High Skilled Professionals Regulations
Highly skilled professionals (or ‘knowledge migrants’ as they are known in the Netherlands) can be divided into two separate groups, whose regulations can often be confused with each other.
- So-called ‘Search Year’ students who have graduated from a Dutch University or University of Applied Sciences
- High skilled professionals
High skilled professionals and labour migrants
Highly-educated, foreign nationals who have obtained a minimum of a Master's degree can obtain a residence and work permit in the Netherlands in order to find a job as a highly-skilled migrant or to start an innovative company.
Graduates that qualify for this scheme must have completed a degree at a university listed in the top 150 of two internationally recognized rankings, published in The Times Higher Education Supplement and by Jiao Tong Shanghai University in 2007.
Those who have completed a Master's degree or obtained PhD at a Dutch institution for higher education also qualify for this scheme. The highly-educated migrants will be able to make use of this scheme until three years after the date of graduation. Highly skilled migrants will also have to score at least 35 out of 40 points:
- Master's degree: 25 points and a
- Ph.D: 30 points.
- Ages of 21 and 40: 5 points.
- Previously experience in NL: 5 points
- Knowledge of Dutch or English languages: 5 points
The Admission Scheme for Highly Educated Migrants allows for foreign nationals to seek employment in the Netherlands. Companies who employ Highly-Skilled Migrants must also be admitted to the Highly-Skilled Migrant Scheme coordinated by the IND. See the list of companies. Click here to find more information on High skilled professionals.
Job seeking year regulation for foreign graduates
International students from outside the EU/EEA who have successfully completed a degree in the Netherlands can remain in the Netherlands for an additional year to look for a permanent position as a Highly-Skilled Migrant. However, they must be able to financially support themselves during this job-seeking period and will not be eligible to receive benefits from the Dutch state during this time.
Graduates must change their status through the IND to 'verblijf gedurende zoek jaar afgestudeerde' and will therefore not be required to have a work permit during this year.
Graduates who find permanent employment as a Highly-Skilled Migrant within a year will be eligible for a residence permit. The minimum starting salary required for this category of permit has been lowered from €35,130 to € 25,800 gross per year.
The costs of the procedure conduct € 331,-. For more information please go to the website of IND.
