Recruiting Immigrant Workers: The Netherlands 2016: Edition 2016

236 Pages·2016·3.131 MB·English

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Recruiting Immigrant Workers
The NeTheRlaNds
The OECD series Recruiting Immigrant Workers comprises country studies of labour
Recruiting Immigrant Workers
migration policies. Each volume analyses whether migration policy is being used
effectively and efficiently to help meet labour needs, without adverse effects on labour
markets. It focuses mainly on regulated labour migration movements over which policy The NeTheRlaNds
has immediate and direct oversight.
Contents
Chapter 1. Context for labour migration to the Netherlands
Chapter 2. Evolution and characteristics of labour migration to the Netherlands
Chapter 3. The Dutch labour migration policy
Chapter 4. Matching labour migrants with labour demand in the Dutch economy
Chapter 5. Attracting and retaining skilled migrants and international students
in the Netherlands
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81 2016 12 1 P

Recruiting Immigrant
Workers:
The Netherlands
2016
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3
FOREWORD –

Foreword
This review of the Netherlands’ labour migration policy is the
seventh of a series conducted by the OECD Secretariat as a follow-up to
the 2009 High Level Policy Forum on International Migration. The
rationale for this initiative was the recent growth in labour migration
observed in many countries and the likelihood that recourse to labour
migration would increase in the context of demographic ageing. Prior to
the 2008-09 economic crisis, many countries had made substantial
changes to labour migration policies with a view to facilitating
recruitment from abroad. With the introduction of these changes, more
prominence was accorded to the question of their effectiveness and more
broadly, to the objectives of labour migration policy in general. Although
the economic crisis put a damper on labour migration movements, it did
not stop them entirely, and interest in labour migration policy is unlikely
to diminish in the near future.
The central objective of labour migration policy is to help meet those
labour market needs which cannot be satisfied through tapping domestic
labour supply in a reasonable time frame, without adversely affecting the
domestic labour market and without hindering development prospects in
vulnerable origin countries. Although the objective itself can be easily
stated, specifying the criteria for assessing the success of policy in
achieving it is a complex matter. It involves evaluating how well labour
market needs have been identified and whether migration has had an
impact on the labour market, both of which are analytically difficult.
This series of reviews addresses the question of whether labour
migration policy is effective in meeting labour market needs without
adverse effects, and whether the policy is efficient. To address these
questions, this review aims to analyse two key areas: i) the labour
migration system and its characteristics, in terms of both policies in place
and the labour migrants who arrive; and ii) the extent to which it is
responding to the current and forecast needs of the domestic labour
market, as well as any impact on the latter.
RECRUITING IMMIGRANT WORKERS: THE NETHERLANDS © OECD 2016
4
– FOREWORD

The focus is specifically on labour migration from outside the
European Union because those labour migration movements are
discretionary, that is, immediately subject to migration policy. Other
categories of migration – family, for example – are considered in terms
of their influence on decisions to admit workers, while this review does
not cover humanitarian migrants. Movements in the context of
free-circulation agreements, which are important in many European
countries and especially in the Netherlands, are also covered in their
relation to discretionary labour migration.
In light of recent large flows, the Netherlands faces a similar
discussion as other OECD countries regarding effective labour migration
policy, and it is in this context that the Netherlands requested that the
OECD review its labour migration policy. This review asks the question
of what should be the role of discretionary labour migration policy in the
specific context of the country, given the very high levels of migration
from within the European Economic Area.
RECRUITING IMMIGRANT WORKERS: THE NETHERLANDS © OECD 2016
5
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS –

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This review has been written by Friedrich Poeschel under the
supervision of Theodora Xenogiani. Chapter 5 was jointly written by
Friedrich Poeschel and Theodora Xenogiani. The review benefited from
valuable comments from Jean-Christophe Dumont, Stefano Scarpetta,
Mark Pearson and Jonathan Chaloff. The OECD Secretariat would like
to thank the Dutch authorities involved and all the persons in the
Netherlands who provided information to the project team and responded
to the numerous questions raised during the missions. The Secretariat
would also like to thank a team of researchers at SEO Amsterdam
Economics, notably Ernest Berkhout, Arjan Heyma, Maikel Volkerink
and Siemen van der Werff who conducted a series of analyses based on
register data for the purposes of this review. Special thanks go to
Esther Obradovi (Immigration and Naturalisation Service, IND) who
shared with the OECD team all relevant permit statistics. This report
would not have been possible without the support of the Ministry of
Social Affairs and Employment, the Ministry of Security and Justice and
the Immigration and Naturalisation Service.
RECRUITING IMMIGRANT WORKERS: THE NETHERLANDS © OECD 2016

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TABLE OF CONTENTS –

Table of contents
Acronyms and abbreviations .............................................................................13
Executive summary ...........................................................................................15
Assessment and recommendations ....................................................................21
Chapter 1. Context for labour migration to the Netherlands........................31
Current labour market conditions ...................................................................32
Challenges in the medium and the long run ....................................................40
References ......................................................................................................58
Chapter 2. Evolution and characteristics of labour migration
to the Netherlands ............................................................................................61
The composition of permanent migration flows .............................................62
Permanent labour migration flows ..................................................................69
Temporary labour migration ...........................................................................74
Work permit holders .......................................................................................81
International students ......................................................................................83
Labour migrants’ characteristics .....................................................................87
Labour migrants’ outcomes in the labour market ...........................................91
Impact of the financial crisis ...........................................................................98
References ....................................................................................................101
Chapter 3. The Dutch labour migration policy ............................................105
Evolution of the Dutch labour migration policy ...........................................106
Key actors in the management of labour migration ......................................110
Current labour migration regulations ............................................................112
Entry procedures and administrative issues ..................................................128
Modern Migration Policy, recognised sponsorship and enforcement ...........133
Status renewals and the path to citizenship ...................................................141
Notes ............................................................................................................146
References ....................................................................................................147
Annex 3.A1. Additional tables ......................................................................151
RECRUITING IMMIGRANT WORKERS: THE NETHERLANDS © OECD 2016
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– TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 4. Matching labour migrants with labour demand
in the Dutch economy .....................................................................................153
Selection of skills using salary thresholds ....................................................154
Strategic development of sectors ..................................................................170
Support for regional development ................................................................179
References ....................................................................................................192
Annex 4.A1. Sector classification .................................................................194
Chapter 5. Attracting and retaining skilled migrants and international
students in the Netherlands ..........................................................................195
What makes the Netherlands attractive? .......................................................196
Are knowledge migrants staying in the Netherlands? ..................................201
International students: A growing pool of potential highly
educated migrants .........................................................................................208
Are international students staying in the Netherlands after
their graduation? ...........................................................................................213
Policies enabling international students to stay in the Netherlands .............220
Branding and marketing studies in the Netherlands .....................................224
Notes ............................................................................................................227
References ....................................................................................................228
Annex 5.A1. Additional figures ....................................................................230

Figures
Figure 1.1. Levels of vacancies and registered unemployed persons,
2005-15 .......................................................................................................33
Figure 1.2. Unemployment rates by region and education level, 2014
and 2008 .....................................................................................................34
Figure 1.3. Vacancy rates by sector, 2012 and 2015 ..........................................35
Figure 1.4. Change in employment in selected detailed sectors, by origin,
2010-14 .......................................................................................................37
Figure 1.5. Change in employment in selected occupational groups,
2010-14 .......................................................................................................38
Figure 1.6. Change in employment in the field of qualification, by origin,
2009-13 and unemployment rate in the field of qualification, 2013 ..........39
Figure 1.7. Employment growth in knowledge-intensive services,
1993-2011 ...................................................................................................41
Figure 1.8. Vacancy rates in the so-called top sectors, 2010-12 ........................43
Figure 1.9. Total personnel in research and development, selected countries,
2000, 2008 and 2013 ..................................................................................43
RECRUITING IMMIGRANT WORKERS: THE NETHERLANDS © OECD 2016