08. To stay, or not to stay: as a non-EU/EEA/Swiss graduate in the Netherlands (March 2024)

You have graduated. You have paid for more than € 40,000 as your tuition fee. You have fallen in love with the unpredictable weather and even the pronunciation of letter “G” in Dutch. You want to stay in the Netherlands to chase your “Dutch dream”, even in the misty winter weather.

Maybe, someone told you that you could stay. Maybe, someone told you that there is something called “orientation year” residence permit. Maybe, someone told you that you would become a “high-skilled migrant” with a decent salary.

I can see the snicker in your eyes; but your snigger faded, as you began to realise that you have to go through the boundless jungle with (in)visible traps and insurmountable obstacles. Hereby, this article might offer you a map with some information about your potential stay in the Netherlands after your graduation, according to my own experience in the past months.

Nonetheless, I will not numerate all the details here. If you are fanatic in the maze of bureaucracy and do not mind getting high blood pressure at your blossoming age, you are always welcome to contact me directly: Ask your friends around (including Google); you will find my contact information.

Phase 1:

Filling in the “Statement on Completion of Study”.

As long as you get an automatic email from Osiris saying that you are potentially graduated, you can download the “Statement on Completion of Study” from the official website of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Both you and WUR need to fill it in and sign it. You can do it digitally as it is a PDF file. Alternatively, you can print it out and fill in it with your pen and go to the front desk at Forum to let the staff members there to complete their part; you do need to scan it as a PDF file afterwards.

 

Phase 2:

Applying for your “orientation year” (Dutch: Zoekjaar) residence permit online.

Creating your own “DigiD” account and subsequently “MijnOverheid” account, whose procedures can be found online, is the first step when applying for your “orientation year” residence permit online. Setting up these two accounts may cost up to one week as you need to wait for certain password(s) and verification code(s) via paper letters.

As long as one reads the requirements on the official website of IND carefully and followed the steps indicated on it, the online application should be done within 2 hours. Certain digital documents need to be prepared beforehand and uploaded during your online applications. After submitting your applications, one thing might be easily forgotten is collecting the biometrics: You need make another separate appointment for offering your biometrics. Your applications can be tracked digitally on “My IND”.

 

Phase 3:

Waiting, until further notice.

Next, you wait but also check your “My IND”, “MijnOverheid” inbox, mailbox, and email inbox on a daily basis. In the end, I received three PDFs in total on “MijnOverheid”: One as a confirmation of submitting the application, one as a notification that the IND has approved my application, and one as a notification that my orientation year residence permit has been prepared at a certain IND desk. Officially, it needs up to 90 days for making a decision by the IND; for my case, even during summer holiday, it took about 40 days from submitting my application online to receiving the third PDF on “MijnOverheid”.

 

Phase 4:

Collecting your “orientation year” residence permit.

When you receive the third PDF on MijnOverheid, you should immediately make appointment for collecting your “orientation year” residence permit. Please do check all the three PDFs on “MijnOverheid” to find out which IND desk you should make an appointment and go to for collecting the orientation year residence permit.

The IND has four official desks around the Netherlands: Den Haag, Den Bosch, Amsterdam, and Zwolle. There are also several expat centres across the Netherlands. Your previous residence permit for study will be confiscated immediately when you collect your “orientation year” residence permit: You are not allowed to hold two residence permits at the same time. That is the end of the application procedure of your Dutch “orientation year” residence permit.

Congratulations! You officially enter the thorny jungle! Next, your exploration starts! General practitioners, (health) insurance, job market, rights and obligations, labour welfare … Day in and day out, you asked your network for job opportunities, sent your CVs and motivation letters in bulk, and even (pretend to) learn Dutch on Duolingo.

However, you might never have a peep at the texts in Dutch on the back side of your shining “orientation year” residence permit:

“Het zoeken en verrichten van arbeid al dan niet in loondienst. Arbeid vrij toegestaan. TWV niet vereist. Een beroep op algemene middelen kan gevolgen hebben voor het verblijfsrecht.”

Google Translate:

“Looking for and performing work, whether or not employed. Work freely permitted. TWV not required. An appeal to general resources may have consequences for the right of residence.”

I see that you blood pressure reaches a new high. What does it mean “work freely”? Even working for the Dutch government? (No.) What is “TWV”? What are the “general resources”? What “consequences” may it have? For the last time, you decide to calm down and Google them, even asking your Dutch friends who feels shocked that you need another residence permit to stay.

As this article nears its end (as I hear your rapid and shallow breathing), let me give you more inconvenient truths as more reasons to book a flight ticket for going home and leave the Netherlands for good:

1.

Do you know that there are at least three categories of subsequent residence permits your employer (not yourself) can apply for when you ultimately find a job? Do you know that they are “a residence permit as a highly skilled migrant”, “a GVVA (also simply called ‘single permit’)”, and “a European blue card residence permit”?

2.

Do you know that if your employers apply for one of these residence permits for you, you need to meet divergent and specific “income requirements”? Do you know that as a highly skilled migrant, you must have a gross salary of at least € 2,801.00 per month (as of 1 March 2024)?

3.

Do you know that the starting day of your Dutch “orientation year” residence permit is the day that you applied for it online instead of the day on which you collected it at the IND desks or at the expat centres? Do you know that your Dutch “orientation year” residence permit cannot be extended for any single day?

As a non-EU/EEA/Swiss graduate, to stay, or not to stay? That is the question. The answer, as always, is blowing in the wind.