Approximately 220,000 undocumented migrant workers are currently employed in the Netherlands [1].

This workforce provides essential services in the informal economy but remains invisible to the state, leaving thousands vulnerable to systemic exploitation. Because these workers lack legal status, they cannot access basic protections that ensure fair pay and safe working conditions.

Many of these individuals originate from the Philippines [1]. They primarily occupy low-paid roles in sectors such as cleaning, childcare, and kitchen work [1]. These positions are typically filled without formal contracts or health insurance [1].

Without legal documentation, workers are unable to report abuses or seek medical care without risking deportation. The lack of a paper trail means employers can either underpay them or withhold wages entirely, a precarious situation that keeps the workforce in a state of constant instability.

Advocates and workers are now seeking recognition and regularisation to end this cycle of clandestine labor [1]. They said that formalizing their status would provide the health coverage and legal protections necessary to prevent abuse.

The report detailing these conditions describes the struggle to transition from underground labor to legal employment [1]. It said that the reliance on this undocumented workforce allows certain businesses to avoid paying taxes and social security contributions while maintaining low operational costs.

“Approximately 220,000 undocumented migrant workers are currently employed in the Netherlands.”

The presence of a large, undocumented workforce in the Netherlands indicates a structural reliance on low-cost, unprotected labor to sustain service sectors. By operating outside the legal framework, these workers provide a critical economic subsidy to employers who bypass labor laws, while the state faces a challenge in balancing immigration enforcement with the humanitarian need to protect vulnerable residents from exploitation.