Netherlands Highly Skilled Migrant Visa: The 2026 Salary Thresholds Explained

What the highly skilled migrant permit requires

For non-EU nationals, employment-based residence in the Netherlands often runs through the highly skilled migrant scheme or the European Blue Card. Both require the sponsoring employer to pay a minimum gross monthly salary, known as the "required amount." According to the IND, these required amounts change every year on January 1, and the highly skilled migrant must meet the amount that applies on the date of the application. If the highly skilled migrant changes employer, the amount that applies is the one in force on the date the employment contract with the new employer starts.

The 2026 monthly thresholds

For 2026, the IND lists the following gross monthly amounts for the highly skilled migrant permit and the European Blue Card:

• Highly skilled migrants under the reduced salary criterion: 3,122 euros
• Highly skilled migrants younger than 30 years: 4,357 euros
• Highly skilled migrants 30 years or older: 5,942 euros
• European Blue Card: 5,942 euros
• European Blue Card under the reduced salary criterion: 4,754 euros

The IND states the same amount applies for a first residence permit, for an extension with the same employer, and when changing employer. Separately, for essential start-up personnel the IND lists a required amount of 3,122 euros gross per month, without holiday allowance.

Who qualifies for the reduced rate

The reduced salary criterion for highly skilled migrants applies, per the IND, in three situations: during the residence permit for an orientation year for highly educated persons; within 3 years of graduation, a doctoral defence ceremony, or the expiry of a research residence permit, where the person meets the orientation-year requirements; or after having held an orientation-year permit. The reduced European Blue Card rate applies to graduates of a higher education programme who apply within 3 years of their graduation or doctoral defence date, and it can also apply to an extension or change of employer within that same 3-year window, or to an extension within 24 months of the first Blue Card permit.

The IND also sets out what can count toward the threshold. Fixed allowances such as a thirteenth month can be included if they are written into the contract and paid monthly, in 12 equal instalments, into the migrant's own bank account. Holiday (vacation) allowance, payment in kind, and irregular pay elements such as overtime, tips, or fund payments do not count toward the threshold.

What Dutch employers are actually paying

The thresholds above are immigration minimums, not a guide to typical pay. NewLuxJob's own job-board figures, drawn from its live vacancy feed rather than an official statistics agency, show what roles in the Netherlands are currently advertising. Across all roles, the median was 40,344 euros, with the middle half of postings between 32,760 and 51,000 euros, based on 5,314 job postings. Among individual roles: Software Developer postings had a median of 50,400 euros (43,215 to 60,000 euros, from 198 postings); Engineer roles a median of 49,800 euros (43,500 to 57,600 euros, from 542 postings); Data Analyst roles a median of 55,554 euros (41,598 to 68,445 euros, from 58 postings); and Manager roles a median of 51,792 euros (42,000 to 66,000 euros, from 624 postings). Other roles on the lower end of NewLuxJob's listings included Cleaning, with a median of 27,359 euros (26,074 to 29,517 euros, from 153 postings), and Driver/Logistics, with a median of 33,540 euros (28,778 to 39,000 euros, from 789 postings).

Checking a specific job offer

Because the required amounts are fixed gross monthly figures that change every January 1, anyone comparing a job offer against the highly skilled migrant or Blue Card thresholds should check the amount that applies on the date of the application, or on the start date of a new contract if changing employer. The IND's distinction between what counts toward the threshold (contractual, monthly-paid allowances) and what doesn't (holiday allowance, in-kind pay, irregular bonuses) matters here too, since a quoted salary figure may not match the gross SV salary that is actually tested against the required amount.