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.
Verified against IND - fees and costs of an application on 1 July 2026.
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 verified 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.