Netherlands/Highly Skilled Migrant

What is a highly skilled migrant?

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Known in Dutch as a "kennismigrant" (literally: knowledge migrant), a highly skilled migrant is someone who immigrates into the Netherlands to work using a specific set of skills and/or knowledge. The IND offers an accelerated immigration path to cultivate a “knowledge culture” within the Netherlands, with fewer requirements than other work visas. For example, employers need not prove for highly skilled migrants that they were unable to find suitable candidates within the EU, unlike regular worker migrants.

The skills that make you eligible as a highly skilled migrant can be seen as:

• being paid a minimum amount of income by a company recognized as a sponsor by the IND
• being a recent graduate
• an employment contract with a research institution
• being a healthcare professional listed in the BIG register which is a requirement for practicing healthcare in the Netherlands

Sponsor company with minimum income

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The minimum changes every year on January 1. Several factors may lead to a reduced minimum like age below 30 years or being a recent graduate: check the minimum amount of income link for specific details.

Recent graduates

Orientation year (zoekjaar)

The orientation year offers a Dutch residence permit for a year to orient yourself in the Dutch market, and search for a job as a kennismigrant, and critically has a lower income requirement once a job is found.

You can apply for this visa if you've recently graduated with a master's or doctorate from an approved international university or a bachelor's or master's from a Dutch university. The list of approved international universities varies from year to year, based on international rankings publishers. Universities are chosen base don all-round merits and by subject; it's worth checking whether your university meets the overall requirements OR the subject you studied at your university meets the requirements. The most recent lists can be found on the IND page and breaks down generally as the following:

Your foreign diploma must meet all following requirements:

• Your educational institution is in the top 200 of the general rankings or the rankings by subject of at least 2 of the 3 publishers.
• Your educational institution is in the top 200 of these rankings on the date of your graduation or promotion.
• Is your educational institution in a ranking by subject? In that case that ranking must be about your study or research subject.

When finding employment through an orientation year, the income requirements are lower (see reduced salary criterion). Note that the employer must still be from the list of recognized sponsors of highly-skilled migrants.

Researchers

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Healthcare professionals

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