Policy for highly skilled migrants

Minimum income

A highly skilled migrant seeking employment in the Netherlands must earn a minimum gross income of €5.942 per month excluding holiday allowance, or €4.357 per month excluding holiday allowance for those under the age of 30 (2026). The income criterion does not apply if the employee is hired by an educational or research institute, or is a postgraduate student or university lecturer younger than 30.

From 2007, graduates who have finished their studies in the Netherlands are eligible for a highly skilled migrant permit (kennismigrant). To qualify for this permit, a graduate has to earn a minimum of €3,122.00 monthly excluding holiday allowance (2026).

An employer who hires a highly skilled migrant is not required to obtain a work permit for this foreign national employee, who nonetheless must have a residence permit. The application for the Dutch residence permit must be submitted by the foreign national employee to the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service. The IND aims at processing these applications swiftly, if possible within two weeks. Our experience, however, is that the IND usually takes longer to process a permit.

Agreement with IND

Employers have to have a contractual agreement with the IND that allows them to employ highly skilled migrants. Since March 2005, Undutchables has such an agreement with the IND.

In short, if you are highly skilled and Undutchables can find you a suitable job that complies with the regulations AND if the company is willing to wait until the permit is granted, we can begin the job search procedure. Please note, the knowledge migrant is responsible for the application costs of a temporary residence permit (MVV).

Good news: the knowledge migrant’s partners and children are eligible to work without a work permit if they are included in the application (and if the MVV application is approved). More information can be found on the IND website.