Highly Skilled Migrant procedure

The highly skilled migrant procedure

You need a work permit to work in the Netherlands as a non-EU resident. This can be obtained through various means, including the highly skilled knowledge migrant scheme. Criteria must be met for the employee, employer, and employment contract.

The employee is highly qualified, with diplomas (bachelor or master) or demonstrable work experience. The employee's expertise, salary, and position must be aligned and be market-competitive.

The employer must be registered with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) as an accredited sponsor. Obtaining this recognition involves completing an application process. A knowledge migrant can only be employed by an accredited sponsor.

The employment contract must demonstrate that the knowledge migrant meets at least the minimum salary requirements set by the IND. This should be a fixed salary that does not fall below this threshold due to factors like a lower wage during illness or unpaid leave. The salary threshold must also not be reached based on flexible salary components, such as performance-dependent bonuses.

Salary criteria

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) sets minimum salary requirements for knowledge migrants' employment contracts. These requirements are annually indexed, with the new salary applicable to new knowledge migrants or those changing employers.

BlueStone is the Dutch employer of highly skilled migrants; we employ the migrants. We handle the IND application for the migrant, along with any additional services as needed. Once the IND issues the permit, we take care of the payroll for the migrant on behalf of our client. The client pays for our services, while the migrant receives a monthly salary.