NSC and GroenLinks-PvdA push to tighten highly-skilled labor migration rules

Coalition party Nieuw Sociaal Contract (NSC) and the largest opposition party, GroenLinks-PvdA, are working together to restrict labor migration. Under their proposal, highly skilled foreign workers from outside the European Union would only be allowed to reside in the Netherlands with a European Blue Card, and then only if they are employed in a sector with a proven and consistent shortage of workers.

NSC and GroenLinks-PvdA plan to introduce this measure as an amendment to a bill that Minister for Asylum and Migration Marjolein Faber is set to defend in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament. The bill aims to incorporate new European regulations that would make it easier for skilled workers from non-EU countries to live and work in the Netherlands.

However, many parties in the Tweede Kamer have already expressed strong criticism, arguing that the proposed law is too lenient. They also have concerns about the ease with which aspects of the law can potentially be exploited. One element of the law is that credentials may be substituted for work experience in some circumstances, but the Dutch immigration service may not have the capacity nor the ability to validate the legitimacy of an applicant's work history.

The amendment calls for the government to designate specific sectors that genuinely require workers from outside the European Union. “This is an important step to prevent abuse of the skilled migration system, limit labor migration, and ensure that we only bring in the foreign workers we truly need,” said NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt.

Additionally, the proposal would require that foreign workers entering the Netherlands under the European Blue Card scheme be hired directly by an employer rather than through intermediary agencies. “A direct employment contract ensures that employers can be held accountable for their responsibilities,” said GroenLinks-PvdA lawmaker Mariëtte Patijn.

“It also provides workers with stability and security. Right now, they often don’t know where they stand.”