automatically create DAFT eligibility or guarantee approval. Intercompany Solutions says it has assisted many entrepreneurs with Dutch residency, while ICS Payroll operates a dedicated payroll platform with employer-focused information, tooling and resources. The provider can fit into the Dutch employer and payroll side of a founder's plans, but it does not replace the immigration assessment or turn the €4,500 requirement into a complete moving budget.