Skilled worker numbers fall sharply as immigration drops: CBS

The number of highly skilled workers coming to the Netherlands from outside the EU has almost halved in three years, falling from 26,000 in 2022 to 14,000 last year, according to national statistics office CBS.

The steepest drop was among workers from India, the largest group, and fewer also arrived from Turkey, Russia, China and South Africa. Other non-EU workers in lower-paid jobs rose slightly over the same period.

The decrease is part of a broader decline. A total of 309,000 people moved to the Netherlands in 2025, 8,000 fewer than in 2024 and the third annual fall in a row. Roughly 14% of them were Dutch nationals returning home.

Asylum down
Asylum has also fallen, with around 35,000 people being granted asylum in 2025, some 4,000 fewer than the year before. People granted asylum made up about 11% of all arrivals – against an average of 9% over the past 27 years.

The drop has done nothing to ease the crisis in the asylum system. Reception centres remain full, but the pressure comes less from new arrivals than from permit holders who have not been found a home.

Within that total, the number of people granted asylum dropped sharply, from 27,000 to 18,000, while family members joining them rose from 12,000 to 16,500.

Family and study
Family was the single biggest reason for moving to the Netherlands in 2024, the most recent year with a full breakdown, at 68,000 arrivals – just over a fifth of the total. One in three came to join someone who had moved for work.

Another 38,000 came to study. Separately, more than 28,000 Ukrainians arrived in 2025 under the EU’s temporary protection scheme, around 2,000 fewer than the year before.

Tax break scaled back
Successive governments have promised to bring the numbers down, including by scaling back the 30% tax ruling that exempts part of some internationals’ salaries from income tax.

The highly skilled worker route is open to people from outside the EU who take jobs in fields with staff shortages and earn above a set salary threshold. Those arriving on it tend to be relatively well paid and work in specialist roles.

Around 14% of last year’s arrivals, roughly 43,000 people, were Dutch nationals returning home. Those who have been away for more than 25 years can claim the same 30% tax ruling themselves, as long as they take a qualifying job and meet the salary and distance conditions.