Non-EU/EFTA knowledge migrants

For non-EU/EFTA immigrants, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) looks at the migration motive determined by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) of the Ministry of Justice and Security, which also issues the relevant residence permits. The IND may record multiple migration motives per immigrant, but CBS only receives one. This excludes non-Dutch diplomats and non-Dutch NATO military personnel living in the Netherlands, and asylum seekers who are not registered in the personal records database (usually because they have been accommodated in central reception facilities in the Netherlands for less than six months) and have not yet been issued with a residence permit.

The migration motive of labour applies to immigrants from outside the EU/EFTA who plan to engage in paid work or be self-employed in the Netherlands. CBS divides labour migration among non-EU/EFTA nationals into two subcategories: knowledge migration and other labour migration.