Every January's threshold update sets off the same worry among permit holders and their employers: whether a salary that qualified last year now falls short mid-permit. What decides it is when the IND next assesses the file, a narrower trigger than most people assume.
Only when you next interact with the IND on it. The higher 2026 thresholds took effect 1 January and apply to new applications, extensions/renewals, and change-of-employer notifications assessed from that date onward — not retroactively to a permit you already hold that isn't up for renewal. The current gross monthly figures: - €5,942 for HSM applicants aged 30 and over - €4,357 for those under 30 - €3,122 for the reduced rate tied to the orientation-year route So if your permit runs until, say, mid-2027 and you're not switching jobs, nothing forces your employer to raise your pay right now purely because of this update. Where it does bite is the next time you touch the IND: renewing, or moving to a new sponsor, both require meeting whatever threshold is current at that moment, not the one from when you were first granted the permit. Thresholds are indexed and typically move every January, so treat this year's numbers as a snapshot rather than a fixed target — check ind.nl close to whenever you actually file.