Internship in Netherlands

Question

I have received interest from a Dutch company in the Netherlands that wishes to hire me as an Intern. The company is in civil engineering research and development.

I am not a student and a non-EU citizen. My prospective employer has informed me that this would not entitle me to an internship under normal Dutch regulations.

What other construct can I use in this case? The salary is way low as this is an internship (probably below minimum wage). I am however very interested in this company and they have asked me to do some research beforehand. I have seen one for "Highly Skilled Worker" in the ind.nl website but this category has minimum wage requirements which I probably won't fit into.

Answer 1

Well, options seem to be:

1. Internship - but that requires you to be enrolled in some kind of academic/study program. Here's a site with a bit more information and links.
2. Direct employment ("highly-skilled" migrant is not as highly skilled as you might think. Check the exact criteria.)
3. Employment in your home country, so that your stay in the Netherlands would officially be a visit - but you'll need to check how long you can stay here with that status
4. You becoming a freelance consultant with them contracting you. I'm not sure if that's far-fetched or practical, but it is an option which can grant you temporary residence here.

Caveat Emptor: I'm not that well-versed in Dutch immigration law.

Edit: I found this table, which suggests it's possible for an employer to apply on your behalf for, well, I guess it's sort of a work+residence visa specifically for the case of an internship.