Handbook for non-EU students
Hello, here are the resources and tips compiled for non-EU students, since the different rules and regulations apply.
Please feel free to revise, contribute and use the Discussion tab of this page.
_________ Citizen Service Number
Citizen Service Number [BSN / burgerservicenummer] is a unique number assigned to you at Basic Registration of Persons [BRP]. Getting a BSN is mandatory for persons staying in the Netherlands for longer than 4 months. You should make an appointment at municipality [gemeente] within 5 days of your arrival. Previously, among other documents, you had to provide tenancy agreement, which means you had to find a place allowing registration, but as of January 1 [2022], in case you are unable to find such residence, 'municipality is obliged to register you at a postal address'.
Heads-up: not all students might be required to provide a translated && legalised original copy of their birth certificate at this stage, but you might have to present it after graduation. Check if you have to legalise your document in a country that issued it.
_________ Search Year
Within 3 years after your graduation, you are entitled to apply for a Search Year [aka Orientation Year / Zoekjaar] visa, which means you can stay and work in the Netherlands for a year without TWV [work permit]
Residence Gap
In case you are planning to apply for a Permanent Residence permit [you can do this after living 5 years in the Netherlands], it's more convenient to apply for a Search Year permit before you are officially deregistered from your study course [September 1st]. Otherwise, you get a 'residence gap', meaning, your previous residence period is disregarded and a 5-year count starts from 0.
NB: Only half of your study years is counted towards the five years.
_________ Work
_________ Staying outside NL
You can stay in any other Schengen member country for 90 days in every 180 days
You may stay outside the Netherlands for up to 6 months in a row or 4 months in a row for 3 consecutive years and maintain the Netherlands as a main residence.
- › Broader information on having the Netherlands as a main residence while traveling/staying abroad.
_________ Funding & Residencies
- ____ _ Mondriaan Fonds
- ____ _ Stimuleringsfonds
- ____ _ Jan van Eyck Academie
- ____ _ Art Ofiice of CBK Rotterdam
- ____ _ Rijksakademie
- ____ _ Hamburger Community of Art at Roodkapje
- ____ _ De Ateliers