Sick as a highly skilled migrant: your permit and pay

If you fall ill while you hold a highly skilled migrant permit, your employer must keep paying you for up to 104 weeks and may not dismiss you because of your illness during that period. The main risk lies elsewhere: if your sick pay drops below the IND salary threshold, the IND can review whether you still meet the conditions for your residence permit.

Dutch employment law and Dutch immigration law apply side by side here. Article 7:629 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) protects your income, but the IND applies its own salary criterion for highly skilled migrants (kennismigranten). This page explains both sets of rules and what you and your employer can check.

Table of contents

How much sick pay do you receive during illness?

Your employer must continue to pay at least 70% of your salary for up to 104 weeks under Article 7:629 BW. In the first 52 weeks, that payment may not fall below the statutory minimum wage.

Many employment contracts and collective labour agreements (cao) go further. A common arrangement is 100% in the first year and 70% or 80% in the second year. Check these points in your own documents:

the sick pay clause in your employment contract;
any cao that applies to your employer or sector;
the staff handbook or sickness policy (verzuimreglement), which often sets reporting rules.

Your employer can stop sick pay in specific situations listed in Article 7:629(3) BW. Examples are refusing suitable work without a good reason or not cooperating with your reintegration plan.

Does the IND salary criterion still apply while you are sick?

Yes, in principle the salary criterion continues to apply for as long as you hold the permit. The IND has not published a general exception for illness, so a drop in pay below the threshold can affect your right of residence.

For 2026, the IND applies these gross monthly amounts, excluding holiday allowance (vakantiegeld):

EUR 5,942 if you are 30 or older;
EUR 4,357 if you are under 30;
EUR 3,122 under the reduced salary criterion, for example after graduating in the Netherlands.

An example to illustrate: you are 35 and earn EUR 6,500 gross per month. At 70% sick pay you receive EUR 4,550, which is below the EUR 5,942 threshold for 2026. As long as your employer tops up your pay to 100%, this issue does not arise.

Whether the IND takes action after a drop in sick pay depends on the circumstances; there is no fixed outcome. If your pay is about to fall below the threshold, discuss this with your employer and the IND before it happens.

Does your employer have to tell the IND that you are sick?

Your employer, as recognised sponsor (erkend referent), must report changes that can affect your right of residence to the IND within 4 weeks. According to the IND, this includes the situation where you no longer meet the income requirement.

Being sick is not, by itself, a reportable change. A reduction of your salary below the threshold is. You also have your own duty to inform the IND of relevant changes. The IND can then assess whether to withdraw the permit. More background is in our page on losing a residence permit.

Can your employer dismiss you while you are sick?

No, not by giving notice during the first two years of illness. Article 7:670(1) BW contains a prohibition on dismissal during illness (opzegverbod tijdens ziekte).

The prohibition has limits. It does not apply if you fell ill after UWV received the employer’s dismissal request. It also does not stop you and your employer from agreeing to end the contract by a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst). A subdistrict court (kantonrechter) can still dissolve the contract for a reason unrelated to your illness, but it must check that link under Article 7:671b BW.

Be careful with a settlement agreement while you are sick. Signing one ends your salary, which also ends the basis for your highly skilled migrant permit. It can also affect your right to benefits from UWV.

What does the Gatekeeper Improvement Act require from you and your employer?

The Gatekeeper Improvement Act (Wet verbetering poortwachter) sets a fixed reintegration timeline. Both you and your employer must actively work towards your return to work.

Week 6: the company doctor (bedrijfsarts) or occupational health service makes a problem analysis (probleemanalyse).
Week 8: you and your employer agree a plan of action (plan van aanpak).
Week 42: your employer reports your illness to UWV.
Around week 52: you hold a first-year evaluation (eerstejaarsevaluatie).
Around week 87: the reintegration report (re-integratieverslag) is prepared.

Your obligations to cooperate follow from Article 7:660a BW. Your employer’s duty to reintegrate follows from Article 7:658a BW. If UWV finds your employer did too little, it can impose a wage sanction (loonsanctie) that extends sick pay by up to 52 weeks. For an overview of your rights, see sick leave rights in the Netherlands.

What happens after two years of illness?

After 104 weeks, the sick pay obligation ends and the prohibition on dismissal no longer applies. Your employer can then ask UWV for a dismissal permit under Article 7:669(3)(b) BW.

UWV only grants the permit if recovery within 26 weeks is not expected and no suitable work is available within that period. If the contract ends this way, you are in principle entitled to a transition payment (transitievergoeding), capped at EUR 102,000 in 2026 or one annual salary if that is higher. Your employer can ask UWV to compensate the transition payment it paid after two years of illness. Depending on your situation, benefits may be available from UWV.

When your employment ends, your highly skilled migrant permit loses its basis. The IND brochure on this permit states that you then have up to 3 months to find a new job as a highly skilled migrant, or up to 6 months if you have held the permit for 2 years or longer. The search period cannot run beyond the expiry date of your permit.

What happens when your permit needs to be renewed during illness?

At renewal, the IND checks the conditions again, including the salary criterion for the year of your application. If you are on reduced sick pay at that moment, the renewal can be at risk.

Plan ahead if your permit expires during a period of illness. Check the end date on your residence card, and discuss the salary level with your employer well before your employer submits the extension. Our page on the highly skilled migrant permit explains the general renewal conditions.

What does your illness mean for your partner’s permit?

Your partner’s residence permit depends on yours. If the IND withdraws or does not renew your permit, your partner’s permit is also affected.

As long as your permit remains valid, your partner can keep working without a separate work permit. Read more on the partner permit for the partner of a highly skilled migrant.

What should you check as an employee?

Check the sick pay percentage in your contract and any cao for both the first and the second year.
Calculate whether your sick pay stays above the IND threshold that applies to you in 2026.
Report sick in the way your sickness policy requires, and follow the company doctor’s advice.
Keep copies of the problem analysis, the plan of action and all reintegration correspondence.
Note the expiry date of your residence card and your partner’s card.
Do not sign a settlement agreement during illness before checking its effect on your permit and benefits.

What should you check as an employer?

Check whether your sick pay arrangement keeps the employee above the IND salary criterion.
Report a salary drop below the threshold to the IND within 4 weeks via the Business Portal or the notification form.
Meet the Gatekeeper deadlines in weeks 6, 8, 42, 52 and 87, and keep the reintegration file complete.
Do not give notice during the first 104 weeks of illness, as Article 7:670 BW prohibits this.
Check the expiry date of the residence permit if an extension falls within the sickness period.
After a dismissal permit, apply to UWV for compensation of the transition payment where possible.

What can we do for you with illness on a highly skilled migrant permit?

Review your contract, cao and sickness policy and calculate your sick pay against the IND threshold.
Assess the reintegration file and the steps taken under the Gatekeeper Improvement Act.
Review a proposed settlement agreement for its effect on your salary, permit and UWV position.
Advise on reports to the IND and on the renewal of your permit during illness, through our immigration lawyers.
Assist employers with the employment law side of long-term illness, through our employment lawyers.

Summary

Your employer pays at least 70% of your salary for up to 104 weeks under Article 7:629 BW, often more by contract or cao.
The IND salary criterion continues to apply during illness; there is no published general exception for sick pay.
Your employer must report a salary drop below the threshold to the IND within 4 weeks.
Article 7:670 BW prohibits dismissal by notice during the first two years of illness.
After two years, dismissal via UWV becomes possible, and your permit then loses its basis.

Frequently asked questions

Will the IND automatically withdraw my permit if I am sick?

No. Illness alone is not a ground for withdrawal. The risk arises when your salary falls below the IND threshold, after which the IND can assess your situation.

Does holiday allowance count towards the salary threshold?

No. The IND does not count holiday allowance (vakantiegeld) towards the salary criterion. Only the gross monthly salary counts.

Can I be dismissed during my probation period while I am sick?

Yes. The prohibition in Article 7:670 BW does not apply to termination during a valid probation period (proeftijd). On request, your employer must state the reason in writing under Article 7:676 BW.