A contract of at least six months, plus a higher-education diploma of three years or more — or five years of relevant experience, three years if you work in information technology. Your employer does not have to be a recognised sponsor. A lower salary counts for a degree holder who graduated in the last three years from a Dutch institution, or from a foreign one the Dutch immigration service designates. Every number on this page is the authority's own sentence, with the page it came from and the day we read it. This page is for people who need a permit to work in the Netherlands. This page describes the rules; it does not decide on you.
PR
What this route asks for
€4,754/month— lower Blue Card amount for a recent graduate, 2026 €5,942/month— Blue Card 2026
Read from the authority's own page on , with the sentence it came from below.
Check your own situation
Where do you stand on this route? The questions are answered on this device only — nothing is sent anywhere. You get each rule against what you declared, the gap if there is one, and which single change would open more routes.
Every number below is quoted from an official page, and a daily check re-reads every source. On this route — quoted and dated · scored — 3 conditions this interview did not ask. Every rule that decides this route is a question you answer; the contract of at least six months is covered by the situation question you answer, one condition the authority states — the authorisation to practise a regulated profession — is listed with the rules below and never asked, and the extension and employer-change cases that also open the lower salary are not covered by the questions. The provisional residence permit this application needs is listed with the rules below too, and your passport decides whether the Dutch immigration service exempts you from it.
The rules of this route
A non-EU passport
Who this is for
Citizens of the EU, of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and of Switzerland, can live and work in Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands under free movement — the routes on this site are for other passports. Check registration rules after arrival (e.g. Anmeldung in Germany).
As an EU national you generally don't need a work permit to work anywhere in the EU. · europa.eu · TFEU (the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) art. 45 (free movement of workers) — Your Europe · · English, from europa.eu.Official page ↗
A job offer
Condition
This route asks for a job offer.
Your employment contract is valid for at least 6 months. · ind.nl · · English, from ind.nl.Official page ↗
A university degree, 5+ years of related experience in the last seven or work in information technology and 3 to under 5 or 5+ years of related experience in the last seven
Condition
Any of these: a university degree, 5+ years of related experience in the last seven or work in information technology and 3 to under 5 or 5+ years of related experience in the last seven.
you have a diploma of a programme in higher education. This programme was at least 3 years. · ind.nl · · English, from ind.nl.Official page ↗
you have a minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience · ind.nl · · English, from ind.nl.Official page ↗
Are you an IT manager or IT professional? A minimum of 3 years of relevant work experience is required during the period of 7 years before the application. · ind.nl · · English, from ind.nl.Official page ↗
Monthly salary
Threshold · 2026
Any of these: at least €5,942/month or a university degree, a degree from the last 3 years, from a Dutch institution or from one the Dutch immigration service designates and at least €4,754/month.
€1,635.90/monthResearcher (Directive (EU) 2016/801) — another route here
€3,122/month2 other routes here
€4,357/month2 other routes here
€4,754/monththis route — lower Blue Card amount for a recent graduate, 2026
€5,942/monththis route — Blue Card 2026
European Blue Card € 5,942.00 · ind.nl · Blue Card 2026 · EU Blue Card (NL) — required amounts 2026 (change every 1 January) · · English, from ind.nl.Official page ↗
The highly skilled migrant has never had a residence permit for an orientation year for highly educated persons, but does meet the requirements for that residence purpose. · ind.nl · · English, from ind.nl.Official page ↗
Reduced salary criterion European Blue Card € 4,754.00 · ind.nl · lower Blue Card amount for a recent graduate, 2026 · EU Blue Card (NL) — reduced required amount 2026 (change every 1 January) · · English, from ind.nl.Official page ↗
Also required — not checked here
An employment contract that runs for at least six months
Your employment contract is valid for at least 6 months. · ind.nl · · English, from ind.nl.Official page ↗
If your profession is regulated, you must be authorised to practise it in the Netherlands, and in individual healthcare you must be in the BIG register of healthcare professions
Do you have a regulated profession, such as doctor or lawyer? Then you must demonstrate that you are allowed to practice this profession in the Netherlands. Are you going to work in individual healthcare? And do you practise a medical profession that is listed in Article 3 and Article 36a of the Individual Healthcare Professions Act (BIG Act)? If so, you must be registered in the BIG register. · ind.nl · · English, from ind.nl.Official page ↗
This application needs a provisional residence permit (MVV).
A valid provisional residence permit (MVV) is needed for this application · ind.nl · · English, from ind.nl.Official page ↗
Who this does not bind You do not need a provisional residence permit (MVV) — the Dutch immigration service names your passport among the nationalities that need none.
You do not need an MVV if you have the nationality of one of these countries. Australia Canada Japan Monaco New Zealand Vatican City United Kingdom United States South Korea Switzerland An EU/EEA Member State · ind.nl · Dutch immigration service, MVV exemptions — Your nationality is decisive · · English, from ind.nl.Official page ↗
The official page also says
The lower salary can also apply if you extend this permit, or change employer, within three years of graduating — cases the questions above do not cover.
The lower salary criterion may also apply if you extend the residence permit or change your employer within 3 years after graduation or promotion. · ind.nl · Dutch immigration service, required amounts — the reduced European Blue Card rows (read from the watched snapshot of 2026-09-02) · · English, from ind.nl.Official page ↗