Switching from Highly Skilled Migrant to European Blue Card will upgrade your unemployment protection

Are you a Highly Skilled Migrant in the Netherlands, and have you become unemployed? Or do you foresee unemployment in the future? You'll wish you had a European Blue Card instead of your Highly Skilled Migrant residence permit! Here is why. In the Netherlands, about 9 out of 10 expats residing on an employer-sponsored basis hold a Highly Skilled Migrant permit. Few actually consider switching from Highly Skilled Migrant to a European Blue Card. Still, this less well-known residence permit would probably be a valid alternative, and much more often than employees (or employers) actually think. And a European Blue Card offers some surprising benefits for employees! In this article, immigration lawyer Arend van Rosmalen LL.M., partner at Orion Immigration Law, tells you all about the enhanced protection the European Blue Card gives to you in case of unemployment, and explains how you can switch from Highly Skilled Migrant to European Blue Card.

What is a European Blue Card?

Just like the Highly Skilled Migrant permit, a European Blue Card is an employment-based residence permit for highly qualified employees. Introduced in the early 2010’s, the conditions of the European Blue Card policy were initially so unfavourable that the policy was largely ignored. In June 2024, however, the law has undergone important changes following the implementation of EU Directive 2021/1883. The European Blue Card’s conditions are now more in line with the Highly Skilled Migrant policy, and the European Blue Card is indeed increasing in popularity. Still, because Dutch employers continue to be much more accustomed to the Highly Skilled Migrant policy, qualifying employees often still consider a Highly Skilled Migrant permit to be their best, if not their only option. That is a mistake. If you qualify for a European Blue Card, you are allowed to apply for one. Indeed, the European Blue Card provides employees with some important benefits that a Highly Skilled Migrant permit does not, especially relating to unemployment. Therefore, every Highly Skilled Migrant should ask themselves these questions: 1) could I qualify for a European Blue Card, and 2) how do I switch from Highly Skilled Migrant to European Blue Card. In this article, we will answer both these questions.

Qualifying for a European Blue Card in the Netherlands

Before we go into the differences relating to unemployment protection, let's first consider the general conditions you need to meet if you want to have a European Blue Card in the first place. There is much overlap between the Highly Skilled Migrant conditions and those applicable to European Blue Cards, but there are also important differences. The table below sets out both the overlap and the differences at a glance.

European Blue Card enables working for non-recognised sponsors

The most prominent advantage of a European Blue Card, as opposed to a Highly Skilled Migrant permit, has always been in the first condition: once you hold a European Blue Card, you can work at any real, Dutch business with a clean (tax) record, and not just at recognised sponsors. This opens up a much larger section of the Dutch labour market for you - which is of course especially important should you become unemployed. Surely, most large businesses hiring expats frequently are already recognised sponsors (who would prefer to use the Highly Skilled Migrant policy for practical purposes anyway). But that leaves many smaller businesses in the Netherlands. Many of those probably have never felt the need to become recognised sponsors – yet they may well be open to hiring you if they only knew recognition was not required in order to do so. Remember the European Blue Card policy is not well-known, even among employers.

Note: If you would like to know more about recognition as a sponsor, read our article on this topic.

European Blue Card salary thresholds (in 2026)

The most important drawback, however, of a European Blue Card, is in the salary thresholds. While the Highly Skilled Migrant policy maintains a sharply reduced salary threshold for recent graduates, and also allows employers to hire Highly Skilled Migrants below the age of 30 at a lower salary (regardless of where and when they graduated), the possibilities within the European Blue Card policy are more limited here. There is a reduced salary threshold, but it is not as much reduced as that for recently graduated Highly Skilled Migrants. Also, while, within the Highly Skilled Migrant policy, the reduced salary threshold for graduates can be applied indefinitely (and regardless of how many times you would change jobs), this is not the case if you hold a European Blue Card and wish to rely on the reduced salary threshold for graduates within that policy. Within the European Blue Card policy, the reduced salary threshold can only be applied to an employment that started up to three years past your graduation - and, importantly, cannot be applied following a later job change. Thus, switching from a Highly Skilled Migrant residence permit for a European Blue Card is usually only advisable if your Highly Skilled Migrant permit is already subject to the highest salary threshold – because the highest salary thresholds are the same for both Highly Skilled Migrants and European Blue Card holders.

European Blue Card validity: stronger unemployment protection

Besides the important possibility of changing jobs to work at non-recognised sponsors, there are two other important benefits, both relating to unemployment, that will apply if you switch from a Highly Skilled Migrant residence permit to a European Blue Card. The first of these relates to the validity of your residence permit in case of a temporary employment contract. If you hold a Highly Skilled Migrant residence permit, and your employment contract is for a definite period of time (often referred to as a “temporary employment contract”), then your residence permit will be valid for exactly the term of that employment contract. However, had you (and your employer) applied for a European Blue Card instead, that residence permit would have been granted to you with an extra three months of validity, past the end date on your employment contract. This extra period of validity of your residence permit can mean valuable extra time to find alternative employment, should your temporary employment contract not be renewed. Since a change of your residence permit (from a Highly Skilled Migrant permit to a European Blue Card) requires the co-operation of your employer, most of the time it is practically impossible to switch from a Highly Skilled Migrant permit to a European Blue Card once your employer has already decided not to renew your employment. Better, therefore, to switch to a European Blue Card before you actually need it urgently.

The European Blue Card's longer search period in case of unemployment

The European Blue Card is also more favourable, compared to the Highly Skilled Migrant permit, in the way it deals with your so-called “search period”. A search period is essentially just a grace period, holding up the revocation of your residence permit in case of unemployment. Search periods apply to every employment-based residence permit (including the Highly Skilled Migrant residence permit), but the way how is importantly more favourable if you hold a European Blue Card. Firstly, if you hold a European Blue Card, you can actually apply for renewal of your residence permit, even when you’ve already become unemployed. In other words, while, in every other employment-based immigration context, search periods are only capable of postponing the revocation of an already granted residence permit, the European Blue Card is the only residence permit with which you can actually get an extension (and thus get some extra time, that was not already granted to you) with the sole aim of finding new employment in the Netherlands.

A further advantage of applying for a European Blue Card has to do with the amount of time you can actually get by way of a search period. The table below summarises the IND’s written policy rules on the search period for European Blue Card holders and Highly Skilled Migrants.

How to Switch from Highly Skilled Migrant to European Blue Card

If you currently hold a Highly Skilled Migrant permit, but would also qualify for a European Blue Card, you can apply to have your residence permit exchanged. Especially if you do so while working for the same employer that is sponsoring your Highly Skilled Migrant permit, this application will be surprisingly stress-free, will not interfere with your labour market access or other rights, and will not require an in-depth re-investigation of the employment relationship on the basis of which you would like to get a European Blue Card. After all, your employment has been approved already! If you prepare this application with some care, you can avail yourself of the enhanced unemployment protection the European Blue Card offers with surprising ease.

There are a few items you would need to have in place to effectively put in an application to switch from a Highly Skilled Migrant permit to a European Blue Card:

• Diploma and credential evaluation. Because a Highly Skilled Migrant residence permit does not strictly require a higher degree, you may still need to supply the IND with your diploma. If you’ve obtained your diploma abroad, a credential evaluation, carried out by the Dutch government, is required as well. This is usually a formality, but it does take some time to process.
• Salary thresholds. If you switch from a Highly Skilled Migrant permit to a European Blue Card, your salary needs to be in line with the current European Blue Card salary thresholds.

Need help switching to European Blue Card?

At Orion Immigration Law, we are familiar with the process of applying for a European Blue Card (or any other employment-based residence permit). If you'd like to switch from Highly Skilled Migrant to European Blue Card, but feel some stress at the prospect of doing so on your own, then do not hesitate to book an advice meeting with Orion Immigration Law. During a 30 minutes online advice meeting, we can already determine with you if you qualify and what documents you would need. Of course, if you would like us to handle this application for you, we are more than happy to help you out.

Book advice meeting

This article was written by:

Arend van Rosmalen LL.M.

Partner & Solicitor

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Arend van Rosmalen LL.M. is a partner and co-founder of Orion Immigration Law. He advises both business clients and private individuals.

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This article was published on: 15-09-2026

This article was updated on: 16-09-2026