Good and bad news for Expats in The Netherlands

The Dutch government has worked out a number of legislative changes that affect (new) expats in the Netherlands. For example, the rates for various fees at the IND have been reduced and a proposal has been worked out to reduce the term of the 30%-ruling to 5 years.

Proposal: 30%-ruling to 5 years?

The Dutch government proposed to reduce the maximum term of the 30%-ruling from 8 years to 5 years as of January 1, 2019 and apply to new and existing situations. This implies that employees who enjoyed the 30%-ruling in 2018 for 5 years already will lose their entitlement as of 2019. Also the partial non-resident tax status will consequently be reduced to 5 years. At the same time it is also proposed that extra-territorial cost can no longer be reimbursed tax-free after 5 years. All other conditions of the 30%-ruling will remain unchanged.

Good news : lower legal fees IND

The Dutch Immigration Authorities (IND) has decreased various fees considerably as per May 3, 2018. Sometimes with over 50%! So the fees for highly skilled migrant and ICT applications are reduced to € 582 (€938), the fees for a search year application are now € 285 (€ 641) and the fees for the regular application for registration as authorized sponsor decreased to € 3.861 (€ 5.345).