How to Hire a Highly Skilled Migrant Without Your Own Recognised Sponsor Status

In the Netherlands, a highly skilled migrant application normally requires an employer that is recognised by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) as a sponsor. If your own company is not yet recognised, the practical route is not to bypass the rule, but to structure the employment through a recognised payroll company or legal employer that can carry the sponsor obligations properly.

The real issue is who can act as the recognised sponsor

For the highly skilled migrant residence permit, the IND states that the employee must have an employment contract with an employer or research institution in the Netherlands, and that this employer must be a sponsor recognised by the IND. The employee must also meet the income requirements, and the agreed salary must be in line with the market rate.

That makes the recognised sponsor question central to the hire. The candidate’s seniority, salary level and technical skills matter, but they do not replace the sponsor requirement. If your company is not recognised, the application cannot usually be filed directly under your company’s own name.

The decision should therefore be made before the offer letter is finalised. Who will be the legal employer? Who will sign the contract? Who will pay the salary? Who will keep the immigration file? Who will notify the IND if the employee leaves, changes salary or moves address? These questions are not administrative details. They determine whether the hiring structure is workable.

A recognised payroll company can become the legal employer

Business.gov.nl explains that only a recognised sponsor may apply for the highly skilled migrant residence permit. In most cases, that sponsor is the company where the highly skilled migrant performs the work. However, recognised employment agencies or payroll companies can also act as the recognised sponsor, or the Employer of Record (EoR), if they sponor the employee for another business in the Netherlands. In that case, the agency or payroll company is considered the legal employer.

This is the point many employers miss. An EoR structure is not simply a way to “put the visa somewhere else.” If the payroll company is the legal employer, the employment contract, salary payment, payroll records, employee file and sponsor administration must all reflect that role. For the hiring company, the employee may still work in the team, attend internal meetings, use internal systems and report to a functional manager. But the formal employment and immigration framework sits with the recognised legal employer. That split must be documented carefully.

In other words, the hiring company usually controls the day-to-day work: the project, priorities, technical supervision and internal collaboration. The payroll company, as the legal employer, simply carries formal responsibilities connected to the employment relationship and the highly skilled migrant file.

Both sides need a clear operating model. Who approves leave? Who updates salary data? Who checks whether the salary remains compliant? Who stores proof of payment? Who informs the IND when employment ends? Without that division of responsibility, the payroll model can become unclear exactly where clarity is needed most.

Sponsor obligations belong inside the payroll process

Recognised sponsor status creates ongoing duties. The IND lists an obligation to provide information, an administrative obligation and a duty of care. Changes that affect the residence permit or sponsor recognition usually have to be reported to the IND within 4 weeks. The IND can check compliance, impose administrative fines and suspend or withdraw recognised sponsor status if obligations are not met.

For employers, this means payroll and immigration cannot be managed separately. Salary payment, contract terms, payslips, proof of payment, employment start date, working hours, leave and termination all affect the quality of the immigration file. Business.gov.nl notes that, since 1 January 2026, recognised sponsors must keep additional documents, including proof that a highly skilled migrant or EU Blue Card holder has been paid; a payslip alone does not prove that the employee received payment.

That is why a recognised payroll company must be more than a name on the application. It needs the systems and routines to keep payroll, HR and IND records aligned over the full employment period.

Salary compliance has to be checked before the offer is signed

The salary condition is one of the most sensitive parts of the highly skilled migrant route. The IND requires the employee to meet the income requirements and the agreed salary to be in line with the market rate.

In practice, the salary review should happen before the offer is sent, not after the employee has accepted. The company and payroll provider should agree which salary components count, when the salary will be paid, how benefits are handled and whether the structure remains compliant if the employee changes hours or takes unpaid leave.

This is also where payroll documentation matters. A compliant salary on paper is not enough if the payment record is missing, delayed or inconsistent with the contract. The employer should be able to show what was agreed, what was paid and how the payment was processed.

Becoming a recognised sponsor may still be the long-term answer

Working with a recognised payroll company can be practical when the employer needs a faster route, has limited headcount in the Netherlands, or is still testing the local hiring model. But if the company expects to hire highly skilled migrants regularly, applying for its own recognised sponsor status may become more efficient.

The IND allows organisations to apply for recognition as a sponsor in the work category, which covers residence purposes such as highly skilled migrant, paid employment, seasonal labour, intra-corporate transfer and European Blue Card. Once recognised, the organisation is listed in the public register of recognised sponsors.

Recognition can bring fast processing, fewer supporting documents and access to the IND Business Portal, but it also creates obligations. It should therefore be treated as an operational decision, not just an immigration form.

Employer checklist before using a payroll sponsor model

Before confirming the hire, bring recruitment, HR, payroll and immigration into one workflow.

• Check whether your company is already listed in the IND public register of recognised sponsors.

• Confirm that the payroll company is recognised by the IND for work-related sponsorship.

• Decide who the legal employer will be and make sure the contract reflects that.

• Confirm who pays the salary, issues payslips and keeps proof of payment.

• Check the applicable salary requirement and whether the salary is market-conform.

• Agree how leave, working hours, salary changes and termination will be reported.

• Confirm who keeps the employee’s immigration and payroll file.

• Make sure the employee understands the employment structure and sponsor relationship.

• Build internal reminders for IND reporting deadlines and document retention.

A compliant structure is what makes the hire possible

A company without recognised sponsor status should not treat the highly skilled migrant process as a formality that can be solved after the job offer. The hire becomes possible when the sponsor, legal employer, payroll process, salary payment and IND obligations all fit together. Unusual Payroll combines payroll, EoR structures, HR administration and immigration-linked employment support in the Netherlands, making it a relevant point of contact for employers that need a recognised sponsor route without immediately building the full structure in-house.

*Treat this article as general information only. It does not replace legal, tax, payroll or immigration advice for a specific case.