Every year we are in the top 3 of the best law firms in the Netherlands in the field of client satisfaction.
New Single Permit Directive: Search period of 6 months
On the 21st of May 2026, the deadline for implementation of the Recast Single Permit Directive 2024/1233 lapsed. The Netherlands has not yet implemented the directive into national legislation. This means that there is no clarity yet on how all provisions of the Directive will work out in the Netherlands. However, certain provisions may have direct effect, which means they can already be used, regardless of the lack of implementation.One of the changes that the Single Permit Directive brings into Dutch immigration law, is that the national Highly Skilled Migrant scheme should now be defined as a single permit. This was long disputed by both policy makers and even the Council of State.
This means that more favorable conditions contained in the Single Permit Directive must now also be applied to persons holding a Highly Skilled Migrant permit. An important example of this is the extension of the job search period following unemployment from 3 to 6 months. This is only applicable if the Highly Skilled Migrant has already had a valid residence permit for 2 years. If the validity of the Highly Skilled Migrant permit expires before the migrant has been able to make full use of the new 6-month job search period, then extension of the permit should be possible.
If you have questions about what this means for your situation, please reach out to our office for advice.