The new required amounts at a glance
- Partner or family reunification (standard sponsor): €2,337.00 gross per month without holiday allowance, or €2,523.96 with holiday allowance. This is up from €2,294.40 and €2,477.95 respectively in the first half of 2026.
- Single parent sponsor: €1,635.90 without holiday allowance, €1,766.77 with holiday allowance.
- Self-employed applicants: €1,766.77 gross profit per month; holiday allowance included.
- Permanent residence (based on your own income): €1,635.90 without holiday allowance, €1,766.77 with holiday allowance.
- Au pair host families:
- For couples: €3,505.50 without holiday allowance / €3,785.94 with holiday allowance.
- For single-parent households: €2,804.40 without holiday allowance / €3,028.75 with holiday allowance.
- Study amounts:
- Higher professional education (hbo)/university: €1,130.77 per month
- Secondary education/Senior secondary vocational education (mbo): €928.58
Study sponsorship amounts, which cover someone financing a student's stay, also went up, ranging from roughly €2,565 to €3,655 depending on the education level and the sponsor's family situation.
Notably, the salary thresholds for highly skilled migrants and the European Blue Card only change on 1 January. As a result, the current 2026 figures for that route remain unchanged: €3,122 under the reduced salary criterion, €4,357 for migrants under 30, and €5,942 for those 30 and over.
Key things to keep in mind about salary thresholds
- Independent and sustainable income: Meeting the required amount is only part of the test. The IND's income requirement actually has three elements: income must be independent, sustainable, and sufficient.
- Independent: The income must come from a legally permitted source, with tax and national insurance contributions paid on it.
- Sustainable: The income must be guaranteed to continue for long enough, generally shown either through a sufficiently long remaining contract or a stable income history. The exact thresholds differ depending on the applicant's situation, for example whether the income comes from employment, self-employment, or a benefit, and not every type of benefit counts.
You can find full definitions of what constitutes "independent" and "sustainable," broken down by source of income, on the IND's income requirements page.
- Timing of the application matters: For most standard residence permits, income thresholds are updated twice a year, meaning the amount that applies is whichever is current on the date the IND receives your application. As noted, the salary thresholds for highly skilled migrants are only indexed once a year on 1 January. When a highly skilled migrant changes employers without needing a permit extension, the IND looks specifically at the start date on the new contract rather than the date of the notification. This means that if your new contract starts after 31 December, the higher income requirements of the new year will apply to you, even if the IND was notified of the switch before the end of the year.
Overall, it is important to factor in the timing of these changes when setting contract dates or choosing your application date.
- Multiple incomes: If you have multiple sources of income, you may sum them up to meet the minimum required amount for your residence permit. However, each individual income must first meet the rules for independence and sustainability on its own. For example, a stable main income paired with a newer or less certain second income may not both qualify if the second source fails to meet these criteria.
The exact method the IND uses to test and combine multiple incomes is set out in its official income test, which you can use to check if your specific situation is eligible.
It is also worth noting that some applicants do not need to meet the income requirement at all. People who have reached the state pension age, or who are permanently unable to work and can prove this, are among those exempt. The full list of exemptions is set out on the IND's income requirements page.
The revised Single Permit Directive reshapes work permit decisions
A revised EU directive on single permits (Directive 2024/1233) was introduced on 22 May 2026. It covers most work-related residence purposes, including paid employment, highly skilled migrants, the European Blue Card, research, work experience, and the orientation year. It has changed several decision periods that recognised sponsors and applicants should be aware of:
- Longer job search period after unemployment: For highly skilled migrants facing unemployment, the grace period to find a new job has been extended from 3 months to 6 months. To qualify for this extension, the individual must have held their residence permit for at least two years. The same extended period applies to victims of labour exploitation. In all cases, the search period cannot exceed the remaining validity of the residence permit.
- First applications: the IND may now extend the standard decision period by 30 days for certain first applications, such as paid employment and highly skilled migrant permits, provided it gives reasons for the extension.
- Changing employer: The IND must now decide on a change of employer within 45 days for holders of the permit types listed above. This can be extended by 15 days in exceptional cases. Blue Card holders changing employers instead fall under a separate statutory 30-day deadline.
- Combining an employer change with a permit extension: Applicants can simultaneously request a permit extension when changing employers. In these cases, the IND applies two separate decision windows concurrently: a 45-day period to approve the employer change for the duration of the current permit, and a 90-day period to process the actual extension. If approved, the IND will issue the new permit for the full duration of the new employment contract.
- Missed deadlines by the IND: If the IND does not decide within the applicable period, the applicant may keep working for the new employer for as long as the current permit remains valid.
More flexibility for family members abroad
Family members of highly skilled migrants can now stay outside the Netherlands for up to 8 months in any 12-month period when the main permit holder is abroad for work, matching the flexibility already available to the migrant themselves. This closes a previous gap where the rule was clear for the principal applicant but not explicitly extended to accompanying partners and children. The general residence rules still apply, so longer or repeated absences may still prompt the IND to check where the family's main residence actually is.
The takeaway
The July update is a good time for employers, business owners and individuals alike to check that salary offers, employment contracts, family arrangements and application timing all line up with the current rules. Sufficient income remains only one of three tests the IND applies, alongside independence and sustainability, and the next income adjustment lands on 1 January 2027.
Need support for your residence permit application? Our team is happy to help!
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