Skilled labour migration in the Netherlands drops by more than 25 percent

Fewer highly skilled workers moved to the Netherlands in 2024, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has reported. This is the second year in a row that a drop in immigration has been recorded. 

Fewer knowledge migrants moving to the Netherlands

The latest figures from CBS, 316.000 people relocated to the Netherlands in 2024 for work, family, asylum or studies - 19.000 fewer than the previous year. However, the biggest decline was seen among "knowledge migrants" from outside the EU.

Last year, only 16.000 highly skilled migrants made the move to the Netherlands from a non-EU country - 26 percent fewer than in 2023 and 39 percent fewer than in 2022. In particular, there were fewer skilled migrants from India, but there was also a drop in the number of people with Russian, Turkish, South African and Chinese nationalities.

Dutch population growth dependent on immigration

Despite the population growing only due to migration and many Dutch companies filling job vacancies with workers from abroad because of the Netherlands’ ageing population and worker shortage, the government is still trying to reduce immigration.

Scrapping the 30 percent ruling - a tax break to attract highly skilled migrants - introducing stricter rules for highly-skilled migration, and tighter border controls are just some of the methods the government has proposed to reduce the number of migrants in the Netherlands. The government has also been criticised for its plans to reduce international student numbers, like those to reduce the number of courses taught in English.