Netherlands and Ireland 2026: The Salary Numbers That Decide Your Application
The Netherlands and Ireland are, with the UK, the only European countries where you can check an employer's sponsorship position before you apply. They also both moved their salary thresholds in 2026.
Here is where they stand, and what each number actually does.
Netherlands: thresholds are age-banded, and revised every January
The IND sets a minimum gross monthly salary for the highly skilled migrant route, and it depends on your age rather than your occupation.
| Category | Gross salary per month (2026) |
|---|---|
| Highly skilled migrant, 30 and over | €5,942 |
| Highly skilled migrant, under 30 | €4,357 |
| Graduates of Dutch universities, reduced rate for highly educated migrants | €3,122 |
Three things people get wrong about these.
They are monthly and gross, and they exclude holiday allowance. Dutch contracts typically pay 8% holiday allowance on top. That 8% does not count toward the threshold, so a package quoted "including holiday allowance" needs unpacking before you know whether it qualifies.
The band is set by your age at application. Crossing 30 shortly after arriving does not retroactively break your permit, but it matters at extension and it matters if you change employer. If you are 29 and negotiating, be aware what the number becomes.
They rise every January. Not occasionally — annually. A threshold quoted in an article from last year is wrong.
What the register does and does not prove
Only companies on the IND Public Register of Recognised Sponsors can bring in a highly skilled migrant, and the register is published in full. Recognised sponsors also get an accelerated process, which is why Dutch approvals are among the fastest in Europe.
But recognised-sponsor status is company-wide. A match confirms the employer can sponsor. It does not confirm that this particular role clears the threshold for your age band — and that, not the register, is where most Dutch applications actually fail.
So the check is two steps, not one: is the employer recognised, and does the salary clear your band.
The 30% ruling
Frequently misunderstood as part of the visa. It is not — it is a separate tax facility that lets qualifying incoming employees receive part of their salary tax-free for a limited period, intended to offset relocation costs.
Its conditions and duration have been tightened repeatedly in recent years. Treat any guide more than a year old as unreliable and check the current position with the Belastingdienst. Do not accept a salary on the assumption of a ruling you have not confirmed you qualify for.
Browse Netherlands roles checked against the IND register →
Ireland: everything rose on 1 March 2026
Ireland raised the minimum salary for every employment permit category from 1 March 2026.
| Permit | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Critical Skills Employment Permit (relevant degree) | €38,000 | €40,904 |
| Critical Skills (relevant experience, no relevant degree) | — | €68,911 |
| General Employment Permit | €34,000 | €36,605 |
| Meat processing, horticulture, healthcare assistants, home carers | €30,000 | €32,691 |
The Critical Skills increase is about 7.66%. Note the gap between the two Critical Skills rows: without a relevant degree the bar is €68,911, not €40,904. That difference catches out experienced candidates who assume experience substitutes cleanly for a qualification. It does, but at a much higher salary.
Recent graduates get some relief: those from a recognised third-level institution at Level 8 or above, in a field relevant to the occupation, who graduated within the 12 months before applying, qualify at lower thresholds.
This is a roadmap, not a one-off. The Irish government published a schedule of further increases phased through 2030, and the reduced sector-specific thresholds — healthcare, agri-food — are being withdrawn over the same period rather than kept. If you are planning a move two or three years out, assume the number goes up.
What Ireland publishes
Ireland licenses nobody in advance; a permit attaches to a specific job offer. But the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment publishes the list of employers actually issued permits, updated through the year.
That is a different kind of evidence, and arguably harder: a record of permits already granted rather than permission to apply for one. A match tells you the employer has taken people through the process before. It does not tell you this role comes with a permit — an employer can hire internationally one year and not the next.
Browse Ireland roles checked against the DETE list →
Which suits you
Netherlands if you are in tech, finance or a scale-up environment, comfortable in English, and your salary clears your age band. The process is fast, the register is unambiguous, and English-first workplaces are common in Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Utrecht.
Ireland if you are on the Critical Skills Occupations List with a relevant degree. That route has faster processing, no labour market needs test, and a quicker path to long-term residence than the General Employment Permit. Without a relevant degree, check the €68,911 figure honestly before building a plan on it.
Both are small markets. Neither has the volume of the UK or Germany, so treat them as targeted rather than as a numbers game — and check the employer first, because in both countries you can.
Figures verified August 2026 against IND and DETE published sources. Dutch thresholds are revised every January and Irish thresholds follow a published roadmap to 2030 — confirm before relying on any number here.