02. Information about APPLYING FOR the “orientation year” residence permit of the Netherlands (September 2023)
MY ASSUMPTION: Students studied in the Netherlands and then work in the Netherlands.
(For the students who studied in another country and want
to look for a job in the Netherlands, please check https://ind.nl/en/residence-permits/work/residence-permit-for-orientation-year#requirements
for details.)
Summary:
Opposite to Belgium, the
requirements and the steps of application for the Dutch orientation year
residence permit are clear and uniformed. The official website of the Immigration
and Naturalisation Service (Dutch: Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst, IND)
listed the requirements one-by-one and can guide you to finish the procedures
step-by-step.
Opposite to Belgium, applying
for the Dutch orientation year residence permit is NOT associated with the authorities
at the municipal level. For the Dutch one, ONLY the applicants and the IND involve
in the application, no the third-party such as provinces or municipalities.
Opposite to Belgium, the proof
of subsistence does NOT exist. You do not need to prove that you have (enough)
money during your orientation year in the Netherlands.
Based on the 3 “opposite to Belgium”, I decided to only apply for the Dutch one, even though I have confirmed by the municipality of Ghent by email that I am fully eligible for the Belgian one (I finished my internship at UGent with the Erasmus+ grants).
Besides, after my 2-year master study in the Netherlands, my family does not
have 11,500 euro any longer.
There is a list of FAQs offered by
the IND in 2022 (https://ind.nl/en/documents/06-2022/faqorientationyearhighlyeducatedpersons.pdf),
which does not exist in Belgium.
This is the Netherlands: The
rules are comprehensible and comprehensive.
1.
(official information in English
from the IND)
https://ind.nl/en/residence-permits/work/residence-permit-for-orientation-year#requirements
2.
(official information in English
from Business.gov.nl)
3.
One needs a DigiD account to submit
and then track his/her/their application online.
(official information in English
from DigiD)
4.
Additionally, if the applicant has a MijnOverheid account, the notifications from the IND will be sent online (in PDF) before the paper letters are delivered to the applicant’s address in the Netherlands.
It means that the applicant can be informed online immediately
rather than until receiving paper letters many days later.
One needs a DigiD account to log in MijnOverheid. After the first time of logging in, the MijnOverheid has been (automatically) created and activated.
The website of MijnOverheid is generally in Dutch with
certain English introduction.
(official information in English
from MijnOverheid)
https://mijn.overheid.nl/about-mijnoverheid/
5.
As long as one reads the requirements on https://ind.nl/en/residence-permits/work/residence-permit-for-orientation-year#requirements carefully word-by-word and followed the steps indicated on it step-by-step, the online application should be done within 2 hours.
I spent approximately 1.5
hours for the whole procedure.
6.
After the application online, just continue to read the requirements on https://ind.nl/en/residence-permits/work/residence-permit-for-orientation-year#the-residence-permit carefully word-by-word and followed the steps indicated on it step-by-step, one should not miss any further procedures required.
The application can be tracked
on My IND, which also requires a DigiD account to log in.
7.
The only thing might be easily forgotten
is collecting the biometrics of the applicant: One needs make another separate
appointment for offering his/her/their biometrics.
(official information in English
from the IND)
https://ind.nl/en/after-your-application/biometrics-appointment-photo-signature-and-fingerprints
8.
After all these procedures, the
things that the applicant needs to do are
(1) checking his/her/their My
IND daily (again, logging in with his/her/their DigiD account),
(2) checking his/her/their MijnOverheid
daily (again, logging in with his/her/their DigiD account),
(3) checking his/her/their
mailbox daily (although the paper letters should be sent online on MijnOverheid
in PDF first before they arrive in the mailbox), and
(4) checking his/her/their email
inbox (and spams) daily (the notification from My IND and/or from MijnOverheid
should be also sent to the given email address).
My IND:
https://public.portal.ind.nl/en/web/particulier/login
MijnOverheid:
9.
Officially, it needs up to 90
days for making a decision by the IND. For my case, even during summer holiday,
it took about 1.5 months only.
I received 3 PDFs in total on MijnOverheid:
1 as a confirmation of submitting the application,
1 as a notification of the positive decision (i.e., my application has been approved by the IND), and
1 as a
notification that my orientation year residence permit has been prepared at a
certain IND desk.
10.
The IND has 4 official desks (service office) around the Netherlands: Den Haag, Den Bosch, Amsterdam and Zwolle.
There
are several expat centres around the Netherlands as well. But I prefer the “authentic”
IND desks rather than those so-called expat centres.
https://ind.nl/en/service-and-contact/contact-with-ind/ind-desks-and-locations
11.
When the 3rd PDF has been received on MijnOverheid, one should immediately make appointment for collecting his/her/their orientation year residence permit.
Please check all the 3
PDFs on MijnOverheid to find out which IND desk you should make an appointment
and go to for collecting the orientation year residence permit.
12.
The previous study residence permit will be confiscated immediately when one collects his/her/their orientation year residence permit.
It is forbidden that one holds 2 residence permits at
the same time.
13.
Until the second that one holds his/her/their Dutch orientation year residence permit in his/her/their hands, the application procedures eventually end.
It is time for the next journey.
Reminder:
It is forbidden to
hold 2 or more orientation year residence permit at the same time. For instance,
it is prohibited to hold both the Dutch orientation year residence permit and
the Belgian orientation year residence permit at the same time.
I have asked the IND for multiple
times (by email and by online chat) for this issue.
Drawing on the online chat between
I and the IND (for privacy reason, I do not showcase the original texts here), even
if both applications for an orientation year residence permit (the Dutch one
and the Belgian one) are approved by the corresponding authorities, the applicants
MUST only select 1 of 2 and immediately terminate the other one.
Drawing on the email reply from
the IND (for privacy reason, I do not showcase the original texts here),
holding an orientation year residence permit of a certain country means the applicant
MUST settle and then reside in the Netherlands instead of any other country in
the world. If the person moves to and then lives (let alone work) in another
country, his/her/their Dutch residence permit “may be revoked”.
Thus, one can only hold 1
orientation year residence permit at the same time. In this example, EITHER
the Dutch one (and then lives in and works in the Netherlands) OR
the Belgian one (and then lives in and works in Belgium). NEVER THE BOTH!!!
This is my 1st of 3 posts about the Dutch orientation year residence permit, and 2 more should be written soon.
ReplyDeleteThis one is about the application procedures, and it ends at the second that one obtains his/her/their Dutch orientation year reisdence permit.
But obatining the orientation year residence permit is just a starting point, and many administrative issues will follow. I will write the next post to talk about it.