The Dutch government is to ease travel and residency rules for highly educated migrants seeking to be employed by companies which heavily depend on such foreign workers.

Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin did stress that such companies, which include Shell and universities, should be known as reliable. At the same time, the companies will be given greater responsibility regarding the welfare of their foreign employees, for example by having to provide housing. The minister underlined that foreign "knowledge workers" are extremely important for the Dutch economy.

In order to attract more foreign "knowledge workers", administrative procedures will be simplified. The number of required licenses will be reduced from two to one. Minister Ballin also noted that the new rules will improve control and prevent abuse. He insisted that not all companies would meet all the requirements to benefit from the new legislation. As an example of abuse he quoted several Chinese restaurant owners, who, in the past, tried to hire so-called top chefs as knowledge workers.