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Dutch residence permits 2026 – highly skilled migrant, EU Blue Card, MVV, family and study routes

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

An EU passport is all the paperwork an EU citizen needs. Everyone else needs a residence permit from the IND, and in most cases an employer, a university or a partner applies for it. Here are the routes, the 2026 salary thresholds and fees, and what changed on 22 May 2026.

Woman writing a packing list while holding a green passport beside a suitcase
Photo: Kyrylo/Adobe Stock

Residence permit rules changed in 2025 and 2026, and EU citizens are barely touched; for everyone else the IND (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst – the immigration service) applies the dates below. In 2025 it kept to the statutory limits in 80 to 100% of family, knowledge and study cases, but in only 53% of labour-migration ones.

DateWhat changed
12 October 2025EU Entry/Exit System: non-EU short-stay travellers registered with photo and fingerprints, no passport stamp
1 January 2026New salary thresholds and fees (table below)
22 May 2026Change-of-employer notifications decided within 45 days
12 June 2026New EU asylum rules; no more permanent asylum permits
1 July 2026Family and paid-employment income requirement €2,337.00 a month to 31 December 2026

Source: the IND, Rijksoverheid and NetherlandsWorldwide (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), read 24 September 2026.

Do you need a residence permit in the Netherlands at all?

As an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen you need no visa, residence permit or work permit: your passport or ID card proves lawful residence and you never register with the IND. After three months you must be working genuinely – at least 50% of the social assistance amount that applies to you, or 40% of a full week – or have means of at least the minimum wage with holiday pay, or be an insured student with funds. After five years you have permanent residence; before that, claiming benefits can cost an economically inactive citizen the right to stay. You still register in the BRP (Basisregistratie Personen – the population register) if staying over four months and insure within four months; there is no inburgering (civic integration) duty.

Everyone else needs a residence permit for more than 90 days, tied to a purpose and valid for at most five years – and usually an MVV to enter. Non-EU family of an EU citizen apply for verification against EU law instead: €85, no MVV, decision within six months. British citizens fall under the Withdrawal Agreement only if they lived here before 1 January 2021 (document €85); later arrivals need a regular permit.

MVV and the TEV procedure: how you get in

The MVV (machtiging tot voorlopig verblijf – provisional residence permit) is a type D visa for stays over 90 days, applied for together with the residence permit – the TEV procedure – usually by your sponsor. Nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Vatican City, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Korea and Switzerland need none.

After approval you have 90 days to collect the MVV and 90 days to travel. Every regular permit needs a valid passport, an antecedents certificate for everyone over 12 and a TB test after arrival unless exempt.

Highly skilled migrant and EU Blue Card Netherlands: the 2026 thresholds

Only an employer the IND recognises as a sponsor can apply for the kennismigrant (highly skilled migrant) permit. The salary must be market-rate and paid monthly to your own account; holiday allowance, payments in kind and irregular pay do not count. The under-30 amount survives your 30th birthday with the same employer; change employer at 30 or older and €5,942 applies. The reduced criterion – during or after an orientation year, or within three years of graduating, a doctorate or a research permit – is not age-dependent. Researchers, guest lecturers and doctors in training need only the minimum-wage level, €1,635.90 a month to 31 December 2026.

The permit runs with your contract, up to five years. Lose your job and you have three months to find a new recognised sponsor, six after two years or more. The statutory decision period is 90 days, but the IND aims at two weeks for complete applications from recognised sponsors, and since 22 May 2026 a change-of-employer notification must be decided within 45 days, extendable by 15; if the IND misses that, you may work for the new employer for the rest of your permit. Your family may work without a work permit, and there is no inburgering duty.

The EU Blue Card, under Directive 2021/1883, needs a contract of at least six months for a highly qualified job, a degree from a programme of at least three years or five years of relevant experience, and €5,942 a month, or €4,754 within three years of graduating. The employer need not be a recognised sponsor, but with one the IND decides in 30 days instead of 90. It is implemented by 24 EU states – not Ireland or Denmark – and after 12 months on a Blue Card elsewhere you can apply here without an MVV.

Permit, 2026Gross monthly salary, excluding holiday allowanceFeeStatutory decision period
Highly skilled migrant, 30 or older€5,942€42390 days; target 2 weeks via a recognised sponsor
Highly skilled migrant, under 30€4,357€423As above
Reduced criterion: graduates, orientation year€3,122€423As above
EU Blue Card€5,942; €4,754 within 3 years of graduating€42330 days via a recognised sponsor, else 90
Paid employment, single permit (GVVA)€2,337.00 (1 July–31 December 2026)€42390 days, extendable by 30

Source: the IND, read 24 September 2026.

Researchers, students and the orientation year

Researchers under Directive 2016/801 are applied for by a recognised institution: fee €254, 60 days with a two-week target, income at least the minimum wage. A research permit from another EU state lets you work here up to 180 days in any 360 without a Dutch one.

The recognised institution applies for students. You must be enrolled full-time, insured and show funds for twelve months at the study norm – €1,130.77 a month for hbo or university, €928.58 for mbo, in 2026. Fee €254, period 60 days. You may work at most 16 hours a week, or full-time only in June, July and August. Earn at least half the credits each year or the IND can withdraw the permit.

After a Dutch bachelor's, master's or PhD – or a master's or PhD from a top-200 university abroad – you apply yourself, within three years of graduating, for an orientation year: at most one year, not extendable, fee €254. A highly skilled migrant job during or within three years after it needs only €3,122, whatever your age.

Bringing your partner and children to the Netherlands

Your income must be independent, sustainable and sufficient: €2,337.00 gross a month without holiday allowance (€2,523.96 with) from 1 July to 31 December 2026, or €1,635.90 for a single parent bringing a child. Sustainable means a contract running at least another twelve months; otherwise the IND averages the past twelve months or three years. Both partners must be at least 21 (18 if you were already married before you had lawful residence here), and you bring one partner only. Fees: €254 per partner, €85 per child under 18; the period is 90 days, extendable to six months.

A partner who needs an MVV first passes the Civic Integration Exam Abroad; DUO sends the result within eight weeks and it is valid one year. Partners of highly skilled migrants, Blue Card holders, researchers and students are exempt. After arrival your partner registers at your address; the family of a highly skilled migrant or Blue Card holder may work freely, while a partner of a Dutch national or permanent resident does inburgering. The family permit expires with yours, or after five years if you are Dutch.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Check whether you need a permit, and an MVVBefore anything else
2Non-EU workers: compare the offer with the table; check the employer is a recognised sponsorBefore you sign
3Sponsors of a partner: check income against €2,337.00 and the contract lengthBefore the family applies
4Antecedents certificate; partners book the exam abroadWith the application
5Collect the MVV within 90 days, travel within 90 daysAfter the positive decision
6Register, collect the document, TB test, insurance (parts 1 and 3)After arrival
7Questions: the IND on 088 043 04 30, V-number readyMonday to Friday 9.00–17.00

Source: the IND, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.