The labor market has been becoming increasingly diverse for years. Fortunately, it has! As a client, it is very interesting to look at people outside Europe; because of the labor shortage in the tech domain, for example, and for a nice mix of ideas, vision and cultures within your digital team. But there are also some administrative components involved, which are different from candidates from within the Schengen zone.

sponsorship

For specific professions where there is a shortage within the Netherlands, it is possible to hire highly skilled migrants. Think of developers, product owners and other digital professionals. As a company you can offer them a sponsorship, which gives them a visa to work at your company in the Netherlands.

apply for a highly skilled migrant visa

This process takes time and there are specialized parties who can help you with this. You must be recognized by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) as an employer in order to offer such sponsorship. Usually HR is responsible for this process. So it is a good idea to start working on this already. If the perfect candidate comes along and needs a sponsorship, this will not stand in the way of the hire.

Incidentally, this does not mean that you are ‘stuck’ with the candidate. As soon as the contract is terminated or she might take another job, the sponsorship ends and is provided by the new employer, for example.

rules highly skilled migrant visa 2023

There are rules that apply to a sponsorship regarding salary. This is indexed every year. As of 1 January 2023, the salary threshold for Highly Skilled Migrants in the Netherlands will change to the following gross monthly amounts (excluding 8% holiday allowance):

• Highly Skilled Migrants 30 years and older: €5,008 gross based on a 40-hour work week*.
• Highly Skilled Migrants under 30 years of age: € 3,672 gross based on a 40-hour workweek*.

benefits for highly skilled migrants

There are also benefits for the candidates themselves, apart from a nice challenge in your digital team:

• They get to work with the Dutch language, called ‘Civic Integration’
• They have a tax benefit for five years where they pay only 30% tax.
• Family members can also qualify for sponsorship.

In the tight labor market, offering a ‘highly skilled migrant’ visa can be interesting to attract and hire the right candidates. Moreover, it also provides more diversity in your team. Should you have the option to offer this, our advice would be to definitely do it.

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