Kingdom of the Netherlands
Highly Skilled Migrant (Kennismigrant): total cost to complete
By Sam Parks · Last checked:
A source-linked budget for a single Netherlands Highly Skilled Migrant applicant hired by an IND-recognised sponsor: IND application fee, latest published 2026 salary band evidence, Dutch health insurance, biometrics/photos, conditional document legalisation and translation, TB testing, family-member application fees, and employer sponsor-recognition costs.
What does the Highly Skilled Migrant (Kennismigrant) actually cost?
Mandatory non-refundable costs are €2,113-€2,908. Refundable proof-of-funds requirements are tracked separately at €37,464-€71,304, because that money is shown or blocked rather than normally lost.
Source checked against IND - fees and costs of an application on 1 July 2026.
Cross-country salary-floor evidence
Cross-country skilled salary-floor, cost and route-basis evidence
The cost page answers what is paid away. Salary evidence and employer-side recognition costs stay separate from applicant sunk costs.
Local currency first
Salary floors are legal or route-specific eligibility gates, not applicant fees. Do not convert salary floors into USD rankings without caveats, and do not merge salary evidence, employer-side recognition costs, refundable proof-of-funds lines or applicant paid-away costs into one "visa cost" claim.
Netherlands Highly Skilled Migrant
€5,942/month (Kennismigrant — 30+); €4,357/month (Kennismigrant — under 30); €3,122/month (Orientation Year search — reduced rate)
Age-banded monthly gross salary bands under the IND Highly Skilled Migrant table.
France Talent Passport salaried
€39,582/year (Passeport talent - salaried qualified employee)
Annual gross remuneration floor for the salaried qualified Talent Passport category.
NOK 545,400/year (Skilled worker permit - bachelor-level salary floor where no collective agreement applies); NOK 624,700/year (Skilled worker permit - master-level salary floor where no collective agreement applies)
Normal pay and working conditions test first; bachelor/master floors apply where no collective agreement controls the role.
€3,937/month (Specialist residence permit salary threshold)
Monthly gross specialist salary threshold, excluding fringe benefits, plus confirmed employment.
| Route | Salary floor and basis | Paid-away applicant baseline | Do not collapse | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingdom of the Netherlands - Highly Skilled Migrant (Kennismigrant)Cost model | €5,942/month (Kennismigrant — 30+); €4,357/month (Kennismigrant — under 30); €3,122/month (Orientation Year search — reduced rate) | €2,113-€2,908Salary or pay evidence line: €37,464-€71,304. Refundable/show-only line: €37,464-€71,304. | The Netherlands HSM salary requirement is not an applicant fee or sunk cost; IND-recognised sponsor status and sponsor-recognition costs stay employer-side.Employer-side context: Employer recognised-sponsor registration (€2,539-€5,080). | 1 July 2026IND — Required amounts income requirements |
| French Republic - Talent Passport — Salaried Employee (Passeport Talent Salarié)Cost model | €39,582/year (Passeport talent - salaried qualified employee) | €358-€485Salary or pay evidence line: €39,582. Refundable/show-only line: €39,582. | France salary evidence, contract length, diploma evidence and residence-card tax are separate fields in the answer. | 1 July 2026Service-Public.fr - Passeport talent |
| Kingdom of Norway - Skilled Worker Residence Permit (Oppholdstillatelse som faglaert)Cost model | NOK 545,400/year (Skilled worker permit - bachelor-level salary floor where no collective agreement applies); NOK 624,700/year (Skilled worker permit - master-level salary floor where no collective agreement applies)No single route-wide salary number. If a collective agreement applies, UDI checks the collective wage rate; otherwise pay must not be poorer than normal for the occupation and place of work. | NOK 6,300-NOK 8,300Salary or pay evidence line: NOK 0. Refundable/show-only line: none tracked. | Norway must not be flattened into one Europe-wide minimum because collective agreements, normal-pay evidence and education level can bind differently. | 1 July 2026UDI - Pay and working conditions in Norway |
| Republic of Finland - Residence permit for a specialistCost model | €3,937/month (Specialist residence permit salary threshold) | €540-€655Salary or pay evidence line: €3,937. Refundable/show-only line: €3,937. | Finland specialist salary evidence is an approval condition, while the Migri application fee is the applicant paid-away cost. | 1 July 2026Migri - Specialist residence permit |
- Salary thresholds hub
- Salary-floor research report
- Computed figures
- Netherlands salary thresholds
- Netherlands Highly Skilled Migrant route guide
- France salary thresholds
- France Talent Passport salaried cost model
- France Talent Passport salaried route guide
- Norway salary thresholds
- Norway Skilled Worker permit cost model
- Norway Skilled Worker permit route guide
- Finland salary thresholds
- Finland Specialist permit cost model
- Finland Specialist permit route guide
- Salary-thresholds JSON
- Cost-to-complete JSON
Latest source record in this cluster: 1 July 2026. Compare the local salary figures and their scope carefully; occupation-specific rules may require a higher amount.
What it actually costs
A source-linked budget for a single Netherlands Highly Skilled Migrant applicant hired by an IND-recognised sponsor: IND application fee, latest published 2026 salary band evidence, Dutch health insurance, biometrics/photos, conditional document legalisation and translation, TB testing, family-member application fees, and employer sponsor-recognition costs.
Money you don't get back
€2,113-€2,908
Mandatory fees, services and one month of insurance.
Proof of funds (returned to you)
€37,464-€71,304
Not a fee or blocked account. Range annualises the latest published IND 2026 HSM salary table checked on 1 July 2026: EUR 3,122/month for eligible orientation-year graduates, EUR 4,357/month under age 30, and EUR 5,942/month age 30+; all exclude the 8% holiday allowance. IND still labelled that table with a 1 January-30 June validity window when checked.
| Cost line | Amount | Type | When / who |
|---|---|---|---|
| IND Highly Skilled Migrant application fee | €423 | Gov fee | IND first application or change-of-purpose fee for the employee. Recognised sponsors normally submit and pay by direct debit; some employers absorb it rather than passing it to the worker. IND - fees and costs of an application |
| Qualifying gross salary evidence (latest published 2026 HSM band) | €37,464-€71,304annual salary | Proof of funds | Not a fee or blocked account. Range annualises the latest published IND 2026 HSM salary table checked on 1 July 2026: EUR 3,122/month for eligible orientation-year graduates, EUR 4,357/month under age 30, and EUR 5,942/month age 30+; all exclude the 8% holiday allowance. IND still labelled that table with a 1 January-30 June validity window when checked. IND - required amounts income requirements |
| Dutch standard health insurance· indicative | €1,680-€2,160first year | Insurance | Workers living in the Netherlands generally must take out Dutch standard health insurance. Premiums vary by insurer, deductible and supplemental cover; this planning range uses EUR 140-180/month. Government of the Netherlands - standard health insurance |
| Biometric passport photos· indicative | €10-€25 | Service | IND collects fingerprints, signature and a passport photo for the residence card. Local photo prices vary. IND - Highly Skilled Migrant after arrival steps |
| Foreign-document legalisation and sworn translation· indicative | €0-€300 | Service | Only documents requested by IND need legalisation and translation; the minimum can be zero for a straightforward single employee file where all required documents are already accepted in Dutch, English, French or German. IND - Highly Skilled Migrant application documents |
| TB test after arrival(optional)· indicative | €0-€100 | Service | Conditional on nationality and medical-exemption status. IND instructs some migrants to complete tuberculosis testing with the Dutch Municipal Health Service after arrival. IND - Highly Skilled Migrant after arrival steps |
| Employer recognised-sponsor registration(optional) | €2,539-€5,080employer | Gov fee | Employer-side precondition cost only if the Dutch employer is not already an IND-recognised sponsor. The reduced fee is for qualifying small businesses; the standard sponsor-recognition fee is EUR 5,080. IND - fees and costs of an application |
| Family-member application - partner or adult dependant(optional) | €254per dependant | Gov fee | Optional family-scaling line for a partner/adult family member applying to live with the Highly Skilled Migrant. IND - fees and costs of an application |
| Family-member application - child under 18(optional) | €85per child | Gov fee | Optional family-scaling line for a child under 18 applying to live with the Highly Skilled Migrant. IND - fees and costs of an application |
| Professional registration or licence(optional)· indicative | €0-€500 | Service | Conditional on occupation. Healthcare and other regulated roles may require separate Dutch professional registration before work can start. Profession-specific Dutch regulator - verify before filing |
Baseline sunk cost is the IND HSM application fee, first-year Dutch standard health-insurance range, biometric photo range, and a zero-to-EUR-300 document legalisation/translation range for a single employee whose employer is already an IND-recognised sponsor. The salary-evidence line is shown separately because it is job-offer compensation, not money paid away and not a blocked deposit. Employer sponsor-recognition, TB testing, family-member applications and regulated-profession registration are excluded from the baseline unless the user needs them. Last checked 1 July 2026.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This cost model is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite Visa Atlas for the compiled sunk/refundable split and cite each linked authority or provider source for the underlying line item.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "Highly Skilled Migrant (Kennismigrant) cost-to-complete model", https://visaatlas.org/cost-to-complete/netherlands-highly-skilled-migrant. Last checked 1 July 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/cost-to-complete
FAQs
What does the Highly Skilled Migrant (Kennismigrant) actually cost to complete?
Mandatory non-refundable costs are €2,113-€2,908 in the current model. Separately, refundable proof-of-funds requirements are €37,464-€71,304. The line table explains each item and source.
Is proof of funds a sunk cost?
No. Proof of funds is money you must show, hold or block. It can still be a cash-flow barrier, but it is different from application fees, document costs and insurance payments that you do not normally get back.
Why are some lines marked indicative?
Some third-party costs vary by country, provider and document count. Those lines use a range and are marked indicative so they are not confused with a single government tariff.