Recruiting Immigrant Workers The Netherlands www.ebook3000.com Recruiting Immigrant Workers: The Netherlands 2016 www.ebook3000.com This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein not necessarily reflect the official views of OECD member countries This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area Please cite this publication as: OECD (2016), Recruiting Immigrant Workers: The Netherlands 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264259249-en ISBN 978-92-64-25923-2 (print) ISBN 978-92-64-25924-9 (PDF) Series: Recruiting Immigrant Workers ISSN 2225-7950 (print) ISSN 2225-7969 (online) The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities The use of such 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contact@cfcopies.com 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 www.ebook3000.com – 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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS – ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This review has been written by Friedrich Poeschel under the supervision of Theodora Xenogiani Chapter 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 www.ebook3000.com TABLE OF CONTENTS – Table of contents Acronyms and abbreviations .13 Executive summary 15 Assessment and recommendations 21 Chapter 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 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 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 www.ebook3000.com – TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 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 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 ... selected universities RECRUITING IMMIGRANT WORKERS: THE NETHERLANDS © OECD 2016 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – 19 Summary of the main recommendations for the Netherlands (cont.) F Improve the statistical infrastructure... education, health or “other” services have a higher probability to stay in the Netherlands than those in other sectors While several RECRUITING IMMIGRANT WORKERS: THE NETHERLANDS © OECD 2016 www.ebook3000.com... interest in the Netherlands The pool of highly skilled labour migrants who RECRUITING IMMIGRANT WORKERS: THE NETHERLANDS © OECD 2016 ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS – 29 already have a notion of the Dutch