Common challenges in international hiring can almost always be traced back to compliance and execution: you need to apply immigration rules correctly, align salary and contract terms with IND requirements, and at the same time tightly coordinate HR, payroll, and relocation. If one part falters, you end up with delays or additional costs.
This is especially relevant for Highly Skilled Migrants from outside the EU, because you have to deal with residence permits, recognised sponsorship, reporting and administrative obligations, and practical matters such as registration and health insurance. With the right preparation, you can eliminate many risks upfront.
Below, we answer the most frequently asked questions about legal, HR, payroll, and relocation challenges—and how to avoid delays.
What are the biggest legal and immigration challenges in international hiring,
The biggest legal and immigration challenges in international hiring are choosing the right route, meeting IND conditions, and demonstrably complying with obligations throughout the employment period. For Highly Skilled Migrants, this usually involves a residence permit under the highly skilled migrant scheme, not a single permit (GVVA) process.
In practice, teams often run into the following issues:
- Recognised sponsorship and responsibilities: depending on the setup, your organisation is either the recognised sponsor itself, or you work with an external recognised sponsor. As a recognised sponsor, you have four obligations: the reporting obligation, information obligation, record-keeping obligation, and duty of care.
- Salary thresholds and contract alignment: you must apply the correct salary threshold for the correct category. As of 1 January 2026, three 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 situation.
- Processing time and planning: applications for recognised sponsorship are generally handled on an expedited basis and often completed within a few weeks, but your planning should allow for peak workloads, additional questions, or missing documents.
- Entry to the Netherlands and MVV: whether someone can already enter the Netherlands during the procedure depends on nationality. Non-MVV nationalities such as the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea are treated differently from MVV-required nationalities.
Also pay attention to the validity period of the residence permit: it is dependent on the duration of the employment contract and the period applied for, so align the contract term and the application period deliberately.
Which HR and payroll issues do you encounter with international employees,
The most common HR and payroll issues for international employees are setting up payslips and employment conditions correctly, ensuring compliance in the personnel file, and properly organising the employee lifecycle for cross-border onboarding. For Highly Skilled Migrants, there is additional pressure due to IND requirements and tight start dates.
Common bottlenecks include:
- Contract and role content: make sure the role, hours, start date, and contract duration are clear and match what you are applying for. Ambiguity often leads to additional questions and rework.
- Payroll setup: define fixed salary components, payment moments, and any allowances unambiguously. Inconsistencies between the contract, offer letter, and payroll lead to corrections afterwards.
- File building and audit readiness: build a complete personnel file with identity documents, contract documents, salary agreements, and relevant communication. This helps you respond quickly to questions from authorities.
- Expectation management: international hires often compare with systems in their home country. Explain early on how vacation days, sick leave reporting, payslips, pensions, and tax matters work in the Netherlands.
A useful approach is to involve HR and payroll already during the offer stage, so you don’t make an offer that later turns out not to be feasible.
How do you arrange a smooth relocation and onboarding for international hires,
You arrange a smooth relocation and onboarding by treating immigration, housing, registration, and the work start as one plan with clear owners and deadlines. For Highly Skilled Migrants, a checklist with a fixed order does not always work, because municipal and IND appointments differ by situation.
Work with a practical timeline that you tailor per employee:
- Before departure: confirm the start date, collect documents, plan the first work week, and make arrangements for temporary housing.
- Arrival week: arrange both municipal registration and collection of the residence document from the IND as soon as possible. Which step comes first varies by municipality and situation.
- First month: set up work equipment, plan onboarding with a buddy, and help with basics such as a bank account, phone, and transport.
- Within four months: anyone living or working in the Netherlands must, in principle, take out Dutch health insurance within four months.
Also take address registration into account: options for temporary registration vary greatly by municipality, and not every business address qualifies. Always check this in advance with the municipality to avoid disappointment and delays.
What are common mistakes and how do you prevent delays in the process,
The most common mistakes in international hiring are incomplete documentation, incorrect assumptions about entry and registration, and involving HR and payroll too late. You prevent delays by checking early whether the chosen highly skilled migrant route fits, applying salary thresholds correctly, and creating a realistic plan for IND and municipal appointments.
These are mistakes we often see in practice, with concrete prevention:
- Using the wrong salary threshold: prevent this by always determining which of the three IND categories applies and recording this in the offer and contract.
- Planning too tightly around processing times: expect processing within a few weeks for recognised sponsorship, but build in buffers for additional questions, public holidays, and appointment availability.
- Assuming someone can only travel after approval: check MVV requirements and nationality. Non-MVV nationalities may be able to travel differently in some situations than MVV-required nationalities.
- Treating the BRP and IND order as a hard rule: treat both as priorities after arrival and coordinate based on the municipality and available appointments.
- Insufficient compliance in the file: make one owner responsible for keeping the personnel and immigration file complete, including changes you must report.
A simple but effective measure is a joint kick-off with recruitment, the hiring manager, HR, and payroll as soon as the candidate signs. This helps you identify dependencies early and allocate tasks.
How All About Expats helps with international hiring,
We help you with international hiring by organising immigration, employment, payroll, and relocation as one process, with a focus on compliance and speed for Highly Skilled Migrants from outside the EU. You get a single point of contact who monitors the planning, checks documents, and ensures IND requirements, HR processes, and practical settlement are aligned.
- Immigration under the highly skilled migrant scheme with guidance from application to arrival, including clear explanations of MVV situations and next steps.
- Compliance support around recognised sponsorship obligations, so you set up reporting, administration, and duty of care properly.
- Relocation and settling in with practical support for registration, planning, and onboarding, tailored to the municipality and the employee’s situation.
Would you like to align on which approach fits your hiring intake planning? You can get in touch, or first review our employer guidance at immigration for employers.
