The step-by-step plan for England

There's no free movement to the United Kingdom anymore. The main route is the Skilled Worker visa, and that works in a fixed order: first a confirmed job offer from an employer recognised by the Home Office as a sponsor, only then the visa application. GOV.UK says it literally — you must have a job offer before you apply. Whoever wants to move first and search afterwards has no route in this corridor.

If you work in healthcare, look at the Health and Care Worker variant: lower fees and no health surcharge (IHS). For recognised leaders in science, culture or tech there's Global Talent. And what there isn't: a working holiday or youth route for Dutch citizens — the Youth Mobility Scheme isn't open to EU citizens, whatever older blogs claim.

Two requirements at once: your occupation has to be on the list of eligible occupations (as a rule degree level, RQF 6), and the salary has to be at least the higher of £41,700 a year or the going rate for your occupation code. Look up your occupation via the official list — it's about the task description, not your Dutch job title.

The thresholds were raised sharply in July 2025; so don't count with amounts from older sites. Lowered thresholds exist (£33,400 for new entrants under 26 and for the Immigration Salary List), but even then a going-rate test still applies. If the wage English employers pay in your field doesn't meet the threshold, you know that now — and not after months of applying.

Since 8 January 2026 the Skilled Worker visa asks English at level B2 — no longer B1, which many sites still mention. Dutch citizens aren't exempt: the exemption list only has majority-English-speaking countries. You prove the level with a SELT test at an approved provider, or with a degree taught entirely in English that you have confirmed via Ecctis. In this phase you don't have to book anything yet — but you do need to know this is on your path, because the test will sit on the critical path of your application.

The English route has one cost item everyone underestimates: the Immigration Health Surcharge of £1,035 per adult per year, to be paid up front for the whole visa duration. For a family of four coming for five years that alone is well over £18,000 — on top of fees, language test, the move and the first months' rent. The calculator works on your own choices and shows where the big amounts are, so that the job offer that comes later can be a real decision financially too.

Your partner and children under 18 can come along as dependants — each with their own fees and their own IHS, and with an additional funds requirement (£285 for your partner, £315 for the first child, £200 per further child). Your partner may work freely in the UK; in the dependant requirements GOV.UK mentions no language requirement — that lies only with you as the main applicant. Discuss the whole picture together: which of you carries the visa (and with it the job the residence hangs on), what does that mean if that job stops, and is the family ready for a country where you start again — school, healthcare, network? This is the moment to be able to say no; after phase 2 that costs money.

Choose below the date on which you want to be in England. The step-by-step plan works out whether that's feasible with what still has to happen — and says so honestly if it gets tight. Be realistic about the one part that can't be planned: the job search with a licensed sponsor. The visa itself is surprisingly fast after that. A target date is yours: you can always move it, and moving it is a perfectly fine outcome.