Indian knowledge migration has doubled

© Hollandse Hoogte / Cultura Images RF
In the period 2012-2017, immigration from India to the Netherlands more than doubled to over 8,600 annually. These are mainly knowledge migrants, with three-quarters employed in IT and information services. The main purpose of stay for these additional migrants is either knowledge migration or family reunion. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this based on a new study on immigration from India.

After Syrians, Indian immigrants formed the largest group of new non-EU residents registering in the Netherlands in 2017. Indian migration flows increased yearly in the period 2012-2017. In 2017, the Netherlands received 8,630 migrants from India, versus 3,955 in 2012.

Mainly knowledge and family migration

The larger inflow from India in the period 2012–2017 was due in particular to a rise in knowledge and family migration: the majority of arrivals in that period were knowledge migrants (44 percent) and family migrants (37 percent).

Although the share of student migrants from India is considerably lower (14 percent), their number is on the rise as well. There were 425 Indian student migrants in 2012; by 2017, this had gone up to 1,400.

Knowledge migrants working in IT and information services

Three in four Indian knowledge migrants are employed in the sector IT and information services. In this sector, the Indians work mainly on developing, producing and publishing software, but also in IT consultancy.

Higher personal income for knowledge migrants

Indian knowledge migrants earn a higher personal income than the median employee or self-employed in the Netherlands. In the years 2013-2017, the median personal income for all employees and self-employed in the Netherlands amounted to 34.0 thousand euros. Indian knowledge migrants earned a median income of 40.3 thousand euros.

On the other hand, their median personal income saw a less substantial rise over the period 2012-2017 than that of the total number employed in the Netherlands. Relative to 2013, the median personal income of (self-)employed persons in the Netherlands was 5.4 percent higher in 2017. The median personal income of Indian knowledge migrants stood at 39.6 thousand euros in 2013; this amount had increased by 3.9 percent in 2017.

Indian migrants live concentrated

Indian migrants live concentrated in a limited number of municipalities. The knowledge and family migrants who came to the Netherlands in 2017 mostly live in Amsterdam, The Hague, Amstelveen and Eindhoven.

The majority of the immigrants who chose Delft are student migrants. Indian student migrants mainly attend university with technology, industrial design and civil engineering as subjects. Apart from Delft, there are concentrations of student migrants in Eindhoven, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.