Immigration
Netherlands | Governing Programme outlines sweeping changes to migration policy
Summary
On Friday 13 September 2024, the new Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof presented the new coalition government’s legislative programme. Migration policy is at the centre of the Governing Agreement, with the new cabinet aiming to take a different approach in respect of asylum policy and labour migration. As a result, employers will likely face increased enforcement and stricter rules in future.
The detail
In May 2024, the four coalition partners of the new Dutch government unveiled their broad plans for government in the Governing Agreement. See our alert here for more details. Later, the parties nominated long-standing civil servant Dick Schoof as Prime Minister, who has now unveiled the government’s legislative plans in further detail in the Governing Programme.
The Governing Agreement aimed to implement the ‘strictest asylum regime and broadest package to control migration’. The Governing Programme that has now been published continues in this vein, with migration and asylum policy at the centre of the plans. Key items include calling an asylum crisis, and thereby using a legislative instrument to bypass parliament on certain measures, as well as notifying the European Commission that the Netherlands intends to opt out from the EU’s new Pact on Migration and Asylum that was agreed in Brussels earlier this year.
However the Governing Programme also outlines specific plans to overhaul labour migration rules in certain key policy areas.
Increased enforcement
As part of its Programme, the new government plans to strengthen the Dutch Labour Authority (NLA) and increase cooperation and communication between different government agencies involved in enforcement of labour migration rules. The focus will mainly be on low paid jobs. The government will also establish a trusted employer scheme for companies that post or hire out workers in such sectors. However it is unclear whether all companies who undertake such activities, including payrolling, will be affected.
The government also plans to increase fines for companies who do not comply with Dutch immigration law, by allowing for more severe penalties in cases of gross and intentional non-compliance. At the same time, the government will commission reports from the Social Economic Council (SER) and a newly created interdepartmental policy analysis (IBO) to determine how government policy has shaped current labour migration trends and how more ‘focused’ labour migration can be achieved.
In addition, the new government will increase funding for the Dutch border authorities (KMar), who will carry out more internal and external border controls. There will also be increased cooperation with other Schengen countries in this area.
Stricter rules
The Governing Programme states that ‘labour migration is not the solution to labour market shortages in the long term’. In light of this, the Programme outlines plans to review how productivity can be increased and low skilled migration can be made more selective. In addition, the new government will review whether the criteria for the Highly Skilled Migrant category will need to be restricted, such as through increasing the salary threshold or tightening the eligibility criteria for companies to obtain recognised sponsorship. This is with the aim to avoid misuse of the system.
Such measures will be aimed at ensuring that migrants fill the necessary gaps on the Dutch labour market. However, long term policy changes will focus on the following measures for the Dutch labour market as a whole:
At the same time, the government will invest in specific industrial and innovative sectors, such as semiconductors, biotech and agrifoods as well as in the defence and maritime industries. This will also include measures to ensure know-how is retained in the Netherlands.
The Governing Programme also outlines plans to ensure asylum seekers start working in the Netherlands as soon as possible, if their asylum application is likely to be successful. Whether this will require a change in legislation or policy guidance remains to be seen. However holders of Temporary Protection status under the EU Directive (TPD) will face a new restriction, as their status will be withdrawn if they are not registered at the municipality in the Netherlands.
Before the end of 2024, the government will organise an interdepartmental summit on migration, with all relevant government stakeholders. The goal of the meeting will be to discuss the results achieved in respect of migration policy and further plans and cooperation for 2025.
What this means for employers
Although the government will be focused on asylum migration policy in particular, it is clear that labour migration policy will also be subject to change under the new government. While it is not yet known which exact measures will be implemented, it is likely that the requirements for Highly Skilled Migrant applications will become stricter and that companies employing workers in mid- to low-skilled sectors will face stricter rules and increased enforcement in future.
At the same time, the new government will seek to bolster certain sectors by investing in innovation and promoting measures to fill specific gaps in the labour market. However, despite the government’s proposal to partially reinstate the attractive fiscal measures for so-called knowledge workers (expat tax regime), new restrictions to the Highly Skilled Migrant immigration category could result in new barriers for employers seeking to hire foreign talent.
For more details on the fiscal measures, please see this alert following the new government’s first Budget Day.
Contact us
Vialto Partners will continue to monitor developments and help employers prepare for upcoming legislative or policy changes. For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:
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