You retain an expat by removing friction from day one: fast, personal onboarding, clear guidance on practical matters, fair employment terms with flexibility, and a work culture where someone feels seen. Combine that with tightly managed immigration and compliance, so work and relocation remain predictable.
For Highly Skilled Migrants, certainty matters most: about the contract, residence rights, housing, registration, and growth within the team. If one part falters, stress quickly piles up and the employee is more likely to start looking elsewhere.
Below, for each question, you’ll find concrete actions you can apply immediately to improve expat retention.
Why do expats often leave within the first year?
Expats often leave within the first year because the first months bring a lot of uncertainty and administrative pressure, while they also need to perform at work. If onboarding, housing, registration, team integration, or expectations around role and growth aren’t right, staying feels risky and leaving becomes the safe choice.
In practice, you usually see a combination of these causes:
- Mismatch in expectations about tasks, seniority, tech stack, or growth path
- Practical stress from the housing search, municipal appointments, banking, and insurance
- Social isolation due to language, limited connection within the team, or lack of community
- Uncertainty about status and paperwork leaving someone feeling they have no grip on the future
- Partner and family not settling in due to work, school, or network
This helps you prevent departures: deliberately plan more touchpoints in the first 90 days than you’re used to, and make one person responsible for removing blockers.
How do you improve onboarding and support for expats?
You improve onboarding and support for expats by designing the process around clarity and pace: one point of contact, a 30-60-90 day plan, and fixed check-ins about work and settling in. This makes the start predictable for Highly Skilled Migrants and prevents small issues from growing into reasons to leave.
Make onboarding concrete with a fixed structure:
- Before the start date: send a welcome pack with the schedule, team intro, tools, and a practical to-do list
- Week 1: arrange access, the first deliverable, a buddy, and a short daily check-in
- Weeks 2 to 4: weekly 1:1s on expectations, feedback, and workload
- Months 2 and 3: measure progress against goals, discuss growth and training, and check wellbeing and integration
Add support that is often overlooked: an explanation of Dutch work culture, meeting style, directness, and how decisions are made. This helps reduce miscommunication and build trust faster.
Which employment terms and flexibility help with expat retention?
Employment terms that increase expat retention are those that provide certainty, freedom of choice, and predictability: a clear contract, transparent pay, hybrid working where possible, and practical support with settling in. For Highly Skilled Migrants, it works especially well when you explain terms simply and apply them consistently.
Focus on these elements, because they directly influence whether someone stays or leaves:
- Contract certainty: clear duration, notice periods, and what happens if a project changes
- Flexibility: hybrid working, flexible start times, and room for appointments related to registration and the IND
- Development: a training budget, certifications, and a concrete growth path every 6 to 12 months
- Relocation support: temporary housing, help with the housing search, and reimbursement of necessary costs
- Family-friendly policies: leave, understanding around school and childcare, and support for partner integration
Also pay attention to compliance around salary thresholds under the Highly Skilled Migrant scheme. As of 1 January 2026, three separate IND thresholds apply: highly skilled migrant ≥ 30 years: € 5,942, highly skilled migrant < 30 years: € 4,357, orientation year scheme: € 3,122. Which threshold applies depends on the employee’s category, so always check this before finalizing an offer.
How do you ensure immigration and compliance don’t become a source of stress?
You prevent immigration and compliance stress by planning the process tightly, dividing responsibilities, and proactively communicating about steps and timelines. For Highly Skilled Migrants under the highly skilled migrant scheme, the employer applies for a residence permit with the IND, and a predictable process provides calm and confidence.
Work with a practical checklist and fixed moments:
- Before submission: check contract details, salary-threshold category, and a complete set of documents
- After submission: set a realistic expectation: applications from recognized sponsors are often processed within a few weeks
- Entry planning: whether someone can enter earlier depends on nationality, because non-MVV-required countries have different situations
- After arrival: arrange both municipal registration and collection of the residence document from the IND as soon as possible; the order differs by municipality and situation
- Health insurance: anyone who lives or works in the Netherlands generally must take out Dutch health insurance within four months
If you are a recognized sponsor, it helps to have one internal owner for the four obligations: notification duty, information duty, record-keeping duty, and duty of care. This helps you avoid mistakes that create unnecessary uncertainty for the employee.
How do you build an inclusive work culture where expats stay?
You build an inclusive work culture where expats stay by making day-to-day collaboration accessible: clear communication, fair decision-making, and actively making room for different working styles. Highly Skilled Migrants stay longer when they feel they have impact, receive feedback they understand, and find social connection without extra barriers.
Make inclusion measurable and practical with these actions:
- Team agreements: agree which language you use in meetings and documentation, and stick to it
- Buddy system: pair every new expat with a buddy outside their direct line manager
- Feedback cadence: short, frequent feedback prevents cultural misinterpretations
- Equal opportunities: make promotion criteria and performance expectations explicit
- Social integration: plan low-threshold moments that don’t revolve only around alcohol or late nights
Don’t forget the manager: train managers in intercultural communication and in recognizing subtle signals, such as withdrawing in meetings or taking less initiative due to uncertainty.
How All About Expats helps employers with expat retention
We help you improve expat retention through one integrated approach to immigration, employment, payroll, and relocation, so Highly Skilled Migrants settle in faster and experience less stress. Depending on the setup, you are the recognized sponsor, or we take on that role, so you can combine speed and compliance.
Specifically, we support you with:
- Immigration support within the highly skilled migrant route, including planning, document checks, and the IND process
- Compliance and sponsorship with a focus on the four obligations and clear internal ways of working
- Relocation support that makes the first months predictable, from arrival planning to practical arrangements
- Back office and payroll so contracts, salary thresholds, and administration are consistently correct
Want to discuss your situation or put together a concrete retention approach? Get in touch via contact our team or view our approach to immigration for employers.
