The routes that carry families
Own-BV sponsorship — the flagship: your company becomes a recognised sponsor and employs you as knowledge migrant at the qualifying salary; the permit scales with the business and the 30% ruling rides the payroll: the comparison. Self-employment — points-based, business-plan-driven, the fit for independents. EU rights — union citizens and their family members register rather than apply. Family and partner routes — carrying spouses and children cleanly alongside every route above.
Matching route to profile
The operating founder: own-BV sponsorship, structure first (the checklist). The retiring principal: often the family route beside an adult child’s establishment, or self-employment around a real advisory practice — designed honestly, since passive-income-only profiles need genuine activity to anchor. The international couple: whichever passport holds EU rights leads, the family route follows.
The timeline and the horizon
Recognised sponsorship plus permit: weeks-to-months on a complete file, with the household calendar running in parallel: the map. Five qualifying years open permanent residence; the citizenship clock has its own page: the realistic timeline.