An employer can hire a non-EU employee in the following cases: 1) highly educated workers who can contribute to the knowledge-based economy in the Netherlands (highly skilled migrants or highly skilled workers); 2) persons with a residence permit containing the note ‘arbeid is vrij toegestaan’(‘permitted to work’) (sometimes applicable only for a given period); 3) self-employed persons, provided they carry out the work specified on their residence permit. If above situations are not applicable, the following may be possible if the employer cannot find a suitable candidate from an EEA country: 1) the vacancy has been open for at least five weeks. For vacancies that are difficult to fill, the period is three months. The UWV determines whether a vacancy is difficult to fill; 2) the employer has taken all available steps to find a worker from the Netherlands or the EEA, including advertising the vacancy in the print media and on the internet.