As of 1 March 2016, the Dutch Immigration Services (IND) may request the Labour Authorities (UWV) to advise with respect to the market conformity of the agreed salary as part of the application procedure for the highly skilled migrant permit. If UWV decides that the salary is not market conform, the residence permit application will be denied.

Before 1 March, the IND had the option to request UWV for advice with respect to salary as well, but the IND could only deny the residence permit if wages were deemed significantly different from the wage that is typically offered to people in similar positions.

In practice the described change makes the salary assessment more rigorous: if the highly skilled migrant earns a wage that is not highly deviant from the standard, the application may still be rejected if UWV advises that the salary is deemed not market conform. The latter has in practice proven to be a though subject to argue against and should not be underestimated

For more information please contact us at: lawyers@devreede-law.nl