Income requirements: independent, sustainable and sufficient income
The income requirements
Your income must meet these 3 requirements:
- Your income is independent. This means that you pay taxes and national insurance contributions on your income.
- Your income is sustainable. This means that you receive the income long enough.
- Your income is sufficient. This means that your income is high enough. The IND uses required amounts (in Dutch: normbedragen) to determine whether your income is high enough. Your income is sufficient, if it is at least as much as the required amount. The required amounts vary per residence permit. See the required amounts per residence permit on our webpage Required amounts income requirements.
Income requirements per source of income
There are different sources of income. For example from work in paid employment, from one’s own business, from benefit or from assets. The source of income determines what the income requirements are.
Do you have several sources of income? And does each income meet the rules? Then you may add up these incomes. The added-up incomes together must at least be equal to the required amount that belongs to the residence permit.
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Income requirements for income from work in paid employment
open minusDo you have income from work in paid employment? These are income requirements.
Independent income
Your income is independent if you earn the income from legally permitted work. And if your employer withholds taxes and national insurance contributions from your salary. Is your salary paid from a person-related budget (in Dutch: persoonsgebonden budget or PGB)? Then the administration of the pgb must be done by the Social Insurance Bank (in Dutch: Sociale Verzekeringsbank or SVB). For more information go to www.svb.nl/en.
Sustainable income
Your income is sustainable if 1 of these situations apply to you:
- Your contract is valid for at least another 12 months. The probation period gets counted in.
- Your contract is still valid for less than 12 months or you have a flexible contract. In this case you must have had sufficient average monthly income in the last 3 years. During those 3 years you may not have been unemployed or chronically ill for more than 26 weeks. Chronically ill means that you got a benefit under the Sickness Benefits Act (in Dutch: Ziektewet). You may not have received an assistance benefit or other benefit from public funds.
Application to stay with partner or family member, permanent residence permit or long term EU resident
Your income is sustainable if 1 of these situations apply to you:
- Your contract is valid for at least another 12 months. The probation period gets counted in.
- Your contract is valid for at least another 6 months, but less than 12 months. One of these two situations applies to you:
- In the last 12 months you have had sufficient average monthly income from work in paid employment or from an unemployment or sickness benefit.
- In the last 3 years you have had sufficient average monthly income from work or from an unemployment or sickness benefit.
- Your contract is valid for less than 6 months or you have a flexible contract. In this case you must have had sufficient average monthly income in the last 3 years. You may not have received an assistance benefit or other benefit from public funds.
Sufficient income
See the required amounts per residence permit to check whether your income is sufficient.
To determine whether you had sufficient income in previous years, the IND looks at the required amounts of those years. See the old required amounts.Social security salary
The IND looks at your social security salary (in Dutch: sociale verzekeringsloon or sv-loon in short). This is the gross salary on which wage tax and national insurance contributions are calculated. National insurance contributions are the costs that you pay for a possible benefit for unemployment, sickness or incapacity for work. The social security salary is on your salary strip.
Also count holiday allowance
You are also allowed to count your holiday allowance. See the required amount without holiday allowance if you get holiday allowance once a year. Do you receive part of your holiday allowance each month? In that case you use the amount with holiday allowance. If your income is too low without holiday allowance, the IND looks at your income with holiday allowance. See the required amounts.
Irregular income also counts
Irregular income is income you receive on top of your fixed salary. For example, an allowance for irregular hours or shifts, danger pay, overtime or salary in kind.
Irregular income also counts if you earned it for at least 11 months in the last 12 months before the application. This means that your income with the irregular income must have been the required amount at least 11 times.
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Income requirements for self-employed income
open minusDo you have income from your an own business or as a freelancer? These are the income requirements.
Independent income
Your income is independent if you earn the income from legally permitted work. And you pay tax on the profit from your business or on the profit you have as a freelancer.
Sustainable income
Your income is sustainable if you have already earned this income for 18 months at the time of the application.
Have you applied for a residence permit for the residence purpose start-up or self-employed person? And have you also applied for a residence permit for your partner or child? Then the IND looks at your expected income. This expected income must be evident from your business plan.
Sufficient income
Your income is sufficient if your average monthly profit for tax purposes in each financial year was at least equal to the required amount with holiday allowance. The IND looks at the last 18 months before the application.
How does the IND calculate the profit?
This is the method the IND uses to calculate the business profit:
The total operating income - the total costs = the profit.
In a partnership, commercial partnership or limited partnership, the profit is divided by the number of partners, commercial partners or general/limited partners. The amount that is left is your profit.
For more information see this appendix:
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Income requirements for income from benefit
open minusDo you have income from a benefit? These income requirements apply.
Independent income
Income from these benefits is independent.
- Unemployment benefit
- Sickness benefit
- Invalidity benefit
- State pension (AOW)
- Pension
- Maternity and parental leave regulations (WAZO)
- Maternity pay for self-employed (ZEZ)
Benefits from public funds are not independent income. Benefits from public funds are, for example, an assistance benefit, benefit under the Participation Act or a benefit under the Dutch Invalidity Insurance (Young Disabled Persons) Act (in Dutch: Wajong).
Sustainable income
Your income from a benefit is sustainable if you have received the benefit for at least another 12 months.
Sufficient income
See the required amounts per residence permit to check whether your income is sufficient.
Social security salary
The IND looks at your social security salary (in Dutch: sociale verzekeringsloon or sv-loon ). This is the gross benefit on which wage tax and national insurance contributions are calculated. The social security salary can be found on your benefit specification. This is the document with the calculation of your benefit on it.
Also count holiday allowance
You are allowed to count your holiday allowance. If your benefit without holiday allowance does not meet the required amount, the IND looks at your benefit with holiday allowance.
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Income requirements for income from assets
open minusThese are examples of income from assets.
- Dividend on shares or bonds;
- Interest on savings;
- Profit from investments.
Do you have income from assets? These are the income requirements.
Independent income
Your income from assets is independent if you pay tax on the income.
The IND only counts the income from assets. The source of your assets should not be affected. This means that the assets must not be reduced.
Sustainable income
Income from assets is sustainable if it meets these 2 requirements.
- You have already received the income for 1 year.
- You still receive the income on the date that the IND receives your application.
Sufficient income
For the amount of the income, the IND looks at your gains from savings and investments. You calculate these gains for your tax return. This is an annual amount. The required amount is a monthly amount. So you must convert the annual amount into a monthly amount. This monthly amount must be at least equal to the required amount with holiday allowance that applies to the residence permit for which you are applying.
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Income requirements for other sources of income
open minusIf you have income other than income from work, your own business, benefit or assets, contact the IND.
Also count other income for certain residence permits
Do you have a residence permit for the residence purposes study, scientific research, orientation year, start-up or medical treatment? Then you may also count other income. For example, a grant, bank balance or financing by a third party. You can do this when you apply for your own residence permit and for your partner or child.
Also count income of partner or parents
Sometimes you may also count the income of your partner or parents. This is only allowed in the following situations:
- When you apply for a residence permit for a minor child or adopted/foster child.
- When you apply for a permanent residence permit.
- When you are a declared sponsor for a foreign student.
- When you are a declared sponsor in case of a medical treatment.
You and your partner or parents have to meet the following requirements:
- You live together with your partner in The Netherlands. Or you live with your parents in The Netherlands.
- Your partner or parent is a Dutch citizen or has a Dutch residence permit.
- All incomes must be independent and sustainable. Added up, these incomes are at least equal to the required amount the applies for that residence permit.
For all other applications you yourself must have independent, sustainable and sufficient income.
Exemptions from income requirements
Do you want to apply for a residence permit for your family member or partner? Or are you applying for a permanent residence permit? In certain situations you do not have to meet the income requirements. In that case you will get an exemption.
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Exemptions when you apply for a residence permit for a family member or partner
open minusThese are the situations in which you get an exemption from the income requirements as a sponsor:
- You get state pension or you have reached the state pension age (AOW). Go to svb.nl for more information on the state pension age in the Netherlands.
- You are fully and permanently unable to work and you can prove this. This appendix explains how to do this:
- You are permanently unable to meet the obligation to integrate into the workforce. This applies only if the local council has already exempted you for 5 years from the obligation to integrate into the workforce. And you have been exempted for at least another 1 year from the obligation to integrate into the workforce when the IND receives your application.
- You have a residence permit on temporary humanitarian grounds as a victim of human trafficking. Or as a victim of honour-related or domestic violence.
- You have a temporary asylum residence permit. And you apply within 3 months for family reunification for your partner or children.
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Exemptions when you apply for a permanent residence permit
open minusThese are the situations in which you get an exemption from the income requirements:
- You have a residence permit for 10 or more years continuously . If you were a Dutch citizen you can also count the years that you were a Dutch citizen.
- You are 18 or older and you have had a residence permit for residence with your parents. Afterwards, you have always lived in the Netherlands. You did not start living independently or did marry within 1 year after being granted residency with your parents.
- You are 18 or older and you were born in the Netherlands. And you have always lived in the Netherlands.
- You are 18 or older and you came to live in the Netherlands before you turned 3 years old. And afterwards you have always lived in the Netherlands.
These exemptions do not apply to residence permits for long-term EU residents.
Income test for residence permit for partner
Do you want to apply for a residence permit for your partner? And do you want to know whether your income is sufficient? Take the income test to find out. Use this income test to check whether your income meets the requirements. This test is not decisive. The IND always assesses your income after you submit your application.
Documents you need to do the test
In the test, you answer questions about your income. So it is helpful to have information about your income ready. For example:
- your salary slips;
- you contract;
- your benefit statements;
- your profit for the last years.
You have to send these documents with your application as well.
Several incomes
Do you have more than 1 income? Start the income test with your highest income. What if this income is not high enough, but it meets the other requirements? Then do the income test again for your other income. If this income also meets the requirements, then add the incomes together.