Graduates in Asia, Europe, and around the world, there is a Dutch residence permit built for the year after graduation, and its best benefit only appears at the end of that year.
The Netherlands Orientation Year, called the Zoekjaar in Dutch, is a residence permit for highly educated persons issued by the IND, the Dutch immigration service. It is valid for one year, and it lets you live in the Netherlands while you look for work or start a business.
During that year, you may work freely. Your employer does not need a separate work permit for you, and you may also work as a freelancer or self employed person, or take an internship.
Who can apply? You must have graduated, completed a doctorate, or carried out scientific research in the three years before you apply. Qualifying study includes an accredited bachelor or master degree in the Netherlands, an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master, or a master, doctoral, or post master programme at a designated foreign university. A foreign university counts when it sits in the top 200 of at least two of the three major rankings, Times Higher Education, QS, and ShanghaiRanking, on your graduation date. If your foreign degree was not taught in English or Dutch, you need an English test score equal to IELTS 6.0. Foreign diplomas are evaluated by Nuffic before they can be accepted.
The IND application fee is 254 euros in 2026. The permit cannot be extended and cannot be granted twice for the same programme, so plan the year carefully.
Here is the payoff that makes the year so valuable. If you find a skilled job, the reduced salary criterion for a highly skilled migrant permit is 3,122 euros gross a month in 2026 for recent graduates and orientation year holders. The standard criterion is 5,942 euros a month at age 30 and over, and 4,357 euros under 30. That lower threshold opens many more jobs to you.
Official information and application: https://ind.nl/en/residence-permits/work/residence-permit-for-orientation-year
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