High Skilled Migrant
· High Skilled Migrant
· Highly Educated Persons
HIGH SKILLED MIGRANT
A High Skilled Migrant (also called: Skilled Migrant or Knowledge Migrant) is a migrant who comes to The Netherlands to be employed. The High Skilled Migrant does not need to apply for a work permit.
The duration of the residence permit is the same duration of the labor contract, with a maximum of five years. If the duration of the labor contract is one year, the residence permit will be granted for one year. If the duration of the labor contract is for an indefinite period, the residence permit will be granted for five years. In all cases the residence permit will be maximum one month less than the validity of your passport. Once the passport has been extended, the residence permit can be extended as well.
During the validity of the residence permit, the employee may change jobs voluntarily to a new employer who also meets the requirements for the application for a High Skilled Migrant, or who has obtained a work permit for this employee. If the departure is involuntary, the employee is given a search period of three months to find a new job without a so-called “residence gap”. This means that if the employee has obtained a continuous residence permit for 5 years, he or she can apply for a indefinite residence permit or apply for the Dutch citizenship (Dutch passport) provided that the applicant meets the other requirements for this application, like passing the NT2-level Dutch language exam. In all cases it is possible – if one meet the requirements - to change the residence purpose, for example to family reunion residence with partner, or becoming self-employed (entrepreneur).
After three years having obtained a residence permit based on High Skilled Migrant, the fourth residence permit will be “labor free”, which means that the alien is allow to find another job without the restrictions of the High Skilled Migrant.
Main conditions
1. The employer has been accepted by the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Office (IND) to hire high skilled migrants;
2. The employee will earn at least a gross annual income of € 51,239 (2012) above 30 years, € 37,575 (2012) under 30 years and € 26.931 (2012) for students in their search year. 8 % holiday allowance is included in above mentioned salary indication. The income criterion do not apply if the employee enters the employment of an educational or research institute as a PhD student, post-docs and university teachers under 30 years.
According to the Dutch law, a company who hires a foreign employee to come to work in the Netherlands, must carry out business activities. The employee has to work for the Dutch company, and cannot leave the Netherlands for a period longer than nine months.
Spouse and children
When applying for a residence permit for labour, the applicant can apply for a permit for his/her spouse and/or children at the same time. The spouse and/or children are allowed to work in the Netherlands without restrictions. The duration of the residence permit of the spouse is one year and will be extended in the second year, provided that the residence permit of the high skilled migrant is still valid. The duration of the residence permit of the children is the same as the duration of the residence permit of the high skilled migrant.
Duration of the application
After having completed all personal documents, the application for the high skilled migrant will take in total about 3-4 weeks. Because our company has been accepted by the IND as applier/referent for these applications, in most cases the procedure can be shortened.
HIGHLY EDUCATED PERSONS
As of 1 January 2009, the Dutch Government has introduced a new admission scheme for highly educated persons.
Main Conditions
Highly educated foreigners who have at least attained a Master’s degree at a university listed in the top 150 of internationally recognized rankings, can apply for a residence permit to find a job as a highly-skilled migrant or to start an innovative company in the Netherlands. In China, only graduates from the these four universities meet this condition:
- Peking University
- Tsinghua University
- Fudan University
- Nanking University
Foreigners who have completed a Master’s study at a recognized institution for higher education or who have received their PhD from a Dutch institution for higher education, also qualify for this scheme. The application needs to be submitted within three years after graduation and will be issued for a maximum period of one year (orientation year).
Scoring system
Assessment is based on a scoring system that assigns points to the level of education, age and performance indicators. The applicant needs at least 35 out of 40 points to qualify for a residence permit. A master’s degree allows the foreigner to obtain 25 points, where a Ph.D. counts for 30 points. If the foreigner is between the age of 21-40, 5 additional points will be awarded. Extra points can be granted when the foreigner has previously worked or studied in the Netherlands, speaks Dutch or English, or has obtained a diploma in a country that is party to the Bologna declaration.
Changing permit within one year
After obtaining the residence permit, the foreigner can start finding a job as a high skilled migrant. The employer will have to be admitted to the highly skilled migrant scheme with the IND (our office can arrange the permission for the employer). In this application a lowered income requirement applies to the foreigner in order to be considered as a high skilled migrant. Once the foreigner has found a job, he can convert his one-year residence permit in to a residence permit as a highly-skilled migrant. The same condition applies for a foreigner who starts an innovative company in the Netherlands. That person can also, within one year, change his permit into a residence permit to work on self-employed basis if he meets up to the requirements for that purpose.
Work permit is necessary
People who have been awarded a residence permit based on the Admission Scheme for highly educated migrants are only permitted to work as an employee in their orientation year if the employer has a work permit. Family members of the applicant are also allowed to work as employees, if the employer has obtained a work permit. When the status of the applicant changes into the status of the high skilled migrant or that of self employed, they are free on the job market.
