The residence permit for work ‘orientation year highly educated’ is intended for people who have graduated, obtained a degree (bachelor’s or master’s) or have carried out scientific research and are looking for either a job or want to start their own business.
A (former) student who applies for this permit in the Netherlands must meet the following conditions:
(1) Education requirement:
In the past three years, the former student must have obtained at least a bachelor’s degree, or a master at an accredited school of higher vocational training of an accredited university, or the applicant must have carried out scientific research; or
(2) The applicant has graduated in the past three years from one of the top 200 ranking universities on either the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the QS World University Rankings, or the Academic Rankings of World Universities.
(3) No previous residence permit under the orientation years scheme for the same higher vocational or academic degree, or the same scientific research program.
Unlike other residence permits for work, the former student can accept and perform any form of work with the residence permit ‘orientation year for highly educated persons’. There are no requirements or restrictions attached to this.
For a foreign student who has just completed his studies in the Netherlands, the residence permit ‘orientation year highly educated’ can be a useful intermediate step towards a Highly Skilled migrant permit, as this allows a significantly reduced salary requirement to qualify for the highly skilled migrant permit. Persons under 30 must normally earn €3484 gross per month and persons over 30 must have a monthly gross salary of €4752. Persons coming from the orientation year can qualify as highly skilled migrant at a salary of €2497 gross per month, which poses a much lower threshold for any potential employer.
The residence permit must be applied for at the IND. The IND has three months to decide on the application. The IND charges €192 for the application for the residence permit.
The period of validity of the residence permit ‘orientation year highly educated’ is 1 year and is not extendable.
For questions, reach out to our team at our contactpage or info@arslanlitadvocaten.nl
