Good fit
Recent graduates or researchers who completed a qualifying programme or research route within the previous three years and want time to find Dutch employment.
Netherlands · Study to PR
Residence Permit for an Orientation Year
A one-year Netherlands residence permit for qualifying graduates, PhD holders, researchers, and other highly educated applicants to seek work after recent study or research.
Status note. This is a one-year residence permit for highly educated persons seeking employment after qualifying study, doctorate, research, or related education.
Decision fit
Who this pathway serves
Important limits
Applicants outside the three-year qualification window or without one of the listed Dutch, Erasmus Mundus, research, policy, or designated foreign-education grounds.
Minimums
Eligibility
Age
No hard age floor or ceiling is modeled.
Work experience
Minimum: Not stated years
Language
Not stated
For the designated foreign-institution route, the form lists IELTS 6.0 or a comparable English-language condition, with alternatives for English- or Dutch-taught study.
Education
Minimum: bachelor
Assessment: Unknown — confirm with the official source
The retained January 2026 IND form lists accredited Dutch bachelor’s/master’s study, qualifying post-master study or PhD, research permits, Erasmus Mundus, certain policy programmes, and qualifying designated foreign institutions completed within the previous three years.
Selection threshold
Points: Not stated
Competition: Not stated
Health and character
Medical exam: Yes
Police certificate: Unknown — confirm with the official source
Costs
Funds and fees
Settlement funds
No settlement-fund table is published.
Application fees
No fee table is published.
Outcomes
Residence, work, and family
Permanent residence
The permit provides one year to find work; the IND highly skilled migrant guide identifies the orientation year as one route to the reduced salary criterion for a later highly skilled migrant application.
Work: Yes · Study: Yes
Family
The retained orientation-year form does not establish dependant conditions.
Partner: Unknown — confirm with the official source · Children: Unknown — confirm with the official source
Citizenship
The retained orientation-year form does not establish citizenship eligibility.
Processing time
The permit is an orientation year: one year to look for work in the Netherlands. The retained form does not establish a processing duration.
Modeled: Not stated–Not stated months
Sources
Official sources
Citations
Field provenance
Information only, not legal advice. Rules, fees, and processing times change. Confirm the linked official pages before acting.