In August 2005, Emanuelson was called up to the Netherlands U21 squad for the first time. He made his the national side's U21 debut on 17 August 2005 against Belgium U21, as they won 2–1. On 17 May 2006 Emanuelson scored his first Netherlands U21 goal, in a 2–2 draw against Germany U21. After being dropped from the senior team squad for the FIFA World Cup, he was called up to the U21 squad once again for the 2006’s UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Portugal. Emanuelson went on to be a member of the Dutch squad that won the tournament and was named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament as a left back. Two years later, he was called up to the U21 squad for the first time. Emmanuel appeared two times, coming against Norway U21 and Switzerland U21. He went on to make eight appearances and scoring once for the U21 side.