Companies Offering Visa Sponsorship in the Netherlands for Software Engineers (2026)

The Netherlands is one of the most accessible tech markets in Europe for international software engineers. English is the working language at nearly every major employer, the visa process is straightforward compared to most EU countries, and companies actively recruit from outside Europe. Booking.com, Adyen, and ASML are among the largest employers that regularly sponsor visas, but they are far from the only ones.

Why the Netherlands?

• Competitive salaries: Senior software engineers in the Netherlands typically earn between €80,000 and €130,000 in base salary. At top-paying companies, €100k+ total compensation is achievable at the senior level. You can browse current openings at nextleveljobs.eu/country/nl.
• Tech hub cities: Amsterdam is the primary hub, home to Booking.com, Adyen, Uber, and Google. Eindhoven has a strong hardware and semiconductor cluster anchored by ASML and NXP. Rotterdam hosts a growing fintech sector.
• 30% ruling tax benefit: Qualifying international hires can receive 30% of their gross salary tax-free for up to five years. Note: for new hires from 2024 onwards, the ruling reduces to 27% from January 2027. This still significantly boosts take-home pay and is one of the most generous tax incentives for tech workers in Europe.
• EU work rights: After five years of continuous residence, you can apply for permanent residency or long-term EU resident status, giving you the right to live and work across the EU.

What Is the Highly Skilled Migrant (HSM) Visa and How Does It Work?

The Highly Skilled Migrant visa (kennismigrantenregeling) is the main work visa route for non-EU software engineers moving to the Netherlands. It is employer-sponsored, meaning a company must apply on your behalf through the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND).

To qualify, your employer must be a recognised sponsor registered with the IND, and your gross monthly salary must meet a minimum threshold. As of 2026, the threshold is €5,942 per month (€71,304/year) for workers aged 30 and over, and €4,357 per month (€52,284/year) for those under 30. These amounts exclude the 8% holiday allowance and are adjusted annually. Unlike the EU Blue Card, the HSM visa has no formal degree requirement — it is purely salary-based. Most software engineering salaries at the companies listed below comfortably exceed these minimums.

The process is typically fast: once your employer submits the application, the IND aims to decide within two weeks. Your employer handles the paperwork and legal fees. You will receive a residence permit that also serves as a work permit. For full details, see the official IND page on the Highly Skilled Migrant visa.

15 Companies That Sponsor Visas in the Netherlands

Booking.com

One of the world’s largest online travel platforms, headquartered in Amsterdam. Booking.com employs thousands of engineers and is one of the biggest sponsors of HSM visas in the Netherlands. They hire across backend, frontend, data engineering, machine learning, and platform infrastructure. Senior software engineers report total compensation of roughly €115k–€180k according to self-reported data on levels.fyi.

Adyen

A global payments platform headquartered in Amsterdam, processing transactions for companies including Meta, Uber, and Spotify. Adyen has a highly international engineering team and sponsors visas regularly. Roles span payments engineering, backend systems, infrastructure, and security. Levels.fyi data puts senior engineer total comp in the €110k–€165k range.

ASML

The world’s sole manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines used by every leading chipmaker. Headquartered in Veldhoven near Eindhoven, ASML is one of Europe’s most valuable tech companies. They hire software engineers for embedded systems, computational lithography, data infrastructure, and controls software.

Uber

Uber operates a major engineering hub in Amsterdam, focused on its international operations. They sponsor HSM visas and hire for backend, platform, data engineering, and machine learning roles.

Google

Google has an engineering office in Amsterdam with teams working on Ads, Cloud, and YouTube products. They sponsor HSM visas for qualified engineers. Roles include backend, infrastructure, SRE, and machine learning.

Elastic

The company behind Elasticsearch and the Elastic Stack, with a distributed team and offices in Amsterdam. Elastic sponsors visas for engineers working on search, observability, and security products.

Databricks

A data and AI platform company with a growing Amsterdam office. Databricks sponsors HSM visas and hires for backend engineering, data platform, and ML infrastructure roles. Senior engineers report total comp of €150k–€220k on levels.fyi, making it one of the better-paying options in Amsterdam.

Miro

A visual collaboration platform with its European headquarters in Amsterdam. Miro has a highly international team and sponsors visas. They hire across full-stack, backend, frontend, and platform engineering.

NVIDIA

The GPU and AI computing company has offices in the Netherlands, particularly around Eindhoven. They hire for GPU software, driver development, CUDA, and AI infrastructure engineering.

Optiver

A global market maker headquartered in Amsterdam, known for some of the highest engineering compensation in Europe. Optiver sponsors HSM visas for software engineers working on low-latency trading systems, infrastructure, and FPGA development. Levels.fyi reports total compensation of €180k–€300k+ for experienced engineers — well above typical Amsterdam tech salaries.

Flow Traders

Another Amsterdam-headquartered trading firm that sponsors HSM visas. Flow Traders hires software engineers for trading platform development, low-latency systems, and data engineering.

IMC Trading

A global market-making firm headquartered in Amsterdam. IMC sponsors visas and hires engineers for trading systems, infrastructure, distributed computing, and research engineering.

Stripe

The payments infrastructure company has an Amsterdam office and sponsors HSM visas. Stripe hires across backend, infrastructure, security, and full-stack engineering.

TomTom

A mapping and navigation technology company headquartered in Amsterdam. TomTom sponsors HSM visas and hires for geospatial engineering, backend systems, embedded software, and machine learning.

Picnic

A Dutch online grocery delivery company that uses technology to optimise its supply chain. Headquartered in Amsterdam, Picnic sponsors HSM visas and hires for backend, data engineering, machine learning, and mobile development.

How to Apply

1. Find the role: Browse companies in the Netherlands that sponsor visas on their careers pages, or use nextleveljobs.eu/country/nl to find €100k+ roles at companies that hire internationally.
2. Apply directly: Submit your application through the company’s careers page. Avoid third-party recruiters where possible — direct applications go through faster.
3. Interview: Most companies run 3–5 rounds including a technical screen, system design, and cultural fit interviews. Remote interviews are standard for international candidates.
4. Receive your offer: The offer letter will typically specify that the company will handle your HSM visa application.
5. Visa application: Your employer (the recognised sponsor) submits the application to the IND on your behalf. You do not need to visit an embassy in most cases. Processing takes approximately two weeks.
6. Relocate: Once approved, you travel to the Netherlands. You will collect your residence permit and register with the municipality (gemeente). Some companies provide relocation support including temporary housing.

Tips to Increase Your Chances

• Tailor your CV to a European format: Keep it to two pages. Lead with a summary, list experience in reverse chronological order, and include specific technologies and measurable impact.
• Highlight international or remote experience: If you have worked across time zones, with distributed teams, or in English-speaking environments, make that obvious. It signals you will integrate quickly.
• Mention visa readiness in your cover letter: A short sentence confirming you are aware of the HSM visa process and are ready to relocate removes friction. Some companies filter out candidates who seem uncertain about relocation.
• Use job boards that filter by sponsorship: Not every job listing will say “visa sponsorship available” explicitly. Boards like Next Level Jobs EU focus on companies known to hire internationally, which saves you from guessing.
• Apply to recognised sponsors: Check the IND’s public register of recognised sponsors to confirm a company can actually sponsor your visa before investing time in their application process.

The visa process is fast, the 30% ruling makes the numbers work, and companies like Optiver and Adyen have been sponsoring international engineers for years — the infrastructure is there. Browse open roles at companies that hire internationally in the Netherlands at nextleveljobs.eu/country/nl.