All About Expats
All About Expats
Sponsorship for graduates2025-10-09T10:16:37+00:00

Sponsorship for graduates

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Convert your orientation year permit to a highly skilled migrant permit.

Convert your orientation year permit to a highly skilled migrant permit.

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Sponsorship for graduates

We can help you and your employer

All About Expats is a one-stop-shop service provider that has a focus on international students, graduates and highly skilled migrants that want to (stay) living and working in the Netherlands.

Do you currently have a search year permit that is expiring and are working for an employer who cannot be your sponsor, but would like to continue working for them? All About Expats can assist you and your employer by taking care of everything needed. We will arrange for your search year permit to be converted to a highly skilled migrant permit and arrange all matters related to your employment.

To hire a highly skilled migrant the employer must be a sponsor recognised by the IND. If they are not or have an application pending, we can take over this role of sponsor for them. We offer this service on the basis of a payrolling construction, which means that you are actually employed by All About Expats, and we act as your recognised sponsor. This allows your employer to use your expertise and knowledge more quickly.

How our Sponsorship for graduates works

By outsourcing the employership along with our recognised sponsorship of the IND, organizations can hire you as a highly skilled migrants with no hassle.

We offer you a secondment agreement in accordance with the principles you have agreed with the hiring organization. This makes us your legal employer. All About Expats submits an application for a highly skilled migrant permit and keeps you informed of the status.

We then second you exclusively to the hiring organization. They become your material employer and you will work under their daily management and supervision. You remain in contact with us on all matters relating to your employment including salary payments, pay slips, annual statements, etc.

Our sponsorship for graduates includes

converting residence permit

Converting residence permit

recognized sponsorship

Recognised sponsorship

Sponsorship for graduates service

Converting residence permit

Converting your orientation year permit to a highly skilled migrant permit.

Are you working as a graduate with an orientation year permit and is your employer not (yet) a recognised sponsor of the IND? Or have you completed a master’s, PhD or postgraduate degree at a top 200 university outside the Netherlands and would you like to work as a highly skilled migrant in the Netherlands?

Often we find that employers are unfamiliar about possibilities to hire non-EU professionals making them reluctant to hire this specific group of expats because of unawareness. This is where our services come in handy.

By using our sponsorship service based on secondment, All About Expats takes over the entire permit application process thereby unburdening you and your employer from all the hassle that comes with it.

What is included:

  • We take over the immigration procedure and file the permit application at the IND.

  • We act as your knowledge partner for consultancy in IND related matters.

  • We convert your orientation year permit to a highly skilled migrant permit.

  • We become your IND sponsor.

Converting residence permit

More about residence permit

Orientation year for highly educated people2024-03-21T15:06:09+00:00

The Netherlands cares greatly to give highly skilled students the opportunity and time they need to find a job within our country after completing their studies.

The orientation year permit allows recent graduates from non-EU countries and scientific researchers to stay in or come to the Netherlands for a period of up to twelve months.

During this one-year period, the graduate can work in any type of job. An application for work as a highly skilled migrant should be submitted before the end of the year if they wish to continue living and working in the Netherlands.

Conditions for an orientation year permit

There a few requirements needed for you to be able to obtain an orientation year permit.

These are:

  • You completed your bachelor’s degree, master’s or PhD study at a Dutch university.

or

  • You completed your bachelor’s degree, master’s or PhD study at a designated foreign educational institution*.

and

  • You applied within three years of completing your studies.

*These are the educational institutions that, at the time of graduation or PhD, are included in the top 200 of the world rankings or in the top 200 of the available rankings per discipline – which correspond to the discipline in which you graduated or obtained your PhD – from.

The IND uses the below world rankings for this purpose:

Video: Promotional video about the orientation year for highly educated persons

A Video of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND)

Highly Skilled Migrant scheme 20252024-12-16T15:04:50+00:00

The Netherlands has a scheme specifically for highly skilled migrant. The scheme makes it easier and faster for companies to bring in highly skilled migrants from outside the Euro zone.

In a nutshell the highly skilled migrant scheme facilitates the admission requirements and time for highly skilled migrants and their employers. Not every company can make use of the highly skilled migrant scheme and not every migrant from outside the EU is eligible either. There are various conditions for the employer and requirements for the highly skilled migrant.

The conditions for this scheme are:

  • The employer is a recognised sponsor of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND).

  • The highly skilled migrant has a signed employment contract with a minimum of three months with a Dutch employer.

  • The employer pays at least the minimum wage for a highly skilled migrant.

  • The highly skilled migrant must be paid with market-level wages.

  • The highly skilled migrant has a valid passport, a Dutch healthcare insurance, and does not pose a threat to the national security.

Income norm for hiring a highly skilled migrant

One of the requirements for hiring a highly skilled migrant is an income norm. These are gross monthly salaries and vary by category.

As of January 1, 2025 the minimum income norm for highly skilled migrants has been set at:

Highly skilled migrant  2025* 2024*
Reduced salary criterion € 2,989 € 2,801
Under 30 years of age € 4,171 € 3,909
30 years of age or older € 5,688 € 5,331

* Excl. 8% holiday allowance

The IND will also check:

  • If the highly skilled migrant has skills and experience that are relatively scarce in the Netherlands;
  • If the highly skilled migrant has a higher educational level (Bachelor minimum);

  • If the highly skilled migrant has a specialization (for example in IT, engineering or science).

You need a highly skilled migrant permit to work legally in the Netherlands?

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Sponsorship for graduates service

Recognised Sponsorship

All About Expats becoming your IND recognised sponsor.

For a highly educated person or a graduate holding an orientation year permit, the most popular type of visa for working in the Netherlands is the highly skilled migrant permit. In order to obtain this permit, your employer has to be an IND Recognised Sponsor.

If your employer is not (yet) a recognised sponsor or if your employer does not (yet) have a physical establishment in the Netherlands, then outsourcing the recognised sponsorship to All About Expats can offer a solution for you and your employer.

What is included:

  • A quick solution if the hiring company is not (yet) a recognised sponsorship;

  • Legal employership outsourced on the basis of exclusive provision;

  • HR and payroll administration;

  • Collective health insurance;

  • An adequate pension scheme.

More about recognised sponsorship

What is payrolling?2024-03-21T15:21:29+00:00

With payrolling a hiring company outsources the employment to a payrolling company. In this construction the payroll company becomes the legal employer and the hiring company the material employer.

The payroll company seconds the employee exclusively to the hiring company, where the daily guidance and supervision is given by them. Therefore, it seems like you are employed by the hiring company themselves.

What is a payroll agreement?2024-03-21T15:20:07+00:00

A Payroll agreement is basically an employment agreement. Unlike a regular employment agreement, the details of the hiring company are included in the contract.

This guarantees that you have the same employment conditions as employees directly in paid employment at your hiring company and lets you work exclusively for this hiring company.

How does payrolling for you as an employee work?2024-03-21T14:54:12+00:00

The Dutch Balanced Labor Market Act (WAB) ensures that you as the employee also benefit from working through a payroll agreement. A payroll employee has exactly the same legal position as the employees who are employed by the hiring company themselves.

You are, among other things, entitled to the same contract types and terms of employment. This means, for example, that as a payroll employee you can be deployed for a maximum of 3 years on the basis of fixed time employment agreements. Do colleagues who are directly on the client’s payroll receive bonuses or extra vacation days? Then you are also entitled to these rewards and employment conditions.

  • You are recruited as a highly skilled migrant by the hiring company.

  • You agree with the hiring company on the terms and conditions for your employment (salary, scope of work, etc.).

  • You will receive your work instructions from the hiring company.

  • All About Expats becomes your legal employer.

  • All About Expats pays your wages and the mandatory employer’s contributions.

Why All About Expats

More and more employers and highly skilled migrants choose All About Expats as their HR partner.

We as a company consider practicing good employership, being knowledgeable and upholding high standards and quality as important. With this, we offer complete unburdening in all areas.

Our comprehensive package for highly skilled migrants includes continuous support in all fields to keep your mind at ease while we take care of the administrative matters.

Recognised sponsorship IND

Excellent price/quality ratio

Quick and clear communication

20+ years of experience

Continuous support

Fast response time

What others say about us

“Very responsive and informative”

“We were assisted by Dustin Rameau and Patrick Odijk while waiting for my eventual employer to become a recognised sponsor. Everything went really smoothly, including the transition back to my new employer Harley-Davidson. Dustin and Patrick were both very responsive and informative which helped ease a lot of the anxiety I had with the whole process.”

Nadiah Harris, highly skilled migrant

“Very professional and responsive”

“AAE was very professional and responsive when arranging the start at my new company. The entire process was explained clearly and completed rather quickly. I maintained direct communication with Patrick through everything which also offered a personal touch.”

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Adrian Ruben Davalos, highly skilled migrant

“Always helpful”

“Everything went smoothly and they always arranged my visa in a timely manner even though the first time my visa was expiring in 10 days. Patrick took care of my visa application, he managed to apply on time and I didn’t have any residence gaps. Customer service was always helpful and always replied on time to any query.”
Read his case study

Nizar Mekaoui, highly skilled migrant

Want to make use of our Sponsorship services?

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Every organization can employ highly skilled migrants.

ALL ABOUT EXPATS

All About Expats is a trade name of About Backoffice Services BV and About Backoffice Services II BV and fully certified: SNA, NEN 4400-1 and a member of the NBBU.

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