The Netherlands’ policy of reducing the income gap between rich and poor will make high-skilled migrants less likely to come to the country, according to research by the government’s economic policy unit CPB.

Dutch more likA new report out today says that the ‘highly redistributive welfare state’ is, however, attractive for low-skilled labour migrants and warns the government to be ‘careful’ when introducing schemes to bring in low-skilled workers on temporary schemes.
The report coincides with the unveiling of EU plans to bring in a ‘blue card’ system which would allow suitably qualified people and their families to live and work within the Europe. In total, the
EU says it needs 20 million skilled immigrants over the next 20 years.
The EU plans have already been watered down, removing clauses which would have allowed skilled migrants to job-hop by moving between countries without too much difficulty, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Tuesday.
Dutch immigration minister Nebahat Albayrak has welcomed the EU plans but stresses the importance of uniform rules to govern the admittance of high-skilled migrants. She also says the blue cards should be allocated on the basis of the EU’s needs rather than migrants’ skills.
The Netherlands has made considerable efforts to streamline the rules for bringing in high-skilled migrants from outside the EU but employers are still critical of the amount of red tape involved.
For example, the foreign affairs ministry is setting up a special reception centre at Schiphol airport next year to help companies wanting to bring in skilled staff from abroad.