Residence permit for orientation year

Conditions you must meet

• Meet the general requirements that apply to everyoneIND links a separate general-requirements page, not a registered source.

  You meet the general requirements that apply to everyone.

• ONE of the qualifying situations must apply — they are alternatives, not a checklistThe structural point of this permit. IND lists four alternative routes (Dutch degree, Erasmus Mundus master's, scientific research in the Netherlands, or a foreign degree from a top-ranked institution). An applicant needs ONE, not all. Recording them as parallel conditions would imply otherwise.

  One of these situations applies to you:

• A subject ranking must be for your own study or research subjectIND also allows combining a general ranking with a subject ranking, provided they are from different publishers.

  Is your educational institution in a ranking by subject? In that case that ranking must be about your study or research subject.

• The master's, doctoral or post-master's programme must have been in English or Dutch

  Your master’s degree programme, doctoral programme or post-master’s study programme was in English or Dutch.

• Foreign diplomas must be evaluated by Nuffic before they are acceptedIND exempts diplomas from accredited programmes in Flanders, Belgium, provided the programme is in the Flanders higher education register.

  All foreign diplomas have to be evaluated by Nuffic before they can be accepted. This credential evaluation shows the worth of a foreign degree in the Netherlands. Nuffic may also check whether your diploma is genuine.

• A valid provisional residence permit (mvv) is needed

  A valid provisional residence permit (MVV) is needed for this application

• Foreign documents must be legalised and translated into Dutch, English, French or German

  Have official foreign documents legalised and translated into Dutch, English, French or German.

• Pay no later than 3 weeks after your appointment, and wait a week after itA two-sided timing window that is easy to miss: not before one week, not after three.

  Please wait 1 week after your appointment with the Dutch representation before paying for your application. The application form explains how to pay for the application. You must pay no later than 3 weeks after the date of your appointment.

Documents you must provide

• The application form lists the documents you need

  The application form lists which documents you need. Collect all documents before you apply.

Government fees

• Application feeEUR 254Excerpt preserves IND's own broken word ('f ees') where a link splits it.

  The application costs € 254,00. For all fees and exceptions, visit our web page F ees: costs of an application.

Also stated by the authority

Not requirements in themselves. These are alternatives, exemptions, rights and warnings the authority publishes alongside the requirements — quoted here because they can change what applies to you.

• Route: scientific research in the Netherlands in the 3 years before applyingOne of the alternative routes. Not officially required in itself — see one_qualifying_situation. IND adds that the contract job code from the university job classification system (UFO) must start with 01 to count as scientific research.

  You have conducted scientific research in the Netherlands in the 3 years before the date of application.

• Route: a master's degree from an Erasmus Mundus joint programme in the last 3 years

  You obtained a master’s degree in the 3 years before the date of application in the context of an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master programme.

• Route: an accredited Dutch bachelor's or master's, or a post-master's of at least 10 months

  An accredited bachelor’s or master’s degree programme at a Dutch higher education institution. A post-master’s study programme in the Netherlands for at least one academic year (at least 10 months).

• Route: a foreign degree from an institution in the top 200 of at least 2 of 3 named rankingsThe three publishers are Times Higher Education, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and ShanghaiRanking Consultancy. A live external test, assessed as at the graduation date — not a static list.

  Your educational institution is in the top 200 of the general rankings or the rankings by subject of at least 2 of the 3 publishers. Your educational institution is in the top 200 of these rankings on the date of your graduation or promotion.

• A further orientation year is possible after each new qualifying programme or research projectRecorded because people assume this permit is once-only. IND requires the new qualification to post-date the previous orientation year.

  The IND can give a residence permit for an orientation year after each performed research project. Or after each completed study programme at a Dutch higher education institution, or a doctoral programme. However, the new study programme or doctoral programme must have been completed after your previous orientation year.