Netherlands highly skilled migrant (kennismigrant) permit

Turkish employees, including highly skilled migrants, do not need a recognised sponsor under the Association Agreement and can apply themselves, but the IND advises using a recognised sponsor because decisions are faster; the fee is EUR 85. If you are already in the Netherlands, the employer must apply within three months of your arrival. Doctors, nurses and other professions under the BIG Act must be in the BIG register; with a recognised foreign diploma you may first work three months under supervision with conditional registration.

Your employer must be listed in the public register of recognised sponsors and you need an employment contract at a market-rate salary that meets the 2026 criterion for your age. Under the EU–Türkiye Association Agreement, Turkish employees do not need a recognised sponsor for paid employment, although the highly skilled migrant scheme itself is run through recognised sponsors.

Gross monthly salary excluding holiday allowance: EUR 5,942 if you are 30 or older, EUR 4,357 if under 30, and EUR 3,122 under the reduced criterion, which applies for example to those who graduated in the Netherlands or completed the orientation year.

The employer applies for the MVV and residence permit at the same time and pays the EUR 423 fee by direct debit. After the positive decision you book the MVV appointment within three months.

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.

If you will live in the Netherlands for more than four months, register with the municipality in the Personal Records Database (BRP) within five days of arrival; you then receive your citizen service number (BSN), and late registration can be fined. If the IND asked for a tuberculosis test, book it with the GGD within three months of receiving the permit and bring form 7604.

An extension can be requested once the permit expires within three months; apply before expiry or at the latest within four weeks after it to avoid a gap in lawful residence. More than two years after expiry only a new application, possibly with an MVV, is possible. The IND decides within 90 days, and foreign documents must be legalised and translated into Dutch, English, French or German. For highly skilled migrants only the recognised sponsor can file the extension, through the Business Portal; the fee is EUR 423, or EUR 85 for Turkish citizens.

The permit is valid for the length of the contract, up to five years, and allows work as a highly skilled migrant and self-employment alongside it; other employment needs a work permit (TWV). After a positive decision you may start on the date given in it, before you have the card, provided the appointment is booked within two weeks. 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 five years of work in the Netherlands you can obtain the status "free to work".