How to apply for the orientation year in NL

The orientation year for highly educated persons (zoekjaar hoogopgeleiden) is a residence permit that gives you one year in the Netherlands to look for work or start a business, with no restrictions on the work you may do. It is granted by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (the IND) under the conditions published on the IND's own orientation year page. The permit is valid for 1 year and cannot be extended, so it works as a bridge to another permit rather than a destination.

Check first whether you need it at all: EU, EEA and Swiss nationals do not need a Dutch residence permit to live or work in the Netherlands, so this guide is for non-EU nationals. You must fall into one of the qualifying categories set out by the IND, and you must apply within 3 years of the date of graduation, the doctoral defence, or the completion of your research. If you are already in the Netherlands, graduated or did your research here, hold a valid residence permit for that purpose, have a BSN and are registered in the municipal records (BRP), you can apply online with DigiD. If you are outside the Netherlands, you apply at a Dutch embassy or consulate and you usually need a provisional residence permit (MVV) as well. Nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vatican City are exempt from the MVV requirement, as are EU and EEA nationals, so check the IND's MVV exemption list before assuming an MVV applies to you.

The IND recognises several separate qualifying categories, and the evidence you need differs by category.

• Dutch degree or post-master's programme

  You completed an accredited bachelor's or master's programme at a Dutch higher education institution, or a post-master's programme in the Netherlands lasting at least one academic year (at least 10 months). A study programme in the Netherlands in the context of the Cultural Policy (Special-Purpose Funding) Act, or in the context of the development cooperation policy of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also qualifies. The programme must have been completed in the 3 years before the date of application. No university ranking condition applies to this route.

• PhD or scientific research done in the Netherlands

  You conducted scientific research in the Netherlands in the 3 years before the date of application, holding a residence permit under Directive (EU) 2016/801, or working as a researcher on a highly skilled migrant permit with a job code starting with 01 in the University Job Classification System. The IND can grant a new orientation year after each research project, provided the later project was completed after your previous orientation year.

• Erasmus Mundus Joint Master

  You obtained a master's degree in the 3 years before the date of application in the context of an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master programme. The IND lists this as a category in its own right, with no ranking condition attached to it.

• Degree from a designated foreign university

  You completed a master's programme, a doctoral programme or a post-master's programme at a designated foreign educational institution in the 3 years before the date of application. The institution must have been in the top 200 of the general rankings or the rankings by subject of at least 2 of the 3 publishers Times Higher Education, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, on the date of your graduation or promotion. Where you rely on a ranking by subject, that ranking must be about your own study or research subject. This route also carries an English language condition, for example an IELTS score of 6.0 or above in either version, unless your programme was taught in English or Dutch.

1. 1

   Confirm your qualifying category and the 3-year window

   Work out which of the IND's categories you fall into: an accredited Dutch bachelor's or master's degree, a Dutch post-master's programme of at least one academic year (at least 10 months), scientific research conducted in the Netherlands, an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master, or a degree from a designated foreign institution. Then check the date. The IND requires that the qualification was obtained, or the research conducted, in the 3 years before the date of application. Check also that you have not already held an orientation year permit following the same study programme, the same doctoral programme or the same research.

   Do this: Match your qualification to one IND category and confirm it falls inside the 3 years before your application date.

   Documents needed

   • Your diploma, degree certificate or proof of the doctoral defence
   • Evidence of the research you conducted in the Netherlands, if you qualify through research

   Common mistake: The 3 years are counted back from the date you apply, not from the date you arrive or the date you start looking for work. People lose the route by spending months gathering documents and only then submitting.

   Official source

   IND · Residence permit for orientation year
2. 2

   If you studied abroad, check the ranking and language conditions

   This step applies only if you qualify through a designated foreign educational institution. The IND requires that your institution was in the top 200 of the general rankings or the rankings by subject of at least 2 of the 3 publishers Times Higher Education, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, on the date of your graduation or promotion. If you rely on a ranking by subject, that ranking must be about your own study or research subject, so a strong position in an unrelated field does not help you. The same route carries an English language condition, met for example by an IELTS score of 6.0 or higher (either version, Academic or General Training), by a TOEFL, TOEIC or Cambridge English result under the Code of Conduct for International Students, or by a programme taught in English or Dutch.

   Do this: Check your institution's position on the graduation-date editions of at least two of the three rankings, and gather your language evidence.

   Documents needed

   • Evidence of the ranking position at the time of graduation
   • IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC or Cambridge English result, or proof that your programme was taught in English or Dutch

   Common mistake: One ranking is not enough, the current edition is not the relevant one, and a subject ranking only counts if it covers your own subject. The IND looks at the rankings as they stood on the date of your graduation or promotion, across at least two of the three named publishers.

   Official source

   IND · Residence permit for orientation year
3. 3

   Collect the general documents every applicant needs

   Alongside the evidence for your category, the IND applies requirements that hold for every regular residence permit. You need a valid passport or other travel document, and you must not pose a danger to public order or national security. Everyone over 12 fills in an Appendix Antecedents Certificate. A tuberculosis test after arrival is required unless you are exempt, for example by nationality, by already holding a valid Dutch residence permit, by being 11 or younger, or by having had a TB test in the Netherlands in the previous 6 months.

   Do this: Gather your passport, complete the Appendix Antecedents Certificate and check the IND's list of TB test exemptions.

   Documents needed

   • Valid passport or other travel document
   • Appendix Antecedents Certificate, for everyone over 12

   Cost

   A tuberculosis test may apply to you. The IND's requirements page does not state a price for it, so ask the health service that carries out the test.

   Common mistake: The antecedents certificate is often overlooked because it is not specific to the orientation year. A missing general document is one of the reasons the IND extends the decision period.

   Official source

   IND · Requirements that apply to everyone
4. 4

   Submit the application and pay the fee

   How you apply depends on where you are. If you live in the Netherlands, graduated, obtained your doctorate or conducted your research here, hold a valid residence permit for that purpose, are registered in the municipal records (BRP) and have a BSN, you can apply online with your DigiD. If you cannot apply online, download the written form and send it by post. If you are outside the Netherlands, you make an appointment at a Dutch embassy or consulate, which registers your application and fills in the application date, and you then send the application no later than 3 weeks after that appointment. Most nationalities also need a provisional residence permit (MVV) for this route, applied for at the same time, but a list of nationalities is exempt, so check the IND's MVV exemption list rather than assuming. The fee is charged when you submit and is not refunded if the application is refused.

   Do this: Submit the application online with DigiD, by post on the IND's written form, or through a Dutch embassy or consulate if you are abroad, and pay the fee.

   Documents needed

   • All documents from steps 1 to 3
   • DigiD, for the online route
   • MVV, if you are applying from outside the Netherlands and are not MVV-exempt by nationality

   Cost

   €254 IND application fee. The IND publishes this amount without a calendar year against it; it was checked on 1 September 2026

   Processing time

   If you apply from abroad, send the application no later than 3 weeks after your embassy or consulate appointment

   Common mistake: The fee is not returned if your application is refused, so confirm the ranking, language and 3-year conditions before you pay rather than treating the application as the test.

   Official source

   IND · Residence permit for orientation year
5. 5

   Use the year to work, freelance or do an internship

   The IND must take a decision within 90 days, and that period can be extended if your application is incomplete. Once granted, the permit is valid for 1 year and cannot be extended. During that year you may work freely in the Netherlands or do an internship, and your employer does not need a work permit (TWV). You may also work as an independent entrepreneur, self-employed person or freelancer. Your residence document carries the endorsement that free work is permitted and no TWV is required.

   Do this: Show employers the endorsement on your residence document stating that you may work freely without a work permit.

   Documents needed

   • Your residence document showing the free work endorsement

   Processing time

   Decision within 90 days; the permit is valid for 1 year and cannot be extended

   Common mistake: Employers who are used to hiring highly skilled migrants sometimes assume they need recognised sponsor status or a work permit for you as well. They do not, during the orientation year, and saying so early prevents applications being dropped for the wrong reason.

   Official source

   IND · Residence permit for orientation year
6. 6

   Move to your next permit using the reduced salary criterion

   The orientation year is a bridge, so plan the next permit before it ends. For a highly skilled migrant permit you need an employment contract with an employer or research institution in the Netherlands that is a sponsor recognised by the IND, and a salary that meets the criterion. The IND publishes the gross monthly salary criterion, excluding holiday allowance, for 2026 as €5,942 from age 30, €4,357 under 30, and €3,122 under the reduced criterion. These amounts are revised, so check the IND's current figures before you agree a salary. The reduced criterion applies where you apply during your orientation year permit, where you held an orientation year permit and apply within 3 years of the graduation date, the doctoral defence, or the date your residence permit for research expired, or where you meet the orientation year requirements but never held the permit and apply within that same window. Your employer, as the recognised sponsor, submits the highly skilled migrant application. Changing to a start-up or self-employed permit is the other route.

   Do this: Ask your employer, as the recognised sponsor, to submit the highly skilled migrant application before your orientation year expires, and confirm with them that the salary meets the reduced criterion.

   Documents needed

   • Employment contract with a recognised sponsor
   • Proof of your graduation date or orientation year permit

   Cost

   €423 IND application fee for a highly skilled migrant permit, normally submitted and paid by your employer as recognised sponsor. The IND publishes this amount without a calendar year against it; it was checked on 1 September 2026

   Processing time

   Decision within 90 days

   Common mistake: Employers routinely quote the standard criterion, €5,942 or €4,357 gross per month for 2026, because they do not know the reduced one exists. Naming the reduced criterion, and the 3-year window it sits inside, is often what makes the role affordable to them. Check the IND's current amounts before quoting a figure, because they are revised.

   Official source

   IND · Required amounts income requirements

• A valid passport or other travel document
• Your diploma, degree certificate or proof of the doctoral defence, or evidence of the research you conducted
• Proof of English language proficiency if you qualify through a foreign educational institution and your programme was not taught in English or Dutch, for example an IELTS result of 6.0 or above
• A completed Appendix Antecedents Certificate, required for everyone aged over 12
• A provisional residence permit (MVV) if you are applying from outside the Netherlands and your nationality is not on the IND's MVV exemption list
• Your DigiD, if you are applying online from inside the Netherlands

• €254 IND application fee for the orientation year, first application or change of purpose of stay. The IND publishes this amount without a calendar year against it; it was checked on 1 September 2026
• €423 IND application fee for a highly skilled migrant permit, first application or change of purpose of stay, normally submitted and paid by your employer as recognised sponsor. The IND publishes this amount without a calendar year against it; it was checked on 1 September 2026
• IND fees change on 1 January each year and are valid from 1 January to 31 December, so check the IND fees page before you pay
• A tuberculosis test may be required after arrival unless you are exempt. The IND's requirements page does not state a price for it, so ask the health service that carries out the test

The IND must take a decision within 90 days. That decision period can be extended if your application is incomplete. The permit itself is valid for 1 year from the date it is granted.

Requirements depend on your situation. Check the latest requirements with the relevant authority.

• Assuming the orientation year can be extended. It cannot. Everything you want to do next has to be applied for inside the same 12 months.
• Reading the ranking condition as a loose top-200 claim. Your foreign institution must be in the top 200 of at least 2 of the 3 named publishers on the date you graduated, and if you rely on a ranking by subject, that ranking must be about your own study or research subject.
• Waiting more than 3 years after graduation or the doctoral defence. The IND assesses the 3-year window against the date of application, so a slow document search can close the route.
• Applying for a second orientation year after the same study programme or the same research. The IND grants it again only for a new programme or new research completed after your previous orientation year.
• Letting the year run out before your employer applies for the next permit. Applying during the orientation year is one of the routes to the reduced salary criterion for highly skilled migrants.

• Register at the municipality (gemeente) if you are not registered yet, so that you have a BSN and an address registration in the BRP.
• Take out Dutch health insurance if you start working in the Netherlands, and register with a GP (huisarts).
• Look for employers in the public register of sponsors recognised by the IND, since a highly skilled migrant permit requires a recognised sponsor.
• Line up your follow-on permit well before the orientation year ends, whether as a highly skilled migrant, a start-up or a self-employed person, remembering that a recognised sponsor employer submits the highly skilled migrant application.