What is a highly skilled migrant, and when do you need the scheme?
A highly skilled migrant is a specialist you hire from outside the EU. The Dutch call the route the kennismigrantenregeling, the highly skilled migrant scheme.
You only need it for staff from outside the EU, the EEA or Switzerland. Those nationals may already work here freely. A highly skilled migrant needs a residence permit, and your company applies for it.
Two groups are exceptions. An EU Blue Card holder and a Turkish employee under the Association Agreement do not need a recognised sponsor.
Take Nova Robotics, an Amsterdam scale-up. They want to hire Priya, a robotics engineer aged 31 from India. She comes from outside the EU, so the scheme applies to her. We follow their steps through this page. The IND is the Dutch immigration service. The Belastingdienst is the Dutch tax authority.
In short
A recognised sponsor is required. To hire a highly skilled migrant from outside the EU, your company must be recognised by the IND.
Salary criteria by age. In 2026 the gross monthly criterion is €5,942 at 30 and older. Under 30 it is €4,357. Both amounts exclude holiday allowance.
A reduced criterion exists. Recent graduates and orientation year permit holders have a lower criterion of €3,122 a month. The IND sets strict conditions for it. Ask us to check your graduation date first.
Not the 30% ruling norm. The IND salary criterion is a different figure from the 30% ruling salary norm.
Three sponsor duties. You have a duty of care, a duty to inform the IND and a duty to keep records.
Blue Card and Turkish staff differ. They do not need a recognised sponsor to work here.
The 30% ruling often follows. A highly skilled migrant is usually also eligible for the 30% ruling.
What is a recognised sponsor, and how do you become one?
A recognised sponsor is a company the IND approves to hire highly skilled migrants.² You apply to the IND once, and the recognition then covers your future hires.
Your company must be registered in the Dutch Business Register and meet the IND conditions. The IND charges a recognition fee, with a lower rate for small employers. Check the current fee and processing time on ind.nl.
Recognition from the IND takes time to arrange. It must be granted before you file the residence permit application. So start it well before you want the person to begin working. Once recognised, you can use the fast-track procedure for each new hire. Recognition also brings three ongoing duties toward the IND. They start at recognition and outlast the employment. You inform the employee about the residence rules. You report relevant changes to the IND on time. You keep the employee's file after the job ends.
How much must a highly skilled migrant earn in 2026?
In 2026 a highly skilled migrant must earn at least €5,942 a month.¹ That is the gross monthly criterion at 30 and older, excluding holiday allowance.
Under 30 the criterion is €4,357. Recent graduates and orientation-year permit holders have a reduced criterion of €3,122. The IND sets these amounts on 1 January each year. The reduced criterion has strict conditions on when you graduated. Ask us to confirm the graduation window before you apply the reduced rate.
The salary must also be market-conform, which the IND assesses. Market-conform means the pay matches what the role normally pays here. This is not the same as the 30% ruling salary norm, a separate figure set by the Belastingdienst. We explain that one in our guides to the 30% ruling and its salary threshold. An orientation year permit lets a recent graduate stay to find work here. Holiday allowance is the yearly payment on top of the gross monthly salary.
| Criterion | Who it applies to | 2026 (gross per month) |
|---|---|---|
| 30 and older | standard criterion | €5,942 |
| Under 30 | standard criterion | €4,357 |
| Reduced | recent graduate or orientation year, IND conditions apply | €3,122 |
How does hiring a highly skilled migrant work?
Hiring a highly skilled migrant runs in a few clear steps. First your company must be a recognised sponsor with the IND. Only once that recognition is in place do you apply for the migrant's residence permit. The salary must meet the criterion for the person's age. A recognised sponsor can use the fast-track procedure for that application.
Take Priya at Nova Robotics again. She is 31, so her criterion is €5,942 a month. Nova offers her €6,500 a month, which clears it. That offer excludes holiday allowance, just like the criterion. The IND still assesses whether the salary is market-conform. The table below follows each step.
| Step | Detail | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Candidate age | Priya, robotics engineer | Aged 30+ |
| Salary criterion 2026 | gross per month, 30 and older | €5,942 |
| Offered gross monthly salary | Nova Robotics' offer | €6,500 |
| Meets the salary criterion? | €6,500 against €5,942 | Yes |
“Employers worry most about the parts they cannot see: the salary criterion, the obligations, the tax side. We map those out with you before you make the offer, so there are no surprises later.”
How does the 30% ruling fit in?
The 30% ruling usually applies to a highly skilled migrant too. The ruling lets you pay part of the salary tax-free.
You and the employee apply for it jointly at the Belastingdienst. Nova Robotics and Priya apply for the ruling together. It uses its own salary norm, not the IND criterion on this page. A hire can meet one figure and miss the other, in either direction.
We do not repeat the ruling's figures here. You will find them in our guides to the 30% ruling and the 30% ruling salary threshold.
What does this mean for you as an employer?
First, your company needs to be a recognised sponsor. If it is not yet, apply for recognition before anything else. Match the offered salary to the criterion for the person's age. Treat the 30% ruling as a separate question worth answering early.
Nova Robotics confirmed its recognition, matched the criterion and made the offer. Your own hire follows the same three steps. The fiscal side is where we come in. You can see how we take that off your hands on our Partners Programme page. Ask us what a new January amount means for staff you already employ.
Hiring from abroad? See how we handle the 30% ruling application for employers.
¹ ind.nl, Required amounts income requirements · Accessed
² business.gov.nl, Employing highly skilled migrants · Accessed