Which Salary Threshold Applies to Which Highly Skilled Migrant?

Under the Highly Skilled Migrant scheme, the salary of the Highly Skilled Migrant is central, and salary criteria also apply to other related schemes such as those for intra-company transfers and the European Blue Card scheme. It's quite easy to find lists of current salary criteria on the internet. But what is the logic behind these amounts? What salary criteria are distinguished, and under what conditions can they be applied? In this article, Arend van Rosmalen LL.M., partner at Mynta Law, unravels the logic behind the figures.

Salary as an Admission Factor

Employers that want to attract employees from outside the EU rely on several different schemes, such as the Highly Skilled Migrant scheme, the scheme for intra-company transfers, and the European Blue Card scheme. Additionally, there are specific schemes (for example, for key personnel within innovative startups). In all these schemes, the salary offered to the employee plays a crucial role. This salary reflects - the thought goes - how valuable the employee is to the employer. If that value is very high for the employer, the legislator recognizes that there is also a general economic interest for the Netherlands; the employer should not be hindered but rather facilitated in hiring such a valuable employee - so that the employer does not consider relocating their economic activity elsewhere. The salary criterion thus acts as an economic tipping point: if the employee earns less, then they are mainly a burden to Dutch job seekers and thus a threat to Dutch employment, but if their salary exceeds the criterion, the doors of the Netherlands suddenly swing open, and the orange carpet is rolled out for the employee - but especially for their employer.

What Salary Criteria Are There?

In Dutch migration law, there are roughly five different salary criteria. These are (from low to high):

1. The statutory minimum wage
2. The so-called "reduced salary criterion"
3. The salary criterion for (knowledge) migrants under 30 years old
4. The salary criterion for (knowledge) migrants aged 30 and older
5. The salary criterion for holders of the European Blue Card

The Statutory Minimum Wage

The statutory minimum wage only forms a general lower limit in situations where migration law does not set any other, stricter threshold (anymore) - and that hardly ever happens when hiring non-EU citizens. An example of this is the situation where the employee has already had a work-related residence permit for five years, thus gaining free access to the Dutch labor market. In such a case, the employee can apply for a general residence permit for continuing working in paid employment and is then no longer bound by a stricter salary criterion than the statutory minimum wage.

The "Reduced" Salary Criterion

The reduced salary criterion is intended to attract highly educated talent. The reduced salary criterion is several hundred euros per month higher than the statutory minimum wage, making it a common, market-based starting salary for recent graduates entering the labor market. This salary criterion can first and foremost be used within the Highly Skilled Migrant scheme and applies under specific conditions, which must be fulfilled on the day the first Highly Skilled Migrant residence permit is applied for. The most important, most common situations in which the reduced salary criterion applies, are as follows:

• The employee has successfully completed a bachelor's or master's degree at a Dutch university or college in the three years before the application is submitted; or
• The employee has successfully completed a master's degree at a foreign university that ranks in the global top 200; or
• The employee has carried on scientific research in the Netherlands in the three years before the application is submitted, eiter holding a Highly Skilled Migrant residence permit or a residence permit specifically for scientific researchers.

The scheme for intra-company transfers aligns with the salary criteria for Highly Skilled Migrants and thus also with the reduced salary criterion. A pilot scheme for essential startup personnel also uses the reduced salary criterion.

When changing employers, the reduced salary criterion remains applicable. However, changing employers may require the new employer to apply a new time version of this criterion. More on this below.

The Salary Criterion for Highly Skilled Migrants Under 30

This salary criterion applies if the reduced salary criterion does not apply, and the Highly Skilled Migrant is under 30 years old on the day the first Highly Skilled Migrant residence permit is applied for. The salary standard is significantly higher than the reduced salary criterion, but is less than the salary criterion for Highly Skilled Migrants aged 30 years and older.

If the employee turns 30 after their initial admission, and the current employer wants to renew the residence permit, they can continue to use the salary criterion for Highly Skilled Migrants under 30. However, a new time version may apply. More on this below. When the employee changes employers after having reached the age of 30, the new employer must apply the salary criterion for (Highly Skilled) Migrants aged 30 years and older.

The Salary Criterion for Highly Skilled Migrants Aged 30 and Older

This salary criterion applies if the reduced salary criterion does not apply, and the Highly Skilled Migrant is 30 years or older on the day the first knowledge migrant permit is applied for. Even if the knowledge migrant was younger than 30 at their first Highly Skilled Migrant residence permit, but changes employers after reaching that age, the new employer must apply the salary criterion for Highly Skilled Migrants aged 30 and older.

The Salary Criterion for Holders of the European Blue Card

This salary criterion is the highest salary criterion within migration law. This is probably why the European Blue Card is not widely used at the time of writing. However, the Blue Card scheme has recently been revised at the EU level. When the new directive is transposed into Dutch legislation as proposed by the government, the salary criterion for the European Blue Card would be abolished, and it would be aligned with the other salary criteria mentioned above. This would probably make the European Blue Card scheme much more attractive for employers.

Changes to the Criteria Over Time

Once you have determined which salary criterion can be applied to an employee's salary, the next step is to determine which time version of that salary criterion should be used. After all, all salary criteria are indexed annually (and in the case of the statutory minimum wage, twice a year). To determine which time version of the salary criterion should be applied, the date on which an application is received by the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) is decisive, even if the start date of an employment contract is in a subsequent year. For example, if an employer submits an application for a Highly Skilled Migrant esidence permit on December 29 of year X, while the employment contract is due to start on February 1 of year Y, the salary criterion from year X applies for the duration of this residence permit, even during year Y, year Z, and so on. The same logic applies to the renewal of a residence permit; the moment the renewal application is received by the IND is decisive. The same logic applies when changing employers; the moment the notification is submitted by the new employer is decisive.

This logic does not apply when the statutory minimum wage is the relevant criterion; this is increased twice a year (on January 1 and July 1) and must be immediately applied to all Dutch employment contracts.

What Are the Different Salary Criteria Exactly?

The table below shows all salary criteria as they have applied in the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. The amounts listed are gross monthly salaries excluding 8% holiday allowance. A simple example calculation is included below the table.

A Simple Example Calculation

An employee living outside the Netherlands, born on January 3, 1992, accepts an offer of employment from a Dutch employer in November 2021 for a duration of one year. The employment contract will start on February 1, 2022 (customary to allow the IND time to assess the application and to arrange other practical matters). The residence application is submitted on December 2, 2021. Which salary criterion applies?

Answer: The employee is not yet 30 years old on December 2, 2021. There is also no indication that the reduced salary criterion applies. The applicable criterion is therefore the salary criterion for Highly Skilled Migrants under 30. The application was submitted in the year 2021 (even though the employment contract will begin in the year 2022). This means that the criterion from 2021 will apply to this employment contract, even though it spans entirely in 2022. The applicable amount is: €3,484.00 per month, excluding 8% holiday allowance.

After this year, the employer wants to renew the employment contract indefinitely. This is agreed with the employee in December 2022. A renewal application is submitted to the IND on January 10, 2023. Which salary criterion will apply from February 1, 2023?

Answer: When submitting the application, the employee has turned thirty. However, this does not affect which salary criterion applies, as the employee does not change employers. Therefore, the salary criterion for Highly Skilled Migrants under 30 continues to apply. As for the time version, the date of the application is decisive. The renewal application was submitted in the year 2023, so this version of the salary criterion will continue to govern the employment contract. The applicable amount is: €3,672.00.

Questions about these salary criteria or highly skilled immigration?

Mynta Law will be able to address any of your questions about this. Feel free to contact Arend van Rosmalen.