05. Applying to be a PhD candidate with a Dutch “orientation year” residence permit? Yes and no. (October 2023)

Summary:

In the Netherlands, most of the PhD candidates are regarded as formal employees of the universities.

If one is holding a Dutch “orientation year” residence permit and wants to be a PhD candidate, it will be tricky.

If being a PhD candidate in the Netherlands, yes, it is legal.

If being a PhD candidate in another country (such as Germany or Belgium), no, it is illegal. He/she/they needs to check with that country.

 

1.

In the Netherlands, most of the PhD candidates are regarded as formal employees of the universities. Various types of PhD candidates can be seen in the following 2 articles:

https://www.academictransfer.com/nl/blog/phd-researcher-employee-or-student/

https://www.staff.universiteitleiden.nl/research/phds/admission/phd-places

 

2.

If one is holding a Dutch “orientation year” residence permit, it is legal to apply to be a PhD candidate in a Dutch university.

For instance, Maastricht University specifically mentioned that

 

(1)

“Please note that you must either be eligible for employment in the Netherlands or obtain a knowledge worker visa to qualify for a paid PhD position.”

https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/research/phd/paid-phd-positions

 

(2)

“Maastricht University acts as a sponsor for all its international staff who hold one of the following Dutch residence permits:

‘Kennismigrant - highly skilled knowledge migrant’ (including orientation year/’zoekjaar’),

‘Onderzoeker in de richtlijn EG 2005/71’, or

‘Arbeid in loondienst’.”

https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/incoming-staff-0

 

3.

It is clear that a holder of the Dutch “orientation year” residence permit has the right to apply to be a PhD candidate at any Dutch university.

 

4.

What if this person wants to apply to be a PhD candidate in another country (such as Belgium or Germany)?

No clue online. Thus, I asked the IND by online chat.

The answer is “NO, not allowed” and “Check with that country”. The following screenshots showcase details.


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2 of 4:


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4 of 4:

 

“Check with that country”



WARNING:

If one wants to apply to be a PhD candidate in another country such as Belgium,
his/her/their current Dutch orientation year cannot tell anything (i.e., useless).

Everything goes back to the beginning: applying for a (student) visa to enter Belgium.
In Belgium, PhD candidates are regarded as students NOT employees!

The proof of subsistence is mandatory. It can be done by a one-time transfer of 11,500 euro (academic year 2023-2024) to a given account of a certain university. (See Post 01 for details.)
Ghent University (UGent) and University of Antwerp (UAntwerpen) have clear instructions in English.


UGent:

“Having a European Union residence permit from another EU country is not sufficient as a non-EU citizen because upon arrival in Belgium you will have to present the same documents to the immigration office as for a student visa (type D) application and the procedure will take much longer.”

UAntwerpen:

“Having a European Union residence permit from another EEA country is not sufficient to register in Belgium. If you travel to Belgium with only a residence permit from another European country, you will have to present the same documents to the immigration office as for a visa application and the procedure will take much longer.”


See also:

UHasselt listed the “Step-by-step plan per year” for PhD candidates.


KU Leuven listed the Registration procedure for doctoral and predoctoral students for PhD candidates.

Comments

  1. AnonymousThursday, 05 October, 2023

    If you want to apply to be a PhD candadate in another country (Germany, Belgium, etc.), please check with those countries beforehand.

    ReplyDelete

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