Netherlands EU Blue Card 2026

You need a higher-education qualification (or qualifying professional experience where the directive allows), an employment contract for highly qualified work and the 2026 salary: EUR 5,942 gross a month, or EUR 4,754 under the reduced criterion for, for example, recent graduates and shortage professions.

The higher-education programme must have lasted at least three years, with foreign diplomas evaluated by Nuffic, or you need at least five years of relevant experience at that level; IT managers and professionals need three years of relevant experience within the last seven. The contract must run for at least six months, and the employer must carry out real economic activity and not have been fined in the past five years under the listed labour and tax laws.

The employer applies to the IND for the MVV and residence permit; the employer does not always need to be a recognised sponsor for the Blue Card, but recognised sponsors benefit from a simpler procedure. You collect the MVV at the Dutch mission responsible for your place of residence.

The IND decides within 30 days for recognised sponsors, long-term mobility and family members, and within 90 days in other cases. The employer usually applies by post and must do so within three months if you are already in the Netherlands.

After a positive IND decision you book an appointment within three months at the Dutch embassy or consulate responsible for your place of residence to have the MVV sticker placed; the MVV is valid for 90 days. After arrival you register with the municipality (BRP) to receive a citizen service number (BSN) and collect your residence document at an IND desk.

Partners and children of Blue Card holders can join you, and partners are free to work.

The card is valid until three months after the contract ends, for at most five years, and self-employment alongside the job is allowed. If you lose your job you normally have three months to find a new employer; if you became unemployed on or after 22 May 2026 after holding the permit for at least two years, or were a victim of labour exploitation, the search period is six months. It never runs beyond the permit’s validity, and the IND can withdraw the permit if no new employer registers you in time. After at least 12 months with a Blue Card in another participating EU state you can move to the Netherlands under long-term mobility, and business visits of up to 90 days in 180 need no Dutch permit. Blue Card holders can in some cases obtain EU long-term residence after two years instead of five.