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You just finished your studies and you want to work in the Netherlands. But if you are not from the EU, you normally need a residence permit (an official card that says you may live here), and most permits need an employer first. The orientation year solves this. In Dutch it's called the zoekjaar hoogopgeleiden, which means "search year for the highly educated". It gives recent graduates and researchers a full year to live in the Netherlands and look for a job or start a business. You don't need an employer, and during the year you can work for anyone without a work permit. It's also the easiest way into a long-term work permit afterwards, because employers then only have to pay a much lower minimum salary. This guide explains, from the start, who can get it in 2026, when to apply, and how to switch to a work permit before the year ends.
The idea in simple words
The Netherlands wants to keep smart young people. So if you recently finished a degree here (or at a top university abroad), the government gives you one year to stay and find a job.
During that year, you can do any job, even a small one. When you find a good job, your employer can sponsor you for a work permit, and they only need to pay you a lower minimum salary than usual.
You get one orientation year for each degree, and it can't be made longer. So start it when you are ready to look for work.
The most important facts
- Who: people with a Dutch bachelor's or master's degree, people with a master's or PhD from one of the top 200 universities abroad, and researchers who worked in the Netherlands.
- When: you must apply within 3 years after you finished your degree or your research.
- How long: 1 year. It can't be made longer.
- Cost in 2026: a fee of €254 to the Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst: the Dutch immigration office. It decides on residence permits..
- Work: any job, internship or freelance work, without a work permit.
- Afterwards: a A residence permit for skilled workers hired by a Dutch employer approved by the IND. In Dutch: kennismigrant. permit with a lower minimum salary of €3,122 a month before tax in 2026, instead of €4,357 or €5,942.
What the orientation year is, and what it isn't
The orientation year is a residence permit for one year, for "looking for a job after study, a PhD or scientific research". It exists to keep talented people in the country. Someone who just graduated rarely has a job offer that pays enough for a normal work permit. The zoekjaar gives you time to find one.
During the year, you are a normal resident. You register with your The local government of your town or city. In Dutch: gemeente., keep or get your Burgerservicenummer: your personal Dutch ID number., and you can rent a home, open a bank account and get DigiD (your login for government websites). You don't have to prove that you are looking for work, and there is no minimum income. But you can't get In Dutch: bijstand. Money from the government for people who have no other income. money, and the permit ends after 12 months no matter what. If you haven't switched to another permit by then, you must leave.
Who can get it
You can get it if you finished one of these in the 3 years before the date you apply:
| Your background | What counts |
|---|---|
| Studied in the Netherlands | An officially recognised Dutch bachelor's or master's degree (from a university or a university of applied sciences), or a programme after your master's of at least 10 months. |
| Studied abroad | A master's, PhD or post-master's degree from a foreign university that is in the top 200 of at least 2 of these 3 rankings: Times Higher Education, QS and ShanghaiRanking. A foreign bachelor's degree doesn't count. An Erasmus Mundus Joint Master (a European master's at several universities) also counts. |
| Researcher | Scientific research in the Netherlands with a researcher's permit, or as a highly skilled migrant in a research job. |
| Special programmes | Some programmes that are part of Dutch cultural or development cooperation policy. |
For a foreign degree, three details often trip people up:
- The ranking on the day you graduated counts. Your university must have been in the top 200 on the day you graduated, not today. If there is a ranking for your subject, that ranking is used.
- You need a diploma check from The Dutch organisation for international education. It checks what a foreign diploma is worth in the Netherlands.. The IND asks Nuffic for it. Degrees from Flanders (Belgium) that are in the Flemish higher education register don't need it.
- Language: you need a score of at least 6.0 on the An international English language test. test (or a similar accepted test), or a degree programme that was taught in English or Dutch.
The 3-year window, and the once-only rule
The 3 years are counted from the day you graduated (the date on your diploma), your PhD defence, or the end of your research, up to the day the IND receives your application. You don't need to apply straight after graduating. Many people first work abroad for a year or two, and then use the zoekjaar to move to the Netherlands.
You can only use the orientation year once for each degree or research project. You can only get a second orientation year after you finish a new degree or research project after your first orientation year. For example, a PhD after a master's, with a study, research or highly skilled migrant permit.
Don't waste your only zoekjaar
The year starts when the permit starts, not when you start looking for work. If you spend the first months travelling or finishing your thesis, that time is gone. If you are about to graduate and plan to stay, apply as soon as you have your diploma and can really start looking for work. If you aren't ready yet, wait: the 3-year window gives you time.
How to apply
From inside the Netherlands (most Dutch graduates): apply online or with the IND form while your study or research permit is still valid. You can stay while the IND decides. Apply in time, before your current permit ends.
From abroad: if people from your country need an entry visa (Machtiging tot Voorlopig Verblijf: an entry visa that many non-EU citizens need before they travel to the Netherlands for a long stay.) to enter, you apply for the MVV and the residence permit together at a Dutch embassy or consulate. People from countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom don't need an MVV, and can apply after they arrive.
What you need:
- Your diploma, and for a foreign degree, proof of the ranking and the papers for the Nuffic check.
- Proof of English (or Dutch) if your degree is from abroad.
- A valid passport.
- The fee of €254 (2026).
- For some nationalities, a A test for tuberculosis, a lung disease. People from some countries must take it when they move to the Netherlands. at the The local public health service. within 3 months after getting the permit. Your IND letter tells you if you need it.
The IND has 90 days to decide, and can take longer if your application is missing something. Once approved, you pick up your residence card at an IND desk or, in some cities, at an expat centre.
Working during your orientation year
The zoekjaar lets you work freely. You can take any job, at any salary, part-time or full-time, and your employer doesn't need to ask for a work permit (Tewerkstellingsvergunning: a work permit an employer must normally get to hire someone from outside the EU.). You can also do an internship, or register a business with the Kamer van Koophandel: the Dutch office where every business must be registered. and work as a freelancer. If you start working while the IND is still deciding, you may first need a sticker in your passport that proves you may stay.
This makes the orientation year useful even if your first job doesn't pay enough for the highly skilled migrant permit. You can work, build Dutch work experience, and keep looking for the job that will get you a long-term permit.
Registration, BSN and health insurance
If you studied here, you are probably already registered and have a BSN. If you arrive from abroad and plan to stay longer than 4 months, register with your municipality within 5 days after you arrive. Our moving to the Netherlands checklist walks you through the first weeks.
Health insurance often catches graduates out. As a student, you may have been allowed to keep a private student insurance. During the orientation year, you live here for a reason that isn't study. So you usually have to get Dutch basic health insurance from the start of your permit. And you must get it anyway as soon as you start any paid job. Read our guide to health insurance in the Netherlands. With a low income, you can get healthcare allowance (zorgtoeslag), money from the government that pays most of the insurance price.
Switching to a work permit
Most people end the orientation year by switching to a highly skilled migrant permit (kennismigrant). Your employer must be an approved sponsor of the IND (a company the IND allows to hire people from abroad), and your salary must be high enough. After an orientation year, or within 3 years of graduating, a much lower minimum salary applies:
| Highly skilled migrant minimum salary, 2026 | Per month before tax, without holiday allowance |
|---|---|
| Lower amount: after an orientation year, or within 3 years of graduating | €3,122 |
| Under 30 | €4,357 |
| 30 or older | €5,942 |
| EU Blue Card (lower amount for recent graduates: €4,754) | €5,942 |
The lower amount is only about half of the normal amount for people over 30. That makes you much cheaper to sponsor. Mention it when you apply for jobs: many employers, especially smaller ones, don't know about it. The In Dutch: vakantiegeld. Extra pay of at least 8% of your yearly salary, usually paid in May. doesn't count towards the minimum. You can check what a salary means in practice with our gross to net salary calculator, and compare offers with our guide to salaries in the Netherlands.
Other choices at the end of the year:
- Start-up permit: one year to build a new, innovative business, with help from an approved organisation that guides start-ups.
- Self-employed permit: for a business that is important for the Netherlands, judged with a points system. Americans and Japanese have an easier way through the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty (DAFT) and the Dutch-Japanese agreement.
- Partner permit: if you have a Dutch partner, or a partner with a residence permit who earns enough.
Apply for the new permit before your orientation year permit ends. Once you have applied, you can usually wait for the answer in the Netherlands.
Will you get the 30% ruling afterwards?
Probably not, if you studied here. The 30% ruling is a tax benefit for people hired from abroad, who lived more than 150 km from the Dutch border for more than 16 of the 24 months before they started their job. A graduate who spent the last two years studying in Delft or Amsterdam doesn't pass that test.
There is one important exception: people with a PhD who start a job within a year of getting their doctorate. Their time as a PhD student in the Netherlands doesn't count against them. And the lower minimum salary for people under 30 with a master's degree, €36,497 a year in 2026, can apply. Graduates who use the zoekjaar to come back from abroad, years after studying somewhere else, may also qualify. Your future employer has to apply together with you.
Common mistakes
- Applying with a foreign bachelor's degree. Only Dutch bachelor's degrees count. From abroad, you need at least a master's from a top-200 university.
- Checking today's ranking. The ranking in the year you graduated is what matters.
- Letting your student permit end first. A gap between permits can mean you have to apply from abroad, with an MVV if you need one.
- Keeping a student health insurance. It usually stops being valid once you are no longer a student, and fines for not having Dutch insurance can be high.
- Waiting until month 11 to switch. Employers need time to become an approved sponsor or arrange the papers. Start talking about it as soon as you have an offer.
Your orientation year checklist
- Check that your degree or research counts, and that you are within the 3-year window.
- For a foreign degree, collect proof of the ranking on the day you graduated, and your English test or the language of your programme.
- Choose your start date carefully: the year can't be paused or made longer.
- Apply to the IND and pay the €254 fee, before any current permit ends.
- Register with your municipality if you arrive from abroad, and get Dutch health insurance.
- Apply to approved sponsors, and tell them about the lower €3,122 minimum salary.
- Apply for your next permit before the year ends.
Official sources and useful links
- IND: residence permit for the orientation year
- IND: income rules 2026, including the lower minimum salary
- IND: fees for an application
- IND: public list of approved sponsors
- Government.nl: orientation year for highly educated persons
This is general information based on the IND's rules and amounts for 2026. Minimum salaries and fees change every year on 1 January. Check the IND website for the rules on the day you apply.
