The visa guide
Four routes into a Dutch job
Pick the situation that matches yours. Each route below walks from where you are now to a signed contract and a residence permit, with the 2026 figures and links to the official sources at every step.
This guide is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Rules, fees, and amounts change every year, and your case may turn on details this page cannot cover. Check the linked IND and Belastingdienst pages, or talk to a qualified immigration adviser, before you act on any of it. All amounts shown are the 2026 figures.
Step by step
Your route
From a Dutch degree to a sponsored job
How far you have come
Know your 3-year window
Your search year (zoekjaar) rights last 3 years from graduation, and you do not need to use them straight away. The part most people miss: the reduced HSM salary threshold of EUR 3,122 per month (2026) applies even if you never take the search year permit, as long as a sponsor hires you within those 3 years.
IND: orientation yearIND: required amountsTry direct sponsorship first
Every company on this board is a recognised sponsor, so you can go straight for a sponsored job while your window is open. If one hires you inside the 3 years, you skip the search year application entirely.
Browse sponsor jobsApply for the search year when you need runway
The permit costs EUR 254 (2026) and gives you 12 months of unrestricted access to the labour market: any job, internship, or freelance work while you keep searching. Apply online with the IND within 3 years of graduating.
IND: orientation yearConvert to HSM at the reduced threshold
Once an employer says yes, they apply for your Highly Skilled Migrant permit. Because you graduated here, the salary bar stays at the reduced EUR 3,122 per month (2026) instead of the standard thresholds.
IND: highly skilled migrantIND: required amountsCheck the 30% ruling, carefully
Most graduates of Dutch universities do not qualify, because the ruling requires living more than 150 km from the Dutch border for 16 of the 24 months before starting work. A Dutch master's degree does not waive that gate; what it does (if you are under 30) is lower the ruling's salary requirement to a taxable wage of EUR 36,497 instead of EUR 48,013 per year (2026). The recruitment exceptions worth checking: PhD graduates hired within a year of their defence, returning expats who held the ruling in the past 5 years, and graduates who can prove they were recruited while living abroad.
Belastingdienst: 30% facilitySettle in
Once the permit is granted, the practical part starts: BSN registration, health insurance, and a Dutch bank account. Work through the paperwork checklist below so nothing expensive slips.
Paperwork checklist
From a top-200 degree abroad to a Dutch job
How far you have come
Check that your university qualifies
Your institution must appear in the top 200 of at least two general ranking lists from separate publishers (Times Higher Education, QS, or ARWU ShanghaiRanking), or in the top 200 of matching subject rankings, in the year you graduated. Check all three before you spend anything on the application.
THE rankingsQS rankingsARWU rankingsIND: orientation yearPrepare your documents, then apply from abroad
The search year is mandatory on this route: you apply for the entry visa (MVV) and permit in one application, EUR 254 (2026), decided within 90 days. You need a Nuffic diploma evaluation and proof of English or Dutch (IELTS 6.0 or higher, an equivalent approved test, or a degree taught in English or Dutch), so start both early. Apply within 3 years of graduating.
IND: orientation yearNuffic diploma evaluationMove and use your 12 months
The search year gives you unrestricted access to the labour market while you look. Target recognised sponsors from day one; every company on this board can sponsor the permit that comes next.
Browse sponsor jobsConvert to HSM at the reduced threshold
When a sponsor hires you during or after the search year, the reduced salary criterion applies: EUR 3,122 gross per month (2026) instead of the standard EUR 5,942, or EUR 4,357 under 30.
IND: required amountsCheck the 30% ruling early
You can qualify if you are hired early enough in the search year to still meet the rule of 16 of the previous 24 months lived more than 150 km from the Dutch border. Every month you wait erodes that window, so the sooner the job lands, the better your odds. The ruling also has its own salary gate: a taxable wage above EUR 48,013 per year, or EUR 36,497 if you are under 30 with a university master's degree (2026).
Belastingdienst: 30% facilitySettle in
BSN, health insurance, bank account: the paperwork checklist below walks through the three things that are expensive to get wrong.
Paperwork checklist
Straight to a sponsored job from abroad
How far you have come
Find a recognised sponsor from where you are
Only companies on the IND register of recognised sponsors can hire highly skilled migrants, and this whole board is filtered to them. Apply from abroad; interviews for this route are routinely done remotely.
Browse sponsor jobsIND: sponsor registerYour employer applies for the permit and MVV together
The sponsor files one application for your entry visa (MVV) and residence permit, EUR 423 (2026), decided within 90 days. The salary must be at least EUR 5,942 gross per month, or EUR 4,357 if you are under 30 (2026 amounts, excluding holiday allowance).
IND: highly skilled migrantIND: required amountsClaim the 30% ruling
You are the textbook case: recruited from abroad and outside the 150 km zone. Your employer can pay 30% of your salary tax free through 2026; rulings starting from 2027 get 27%. The salary gate is a taxable wage above EUR 48,013 per year, or EUR 36,497 if you are under 30 with a university master's degree, and the benefit is capped at a EUR 262,000 salary (all 2026). Ask for it in your contract negotiation, and make sure the application reaches the Belastingdienst within 4 months of your first working day so it applies from day one.
Belastingdienst: 30% facilityOfficial application form (PDF)Collect your MVV and travel
After approval you have 3 months to collect the MVV sticker at the Dutch embassy or consulate; the sticker itself is valid for 90 days of travel. Fly in, pick up your residence document, and you are legal to work from day one.
IND: highly skilled migrantSettle in
BSN, health insurance, bank account: the paperwork checklist below covers the three things to get right in your first weeks.
Paperwork checklist
No visa needed. Here is what still matters.
Every job here is open to you
As an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen you need no visa, no sponsorship, and no salary threshold. The sponsor filter that defines this board simply does not constrain you: treat it as a well-curated Dutch job board.
Browse jobsRegister if you stay past 4 months
Staying longer than 4 months means registering with your municipality and getting a BSN (citizen service number). You need the BSN for payroll, health insurance, and a bank account, so do it in your first weeks.
Paperwork checklistThe 30% ruling applies to you too
EU citizens recruited from abroad qualify under the same rules: 16 of the 24 months before your first working day lived more than 150 km from the Dutch border, and a taxable wage above EUR 48,013 per year, or EUR 36,497 under 30 with a university master's degree (2026). That is 30% of salary tax free through 2026 (27% for rulings starting from 2027). Worth a paragraph in your negotiation.
Belastingdienst: 30% facility
Paperwork
Once you have the offer
Three things are easy to get wrong and expensive to fix late. Tick them off as you go.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Highly Skilled Migrant (HSM) permit?
- The Dutch work and residence permit for skilled professionals. A recognised sponsor company applies on your behalf (EUR 423 in 2026), the IND decides within 90 days, and the permit covers residence and work in one.
- What salary does an HSM job need to pay in 2026?
- At least EUR 5,942 gross per month if you are 30 or older, EUR 4,357 if you are under 30, and EUR 3,122 under the reduced criterion for recent graduates. All amounts exclude the 8% holiday allowance.
- Who gets the reduced salary threshold of EUR 3,122 (2026)?
- Anyone who holds or has held an orientation year (zoekjaar) permit, and also anyone who merely qualifies for one: if you apply for the HSM permit within 3 years of graduating from a Dutch university or a qualifying top-200 university abroad, the reduced criterion applies even if you never took the search year itself.
- Can I use the orientation year (zoekjaar) more than once?
- Once per qualifying degree. If you later complete another qualifying programme, for example a master's followed by a PhD, each completion gives you a fresh right to one orientation year.
- What is changing with the 30% ruling?
- Through 2026 the ruling lets your employer pay 30% of your salary tax free. Rulings that start on or after 1 January 2027 get 27% instead, and the benefit is capped at a salary of EUR 262,000 (2026). It also has its own salary gate: a taxable wage above EUR 48,013 per year, or EUR 36,497 if you are under 30 with a university master's degree (2026). Existing rulings keep their original percentage for their full term.
- How do I know a company can sponsor me?
- Every company listed here is on the public IND register of recognised HSM sponsors. If it is on this site, it can apply for your permit.
- Do I need to sign in?
- Not to look around. The sponsor directory, the salary figures, and the open roles for any city or role are open to everyone. You need a free account to search and filter the full board, save jobs, and track applications.