The Netherlands: Increased Employer Responsibility for Reduced Salary Criteria Assessment and New Eligibility Tool Available for Orientation Year Permits
July 13, 2023
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) will no longer perform a check to review if an individual is qualified for a reduced salary criteria once an orientation year residence permit application is submitted, pushing the duty of care solely onto the employer to perform this check. As always, if an employer finds that an employee falls under the criteria, they must make that assessment and keep documentation on file. Additionally, the government has introduced an “orientation year visa tool” which allows foreign nationals who have studied or performed research in the Netherlands to determine their eligibility for an orientation year residence permit. This permit allows foreign nationals to reside in the Netherlands while they search for a job and to commence work if they do find a job. The permit is valid for up to one year and after that, the foreign national must be sponsored under a different work permit. To use the application tool, foreign nationals enter their graduation year, university and study program to see whether their diploma meets the requirement for the residence permit.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].
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