Draconian IND approach to the income requirement

Since the beginning of 2026, the IND has become more draconian, when it comes to the income requirement (“het middelenvereiste” in Dutch).

Three elements of the income requirement

The income requirement consists of three components. An applicant’s income needs to be “sufficient” and “sustainable.” Meanwhile, their source of income must be “independent.” “Sufficient” means that the amount of their income must be equivalent to or above the threshold mentioned on the IND website. “Independent” means that an income must originate from paid employment or other acceptable sources (such as, unemployment benefits or “WW uitkering” in Dutch). Usually, the requirements of “sufficient income” and “independent source” are not problematic, whilst the “sustainability” requirement can be a bone of contention.

When does an applicant need to meet the income requirement?

Under Dutch immigration law, the income requirement is a prerequisite for a plethora of residence permits. For example, when one asks for a Dutch indefinite stay permit, they will need to show that they meet the income requirement. The income requirement is also crucial when one wants to sponsor their foreign partner etc.

Applicable case law on the income requirement

There have been many judgments from both the Dutch administrative courts as well as the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”). In a myriad of judgments, the CJEU has held that the objective of the income requirement is to make sure that a foreign national does not become a burden on the social assistance system of the Member State. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, which forms part of the general principles of EU law, the measures provided for in national legislation must be suitable for achieving the objectives pursued by that legislation and must not go beyond what is necessary to achieve them. Also, the IND should take all the financial aspects into account. For example, in a 2017 judgment, the Court of the Hague held that, when examining a foreign national’s request for a Dutch partner visa, an amount of €126.000 in their savings account is a substantial amount of money that the IND may not overlook. In a 2019 judgment, the Court of the Hague held that an amount of €22.000 is enough from the perspective of the EU long term directive, and that the IND “sustainability” requirement is devoid of a legal basis. Instead of coming to terms with the case law, the IND has recently conjured up more draconian policies on the income requirement. In the following context, we will lay bare the most recent rules adopted by the IND.

IND Information Notice 2026/12

On 14 April 2026, the IND released a so-called Information Notice (Informatiebericht IB 2026/12). The IND contends that the purpose of this Information Notice is to clarify the issue as to how personal equity should be assessed. Instead, this Information Notice has given some IND officers free licenses to refuse a number of applications. First of all, the Information Notice IB 2026/12 states that the equity amount should be equivalent to or greater than 36 times the norm amount as mentioned on the IND website, and that the equity should be free at call. This means that the equity amount should be equivalent to or greater than €63.603,72 when it comes to an application for permanent residence; or € 90.862,- when it comes to a partner visa application. As mentioned above, the equity must be free at call as well, meaning that the IND does not accept a fixed term deposit or an investment account. In the explanatory section of this Information Notice, it also states that the applicant must show that the applicant must have paid the relevant taxes (e.g. box 3 tax and/or inheritance tax). More importantly, the origin of the funds must be provided. If the origin is unclear or undefinable, the IND will not take the funds into account. For example, if an applicant deposits a substantial amount of money into their bank account shortly before their application, the origin will be deemed undefinable. The Information Notice also states that the IND can potentially ask an applicant to provide detailed bank statements of at least 12 months preceding the submission of the application, demonstrating the development/growth of the available funds. In practice, we have seen cases in which the IND asks for bank statements of the last 36 months or personal income tax filings for the last five years! Furthermore, if an applicant received their funds from a decedent or donor, the overdue taxes (eg. inheritance taxes) will be deducted from the inheritance/gift.

This Information Notice appears to be so arbitrary that it is even written on the website of the Centre for Migration Law of the Radboud University that this Information Notice is in contravention of the EU Directive 2003/109. 

IND’s attempt to undermine the primacy of a Royal Decree

When it comes to the “sustainability” requirement, one of the most important provisions is article 3.75(3) of the Immigration Decree 2000 (“Vreemdelingenbesluit 2000”). Pursuant to article 3.75(3), an income from a paid employment is seen as “sustainable” if the applicant has been having sufficient income over the last 36 months and their employment contract is still valid on the application date or on the decision date. In the relevant section of the Immigration Policy 2000, it is written that an application shall not be refused on the basis of the “sustainability” requirement, if it is shown that the income is sustainable at any moment between the application date and the decision date, notwithstanding the situation that the income is no longer available on the decision date. Nevertheless, since the beginning of 2026, the IND has added another arbitrary paragraph into their policy, which states that the preceding rule does not apply when an employment agreement is ended between the application date and the decision date. In our opinion, this is an epitome of an IND attempt to let their policy (“a lower law”) to take precedence over a higher law (“Immigration Decree” in this case), which is clearly in breach of the legal principle of lex superior.

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Do you have any questions about the income requirement or other aspects of Dutch immigration law, please feel free to book a consultation with us.

Date of publication: 5 November 2026