How to get a highly skilled migrant permit in NL

The highly skilled migrant route starts with a qualifying job and an employer that can sponsor this residence purpose. You do not submit the standard application yourself: the recognised sponsor applies to the IND, while you supply the documents and make sure the offer meets the route conditions. This guide starts at the job offer and ends when the entry and residence steps are complete. Job search, changing employer and losing a sponsored job are separate tasks with their own guides.

Have the employer's exact legal name, your offer or contract, gross monthly salary, intended start date, passport and current residence status ready. If you recently graduated, completed a doctorate, finished research or held an orientation-year permit, note the relevant dates because the reduced salary criterion may apply. If Turkish Association Agreement rights may be relevant to you or your family, check the IND rules for your situation rather than assuming every standard sponsor rule applies unchanged.

Do this before comparing salary figures or preparing an HSM application.

• You are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen

  You do not need a highly skilled migrant residence permit to live and work in the Netherlands. Use your EU free-movement route instead.

• You have a Dutch offer from an IND-recognised sponsor

  This is the standard starting point for the highly skilled migrant route. Continue with the salary, contract and application checks below.

• A company outside the EU is transferring you to its Dutch branch

  If you are being transferred as a manager, specialist or trainee, the intra-corporate transferee route may apply instead. Check that route before relying on HSM rules.

• Your employer is considering another sponsored-work route

  The European Blue Card and the GVVA are different routes with different sponsor, qualification and salary rules. Confirm the residence purpose before you sign or plan around HSM conditions.

1. 1

   Confirm that the highly skilled migrant route applies

   Start with your nationality, current residence status and employment setup. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens do not need this residence permit. If a company outside the EU is transferring you as a manager, specialist or trainee, the intra-corporate transferee route may apply instead. Other sponsored jobs can use routes such as the European Blue Card or GVVA.

   Do this: Ask the employer which IND residence purpose it intends to use, then check that route on the IND before you plan around HSM conditions.

   Open the Work path

   Documents needed

   • Passport or identity document
   • Current residence document if you already live in the Netherlands
   • Job offer or draft contract

   Processing time

   Do this before signing or relying on a proposed start date.

   Common mistake: Do not use HSM salary or sponsor rules as a generic test for every international hire. The residence purpose comes first.

   Official source

   IND · Highly skilled migrant route and requirements
2. 2

   Verify the employer is recognised for work

   For the standard highly skilled migrant route, the employer is a sponsor recognised by the IND. Search the public Work register using the employer's exact legal name or KVK number. The register is updated monthly, so use the current register rather than an old screenshot or a company claim.

   Do this: Match the legal employing entity on your offer or contract to the IND public register before the application is prepared.

   Search recognised sponsors

   Documents needed

   • Offer or contract showing the legal employer name
   • Employer KVK number if available

   Processing time

   Check before you rely on the offer as a sponsored HSM route.

   Common mistake: A recognised-sponsor listing does not mean the employer is hiring, will sponsor every role or has agreed to sponsor you. Confirm the specific application with the employer.

   Official source

   IND · Public register of recognised sponsors for work
3. 3

   Check the salary criterion and market rate

   For 2026, the HSM gross monthly salary criterion excluding holiday allowance is EUR 5,942 if you are 30 or older, EUR 4,357 if you are under 30, or EUR 3,122 if the reduced criterion applies. The IND uses the amount that applies on the application date for a first application, and the agreed salary must also be in line with the market rate. The reduced criterion only applies in the IND-defined orientation-year, recent-graduate, doctorate or research situations.

   Do this: Compare the contract's qualifying monthly salary with the IND table that applies on the intended application date, then confirm any reduced-criterion eligibility with the employer.

   Documents needed

   • Offer or contract with gross monthly salary and fixed allowances
   • Graduation, doctorate, research or orientation-year dates if you rely on the reduced criterion

   Processing time

   Check immediately before submission because HSM required amounts are indexed on 1 January each year.

   Common mistake: Holiday allowance, payment in kind and uncertain or non-regular pay such as overtime or tips do not count towards the HSM salary criterion. Fixed allowances count only when the IND conditions are met.

   Official source

   IND · Highly skilled migrant required amounts and salary elements
4. 4

   Confirm the MVV route and prepare the documents

   Whether you need an MVV depends on nationality and residence status. If an MVV is required, the recognised sponsor applies for the MVV and residence permit together. The employer has the current HSM document checklist. Foreign official documents must be legalised when required and translated into Dutch, English, French or German.

   Do this: Have the employer confirm whether the application includes an MVV or uses an exemption, then work from the current IND document checklist for your exact case.

   Documents needed

   • Valid passport
   • Current residence document if applicable
   • Employment contract or appointment document
   • Evidence needed for any reduced salary criterion
   • Legalised and translated foreign documents required by the checklist

   Processing time

   If you are already in the Netherlands on a route that does not require an MVV, check the HSM page for the application timing that applies to your situation.

   Common mistake: Do not assume visa-free travel and MVV exemption are the same question. Use the IND MVV exemption rules for your nationality and status.

   Official source

   IND · MVV exemptions
5. 5

   Have the employer submit the application

   The recognised sponsor submits the HSM application to the IND online or by post. If you need an MVV, the employer applies for the MVV and residence permit at the same time. You provide the documents; the employer submits the case and pays the application fee by direct debit.

   Do this: Agree who at the employer owns the application, give them the final documents and ask for the submission date or receipt so you know the case has actually been filed.

   Documents needed

   • Final document set requested by the employer and IND checklist

   Cost

   The employer pays the IND application fee by direct debit; see the current fee in the guide overview and IND source.

   Processing time

   The IND decision period starts from the application process described by the IND; keep the employer's submission confirmation with your records.

   Common mistake: An offer, signed contract or internal HR request is not the same as an IND application. Confirm that the recognised sponsor has actually submitted it.

   Official source

   IND · Highly skilled migrant application process and cost
6. 6

   Wait for the IND decision before you rely on a start date

   The statutory decision period for an HSM application is 90 days, although the IND can extend it in defined circumstances. If the employer receives a positive decision while your residence card is not ready, you may work before collecting the card only when the positive decision states that you may do so. The permitted start date is the date stated in that decision.

   Do this: Track the application with the employer and My IND where available. Before starting work, make sure your existing status or the positive IND decision actually gives you the right to work.

   Documents needed

   • IND submission or case details
   • Positive decision when issued

   Processing time

   The legal decision period is 90 days. If the positive decision lets you work before the card is ready, arrange biometrics or card collection as soon as possible and in any case within 2 weeks after the employer receives the positive decision.

   Common mistake: Do not start solely because HR expects approval or because 90 days have passed. Use the work right shown by your current document or the IND decision for your case.

   Official source

   IND · Decision period for highly skilled migrant applications
7. 7

   Complete the MVV, residence card and arrival follow-through

   After a positive decision, follow the route in your IND letter. If you need an MVV, make the embassy or consulate appointment within the IND window, travel with the valid MVV and collect the residence card. If the application says a TB test applies, book the GGD test after obtaining the permit. The HSM permit normally runs for the contract or job period, up to a maximum of 5 years, and the card states your work endorsement.

   Do this: Collect the document, check your name, expiry date and work endorsement, complete any TB requirement, then continue with registration, BSN, insurance and the rest of your arrival setup if you are new to the Netherlands.

   Continue with the Settle path

   Documents needed

   • Passport
   • Positive IND decision
   • MVV appointment documents if applicable
   • Residence-card collection letter or appointment details
   • TB referral form if the requirement applies

   Processing time

   For an MVV case, the HSM page says to make the Dutch-representation appointment within 3 months of the positive decision; the MVV is valid for 90 days. If a TB test applies, make the GGD appointment within 3 months after obtaining the residence permit.

   Common mistake: Changing employer, losing the sponsored job and extending the permit have separate rules. Use the dedicated guide before acting on any of those changes.

   Official source

   IND · After approval, work rights, TB test and permit validity

• Valid passport
• Employment contract, appointment letter or final offer showing the employing entity, salary and start date
• Current Dutch residence document, if you already live in the Netherlands
• Evidence relevant to the reduced salary criterion if you rely on it, such as graduation, doctorate, research or orientation-year dates
• Any additional documents on the employer's current IND HSM checklist
• Legalised and translated foreign documents where the IND checklist requires them

• The IND fee for a highly skilled migrant application is EUR 423 in 2026. The recognised sponsor pays the application fee by direct debit. Check the current IND fee on the submission date.

The statutory IND decision period for a highly skilled migrant application is 90 days. The IND can extend the period in defined circumstances, including when more information or investigation is needed. Do not treat a planned employment start date as proof that you may already work; your existing work rights or the IND decision must allow it.

Requirements depend on your situation. Check the latest requirements with the relevant authority.

• Treating a recognised-sponsor listing as proof that the company will sponsor this particular job. Recognition is a legal status, not a hiring promise.
• Checking only one salary number. The applicable criterion depends on age and whether the reduced criterion applies, and the salary must also be market-rate.
• Counting holiday allowance, payment in kind or an uncertain bonus towards the salary criterion when the IND does not count those elements.
• Trying to submit the standard HSM application yourself instead of coordinating the application with the recognised sponsor.
• Assuming you can start work merely because the application was submitted. If the residence card is not ready, rely only on an existing work right or an IND positive decision that explicitly allows work before the card is collected.
• Using the initial-application guide to decide what happens after a job change or job loss. Those situations have separate IND rules and separate HowToIn guides.

• After a positive decision, follow the IND instructions for any MVV sticker, biometric appointment and residence-card collection that apply to your case.
• If the application requires a TB test, book the GGD appointment within the IND deadline and use the TB-test guide for the practical steps.
• If you are moving to the Netherlands, continue with municipality registration, BSN, DigiD, banking and health insurance through the Settle path.
• If you plan to change employer, check the change-employer guide before resigning or relying on the new start date.
• If your sponsored job ends, switch immediately to the dedicated job-loss guide because your residence position becomes time-sensitive.
• Before the permit expires, use the residence-extension guide and check permanent-residence eligibility separately when relevant.