Hilfort insight blog

Every now and then, you meet someone whose story sticks with you. Not because it's dramatic, but because it's real, filled with challenges, growth, and resilience. That’s how I felt when I heard about Shivraj Sharma’s journey. Originally from India, Shivraj has been working in environmental auditing and greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting for over two decades. When his role expanded, his presence was needed in the Netherlands. He was hesitant to leave the life he’d built, but sometimes life has other plans. Shivraj moved to the Netherlands with his wife and son in June 2023. “Usually, I’ve seen people move to the Netherlands for a new job. In my case, the job moved me here. I didn’t want to come at first. I had my home, my routine, my community. I was settled in India.”

Over the last few months, we've looked at the payroll process from all angles: how it works, how HR and payroll are connected, and even what your Dutch payslip actually says. But as we wrap our heads around the basics, it's time to take a big step toward understanding an automated payroll system. Gone are the days of manually copying data between spreadsheets or double-checking payroll taxes line by line. Payroll is evolving, and it's not just a tech upgrade but a shift in how companies think about time, trust, efficiency, and reliability. It demonstrates the benefits of improved payroll processes through automation, including real-time data processing, which enhances decision-making.

Every end of the month, there's this quiet moment, maybe a few seconds long, maybe a little longer, where you see that notification, email, or digital nudge: your salary has been paid, reflecting the calculations done by hr. You open it, glance at the salary that hits your bank account, and if you're like most people, you feel a brief sense of satisfaction.

As your business grows, so do the responsibilities of the team: hiring new talent, making sure salaries are right, handling contracts, and answering endless employee questions. That’s the reality for HR and payroll teams. They’re the behind-the-scenes departments that keep a company running smoothly, yet they’re often seen as separate worlds. In reality, they’re more like two puzzle pieces: different shapes, but incomplete without each other.

We have spent the past few months writing blogs on topics like 30% ruling, recognised sponsors, salary thresholds, and visa requirements. However, all these topics are connected to one central concept: The Dutch highly skilled migrant scheme. A highly skilled migrant Netherlands, also known as a knowledge migrant, is an employee from outside the EU who comes to the Netherlands for a specialised, high-demand job. These skilled migrants apply to work in the Netherlands, usually in the field of technology, engineering, finance, healthcare, and research. The goal? To bring expertise that is not readily available in the Dutch labor market. But how do the 30% ruling, recognised sponsors, and salary thresholds fit into the picture for highly skilled migrants? Here’s an overview:

In today’s global market, it’s becoming more and more common to receive CVs from foreigners. If they’re from a country within the European Union, you can hire them without any trouble. But what if they’re from Asia? From North America? It suddenly becomes much more complicated to hire them. Even though they might be the best fit for you and your company, you might pass on them because of the difficulties that come with hiring from abroad. This scenario is all too common for Dutch businesses trying to remain competitive in a global market. The highly skilled migrant visa (HSM visa) is the answer to these challenges. It connects companies with highly skilled migrants around the world by breaking down the barriers for employers and providing new opportunities for employees. In this blog, we’ll take you down the path of the HSM visa. By the end, we’re confident you’ll have another look at the international CVs you would normally cast aside.

In today’s world, we often find ourselves digging through piles and piles of data and forget to look up and see the person sitting across from us. At Hilfort, we look at the person first and the data second. So, to better understand the service we offer from another perspective, we sat down with one of the expats using our employment of record services. Meet Karsh Patel, an expat from India who has been living in the Netherlands for the past five years.

In a world that’s more connected than ever, the Netherlands has been a magnet for international talent. For those trying to build their careers or employers who have been looking to hire global talent, the Highly skilled Migrant Scheme (HSM) has remained one of the most popular way to work or to hire in the Netherlands. However, like everything else, some rules and conditions must be met and one of the most important one is meeting the annual salary thresholds set by the IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Service).

In today’s competative job market, finding the right candidate sometimes means looking beyond the borders of the Netherlands and the European Union. But Dutch law makes it so that many companies are unable to hire the perfect candidate when they’re from a country like the United States of America or India. Only companies labeled by the Dutch immigration services as a recognised sponsor are allowed to hire these types of candidates. Being a recognised sponsor with the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) allows companies to hire skilled foreign nationals while simplifying the visa, work permit, and application procedures.