The orientation year is a residence permit that gives recent graduates and researchers twelve months to find work in the Netherlands. During that year the holder may work without restriction, and afterwards a reduced salary criterion applies if the employer moves them onto the highly skilled migrant scheme.
Who qualifies
Three groups: those who graduated from a Dutch higher education institution, those who completed a master’s, postgraduate or doctoral programme at a designated foreign university among the world’s leading institutions, and researchers who carried out scientific research in the Netherlands. The application must be filed within three years of graduation or completion of the research.
The permit is granted once for twelve consecutive months and cannot be extended. A second orientation year is possible only on the basis of a new qualification.
What it allows
The holder has free access to the labour market: any employer may hire them without a work permit and without a salary criterion, including part-time and temporary work. That freedom is the point of the scheme, and it is what makes graduates attractive to employers who are not recognised sponsors.
The reduced criterion afterwards is the second advantage. An employer taking on someone directly from the orientation year applies a lower salary threshold than for other highly skilled migrants, and that reduction continues to apply as long as the employment continues.
Where it goes wrong
The three-year window after graduation is missed regularly, particularly by graduates who first went home. And the transition at the end of the year needs planning: the application for the follow-up permit must be filed before the orientation year expires, otherwise the reduced criterion is lost along with the lawful residence.
Related terms
See also highly skilled migrant, recognised sponsor and the residence permit.
Our guide to Dutch immigration law covers the routes open to graduates.
