Staying in the Netherlands After Your Studies

Navigating your way to getting work permits and visas

This brochure is intended for non-EU TU Delft students wishing to stay in the
Netherlands after their studies. If you have citizenship of one of the 27 EU member
states, vastly different rules apply. We suggest contacting the TU Delft Career Centre
if you have more questions.
Contents
Nearing Graduation: A time of major Changes
The Dutch Language
Initiating the Process
What does the search-year mean?
Applying for the search-year visa
Returning home first
After your search year
Taking Care of Personal Business

Nearing Graduation: A time of major changes

After two or more years as a student at TU Delft you have probably made many new
friends and collected nice memories. Upon completing your masters degree you are
most likely ready to enter the job market. The big question is: do you want to stay in
the Netherlands or to return back to your home country? This brochure intends to
describe the process of staying here as transparently and easy as possible. It does not
however answer the question whether and why you might wish to stay in the
Netherlands. Despite following a study virtually completely in English, whilst working
you will have to know at least some Dutch to get along in the Dutch business world as
well as adjust to a multitude of cultural and business practical differences. If anything
remains unclear or you have any other questions, please feel free to contact the TU
Delft Career Centre.

The Dutch Language

If you have not realised already, knowing Dutch will get you places. Without even a
beginners comprehension of the Dutch language you will be at a disadvantage.
Even if your office business is primarily conducted in English, everywhere else this will
not be the case. Learning Dutch shows commitment on your part as well as a
willingness to take part in the Dutch samenleving. Language websites such as
www.dutchgrammar.com and Dutch courses offered by the gemeenten (sometimes
even for free) will help you get started, but it will take a bit of perseverance on your
part as well. Despite all the great social benefits of speaking the local tongue,
speaking Dutch will also make you a far more attractive candidate to employers in the
Netherlands. If however you are unwilling to make this commitment, you should
reevaluate the reasons to start a career here. Likewise this holds true in any other
country where the population does not speak your mother language: you would not
get a job in France if you did not know French.

Initiating the Process

Though it may seem daunting at first, it is not impossible to find a job in the
Netherlands or to acquire the necessary work and residence permits. Though the job
market here has shrunk somewhat as a result of the worldwide economic slowdown,
jobs for technical graduates can still be found in a variety of industries and fields. In
these times, however, you will need to look harder and be more aggressive in finding
work, but this hard effort will eventually pay off.
While the TU Delft Career Centre cannot mediate with the IND on your behalf, we
offer plenty of information and guidance to make the application process as smooth as
possible. Additionally, be sure to check our website for up to date job postings and
information.
Get Informed
The TU Delft Career Centre offers information sessions in which the various
immigration steps are laid out. Check our careers calendar online for the next
upcoming session and register as soon as possible. This brochure should give you
plenty of information but use the sessions to voice concerns and questions.

What does the Search Year Mean?

The search year was devised as a means to allow graduates of a Dutch institution of
higher education (e.g., TU Delft) to seek work solely within the Netherlands. It is
designed to afford non-EU students the time to look for work, especially after the
stress of graduation. This visa is valid only twelve calendar months after your
graduation and cannot be extended. At the end of the search-year, you must have
found work of some kind and consequently change your residence permit or you will
be asked to leave the country. Of course you may find work in another country inside
or outside of the European Union. In this case, the search year has no bearing in
these countries and you could initiate residency in that country without regards to
what happens in the Netherlands. You will, however, have to begin a separate
application process for each respective country and may be difficult as a non-EU
citizen to get approval.

Applying for the search year visa

As a graduate of a Dutch institution of higher education, you are granted the right to
spend up to twelve months after your graduation looking for gainful employment.
Unlike the time during your studies you are granted unlimited working rights and your
employer does not have to apply for a tewerkstellingsvergunning (work permit, or
TWV for short).
In order to apply for the search-year, you must meet all of the following requirements:
You have not previously applied for a seeking work after graduation (search year)
residence permit.
You studied in the Netherlands with a residence permit to study.
You have a diploma from a Dutch HBO or a university. You have received your
diploma for your studied course at a Dutch school or university.
Your diploma is not older than a year.
You have valid travel documents (such as a passport).
You are not a danger to the public order.

The process of applying for the zoekjaar permit (search year) is relatively simple but
takes upwards of three months to be processed, officially the IND has six months for
their decision. As soon as you receive clearance to graduate, you should immediately
begin applying, as your working rights remain those of a student (i.e., rather limited)
until you receive your new permit.
Your residence permit for this search year will be endorsed with the words: Arbeid vrij
toegestaan, TWV niet vereist. Beroep op publieke middelen kan gevolgen hebben voor
het verblijfsrecht. (Free working rights, work permit unnecessary. Reliance on social
benefits can affect your residency rights.)
What you will need to initiate the permit application process is:
A copy of your diploma or a statement of intent to graduate.
A recent passport photo (technically not older than 6 months)
A completed copy of the application to change your residence permit (formulier tot
wijziging verblijfsdoel).
Once you have all forms and attachments, call the IND at 0900 12 34561 (10c per
minute) to make an appointment. The closest IND office to Delft is in Rijswijk, but be
aware that some offices are busier than others so make an appointment as soon as
possible to avoid delays.
If you initiate the application before receiving your diploma, you will need to send a
declaration of your graduation within two weeks of receipt, obtainable from the TU
Delft Student Service Desk to the IND to complete your file.
Note that initiating the search-year comes with a fee, namely 600 which is payable
when submitting your forms at the IND.

Returning home first

If you wish to go back to your home country after your graduation, before coming
back to the Netherlands to look for a job as a highly skilled migrant, there is one more
option. Under the Admission scheme for highly educated people, highly educated
foreign nationals are allowed to spend a period of up to twelve months in the
Netherlands to find a job as a highly skilled migrant, or to start an innovative
company. As a foreign national you can apply for this permit within three years after
you have obtained a Masters or PhD degree in The Netherlands. Applicants will be
assessed on the basis of a point system, for which you must obtain at least 35 points.
For more information, check the website of Nuffic (www.nuffic.nl) and search for
Admission scheme for highly educated persons.

After Your Search Year

After your search year there are several things that may have happened:
You found a highly-paid job and wish to become a kennismigrant (highly-skilled
migrant worker).
You found employment that would admit you as a labour migrant.
You live with a European Union citizen.
You are unemployed and do not live with an EU citizen.

Becoming a Kennismigrant
If you wish to change your visa to become a kennismigrant you must have found a job
that pays yearly a gross salary of more than 26.605,- to be considered for the
scheme. The additional qualifying conditions are simply that you do not form a danger
to public order and that you have valid travel documents. The benefit of the
kennismigrant scheme is that your employer will not have to apply for a TWV. Your
employer must however be registered with the government to take on highly-skilled
workers. This should have been made clear to you in your employment contract.
Upon finding qualifying employment, your employer is obliged to start the permit
application for you. The fee to change your residence permit may be up to 750,-.
Whether your employer pays this fee is dependent on your personal situation.
Becoming a Labour Migrant
In some industries it may be impossible to find such a high-paying job directly after
graduation. Those who have not found employment that qualifies for the
kennismigrant scheme can apply to be a labour migrant, which requires your employer
not only to apply for a work permit, which costs upwards of 830,-, but also to
demonstrate that there is no Dutch or European citizen who can fill your position. In
this case it can be very difficult to get such a permit since many employers are
unwilling to engage in the permitting process. You will additionally have to apply and
pay for a change of your residence permit. The benefit of this scheme, however, is
that there are no minimum wage requirements, though your employer must conform
to Dutch labour rules.
You live with an EU Citizen
If you live with an EU citizen, you fall into a completely different category in terms of
work and living rights. If at the end of your search year you have lived with an EU
citizen in an exclusive and sustainable relationship for a minimum period of six
months, you may request a change of your visa to become a dependent of an EU
citizen (EU onderdaan). What this means is that so long as you live with your
partner, you will be treated by the state as a citizen of the European Union, affording
you all of the living and working rights therein. The additional benefit of applying for
this scheme is that the fee is drastically lowered (to 41,- ) and you will not be
subject to the same salary and work-permit requirements. The visa is also valid for a
period of five years. More information about applying for this scheme is available from
the IND website.
You should not however think that this is an easy way to remain unemployed in the
Netherlands after your search-year. If you are unemployed, your partner will have to
prove that they have the financial means to support you on top of whatever means
you have. You will also have to answer a series of personal questions at one of the
IND offices and/or provide photographic evidence of your relationship. Like many
countries with these relationship schemes, visa fraud will not work in your favour.
You are unemployed and do not live with an EU citizen
If after your search year you remain unemployed and do not live with an EU citizen,
unfortunately you will be asked to leave the Netherlands. Your search year visa can
only be applied for once and once it has expired it is not possible to ask for an
extension. You can in theory, return to the Netherlands at a future time, but you will
not be able to make use of the scheme zoekjaar hoogopgeleide (search year for
graduates from another country). You may of course have a specific job offer from a
Dutch company but you will have to organise this from your home country unless you
can enter the Netherlands on a temporary tourist visa (when allowed). The same work

visa requirements will apply to your job but will not be given preferential treatment
based on your previous studies and residency in the country.

Taking Care of Personal Business

After you are no longer a student, you will need to change to a new health insurance
policy. All residents of the Netherlands are required by law to have health insurance
(basisverzekering), though only if you work do you have to take part in a public
option plan. The Dutch healthcare system is a state-managed, privately run system
where each provider is required to offer a package of services though optional services,
such as dental care, vary in quality and price. The government website
www.rijksoverheid.nl links to healthcare providers and has a wealth of government
information (in Dutch).

Confused? Or have Questions?

If after reading this brochure you still have questions, or have concerns related to your
personal situation, feel free to contact the TU Delft Career Centre to make a one-onone appointment by e-mailing to careercentre@tudelft.nl