Nearly 20% fewer expats came to the Netherlands last year

The number of expats that came to the Netherlands last year dropped by nearly a fifth last year, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported with its immigration figures. Barring the pandemic, when coronavirus-related travel restrictions severely limited all types of migration, this figure had been steadily rising since 2008.

Last year, 21,500 knowledge migrants, as CBS calls highly-skilled immigrants moving for work, moved to the Netherlands, nearly 5,000 fewer than in 2022.

CBS did not give a reason for the decrease, but a large part of last year was dominated by the parliamentary election campaign in which many parties promised to significantly reduce immigration.

The notoriously anti-immigrant PVV won that election and is now the largest party in the Schoof I Cabinet coalition. NSC, another coalition party, said in its campaign that it wanted to limit all foreign immigration to 50,000 per year, including expats, migrant workers, international students, and asylum seekers.

The largest group of expats that moved to the Netherlands last year came from India (21 percent), followed by China, Turkey, and South Africa. Though the number of expats from India, Turkey, and South Africa all decreased significantly compared to 2022, the Volkskrant wrote after requesting more detailed figures from CBS.

The number of international students in the Netherlands did increase, from 20,800 in 2022 to 23,000 last year. The new government wants to charge higher tuition to students from outside the European Union and reduce their access to study grants.