The highly skilled migrant scheme is the main route for companies in the Netherlands to employ staff from outside the EU. Admission turns on one thing above all: the salary. There is no labour market test and no separate work permit, which makes the procedure fast and predictable.
Legal basis and conditions
The scheme rests on the Aliens Act 2000 and the Aliens Decree 2000. Three conditions matter in practice. The employer must be a recognised sponsor with the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). The employment contract must meet the applicable gross monthly salary criterion, which is set separately for employees aged thirty and over, for those under thirty, and for graduates coming from the orientation year, and which is indexed on 1 January each year. And the salary must be paid to a Dutch bank account, in money, on a regular basis.
Because the amounts change annually, the current figures should always be checked against the IND’s published criteria rather than an older source.
How the procedure runs
The recognised sponsor files the application, in most cases combining the provisional residence permit and the residence permit in a single procedure. The IND aims to decide within two weeks for recognised sponsors, against a statutory maximum of ninety days. The permit is usually granted for the duration of the contract, up to five years.
The permit is tied to the employer. Changing jobs requires a new application by the new employer, and there is no grace period during which the employee may simply start elsewhere.
Where it goes wrong
The recurring problem is the salary that drops below the criterion mid-year, through unpaid leave, a switch to part-time or the loss of a variable component that was counted towards the threshold. The employer’s notification duty then bites, and the permit can be withdrawn. The second is the indexation on 1 January: a salary that was sufficient in December can fall short in January if it is not raised.
Related terms
See also recognised sponsor, the EU Blue Card and the orientation year.
Our immigration lawyers in the Netherlands advise employers and employees on admission and on withdrawal proceedings.
