Highly skilled migrant

Companies may benefit from having employees relocate to the Netherlands from abroad. There are two schemes that make this possible. We describe them below.

IND-procedure highly skilled migrant scheme

As an employer, it is possible to bring employees to the Netherlands from abroad. If the employee or his of her family does not have the nationality of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland, he/she will need to obtain an authorisation for temporary stay (MVV) through a procedure for highly skilled migrants.

There are a number of conditions that must be met by both the employer and the employee. The employer must be a sponsor recognised by the IND. These are listed in the public register of recognised sponsors. If an employer is not a recognised sponsor yet, the employer can ask the IND to become one. Furthermore, the employee’s income must be sufficient. See the index-linked amounts here. A third condition is that the agreed wage must be in line with the prevailing market. Further conditions may also apply depending on the type of work the highly skilled migrant will perform.

The employer will have to submit the application for the MVV and the residence permit. Once all documents for the application are complete, the IND will make a decision within 90 days. This will involve checking whether the employee meets the conditions. In case of a negative decision, the employee can object to it. When the decision is positive, the employee has three months to collect the MVV. The highly skilled migrant will then be able to travel to the Netherlands within the 90-day period of validity of the MVV.

Startup essential staff pilot

On 1 June 2021, the Startup Essential Staff Pilot was launched. This pilot is intended for innovative startups in the Netherlands that are in urgent need of employees with specific high-level expertise, experience and skills, to enable the startups to grow. By offering opportunities to startup companies, the pilot stimulates the knowledge economy in the Netherlands. The pilot will run until 1 June 2025, after which the residence permit scheme based on the pilot will be extended for another year.