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How founders and engineers move to the Netherlands: highly skilled migrants, the EU Blue Card, the startup visa and the 30% ruling.
A new Dutch company can hire people from outside Europe, but usually not on the first day. It first has to be recognised as a sponsor by the IND, the Dutch immigration service, before its first highly skilled migrant can apply.
These guides explain each route, what it asks for and how long it takes, using the IND's own published rules. Salary limits change every year, so each guide shows the date we last checked it.
The 30% ruling lets a Dutch employer pay part of a foreign employee's salary tax free, as a fixed allowance for the extra costs of moving. According to the Dutch government, the maximum drops from 30% to 27% on 1 January 2027, and a higher salary limit starts on the same day for people who began using it in 2025 or later.
Read itA highly skilled migrant is someone with an employment contract from a Dutch employer that the IND has approved as a recognised sponsor, whose salary is above the amount the IND sets for their age or situation, and whose pay matches the market rate for the job. There is no diploma requirement and no separate work permit.
Read itThe IND sets a gross monthly salary, without holiday allowance, that a highly skilled migrant has to earn. For 2026 it is EUR 5,942 for someone aged 30 or over, EUR 4,357 for someone under 30, and EUR 3,122 on the reduced criterion for recent graduates. The European Blue Card has its own amounts.
Read itA company applies to the IND in writing on its own form, after it is registered with the KvK and can show that it is financially sound and reliable. According to the IND, the fee for 2026 is EUR 5,080, or EUR 2,539 for a company with no more than fifty staff, and the IND has three months to decide.
Read itAccording to the IND, the legal decision period for a highly skilled migrant application is 90 days. In practice it is much shorter. The IND says it tries to decide applications from a recognised sponsor within two weeks, and that it handles the vast majority of knowledge and talent cases within a month.
Read itYes. A highly skilled migrant can bring a spouse, a registered partner, an unmarried partner and minor children. According to the IND, the partner of a highly skilled migrant is free to work in the Netherlands, so no work permit is needed, and the employer can file the family applications as a recognised sponsor.
Read itIt depends on who is moving and on what the company already has. The highly skilled migrant route needs the employer to be a recognised sponsor. The European Blue Card does not, but asks for a degree or long experience. The start-up permit is for founders working with a recognised facilitator, and the friendship treaty route is open to US and Japanese nationals.
Read itThe European Blue Card is a European work and residence permit for highly skilled staff from outside the European Union. The IND asks for a higher education programme of at least three years or long relevant experience, a contract of at least six months, and a salary above the amount set for the year. The employer does not have to be a recognised sponsor.
Read itThe Dutch start-up permit is for a founder from outside the EU with an innovative business and a signed contract with a facilitator, a mentor recognised by RVO. According to the IND, the permit is valid for one year. After that year, the founder can apply for a residence permit as a self-employed person.
Read itThe treaty lets a US or Japanese national get a Dutch residence permit as a self-employed person without the normal scoring test. According to the IND, most business forms need a minimum investment of EUR 4,500 in the company, and the permit is valid for at most two years.
Read itBefore the first employee starts, a foreign-owned company needs a Dutch entity registered with the KvK, a payroll tax number from the Dutch tax office, written terms of employment, and, for a hire from outside the EU, recognition as a sponsor by the IND. Pension and working conditions follow.
Read itFrom 1 January 2027 the expat scheme pays a maximum of 27% of salary instead of 30%, and its salary norms rise. That is the change Rijksoverheid publishes. A second law, already passed, adds an admission requirement for any company that lends out staff, and fines for hirers who use one without it.
Read itTen lines about your company is enough for us to tell you what the route looks like.
Want the whole picture first? See the Route