Before arrival
TWV
A TWV is a permit that a Dutch employer must have in order to employ foreign nationals. Your HR department applies for the TWV. The application process takes about two months.
You need to provide the following documents for the application:
- Copy of a valid passport (pages indicating personal details and expiry date)
- Copy of diplomas and references, certified and translated into Dutch or English
- Documentary evidence (application for) an entry visa or VVR
MVV (Entry Visa)
Since your stay will be longer than three months, you need an entry visa (MVV) to be able to enter the Netherlands.
Purpose of stay
An MVV is always issued for a specific purpose. For you this purpose is: ‘employment’. The applications for both the visa (MVV) and residence permit (VVR) are submitted via your HR department.
You need to provide the following documents for the application:
- copy of a valid passport (pages indicating personal details and expiry date). Please note that your passport must be valid for at least 6 months after the date of issue of the entry visa/MVV.
- evidence that you have adequate financial means (periodic payments that finance your stay in the Netherlands, for example, evidence of sponsor funds, scholarship or salary)
- copy of the degree which entitles you to participate in the PhD programme, including a translation of this document into Dutch, English, French or German (only necessary for the EC directive 2005/71).
MVV Decision
It takes about two to four weeks before a decision is made regarding the application. The MVV must be collected at a Dutch embassy or consulate in the country of origin or country where you legally reside (= the country where you have a residence permit in the period prior to your stay in the Netherlands).
After arrival
VVR (Residence Permit)
A residence permit (VVR) is required for stays of longer than three months. A residence permit entitles the holder to travel within the Schengen area freely. This application too is submitted via your HR department. Within a few days of arriving in the Netherlands you will receive an invitation to pick up the VVR from one of the local IND desks. HR International will help you with an appointment at the relevant expat desk of Rotterdam or The Hague.
Tuberculosis test
Depending on your nationality you might have to take a tuberculosis test upon your arrival in the Netherlands, in order to obtain a residence permit. People from EU and EER countries, Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Syria, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Yemen are exempt from this requirement.
Tuberculosis tests (free of charge) can only be done by the Municipal Health Service, the GGD, in The HagueOpent extern or in Rotterdam GGD RotterdamOpent extern. HR International will advise you to make an appointment via email, including in your email the following information:
- BSN
- First Name
- Last name
- Sex
- Country of birth
- Address / postcode / place
- phone number
Take your passport / ID and your referral form tuberculosis researchOpent extern with you to your appointment.
BRP Registration
You must register with the Municipal Personal Records Database (BRP) of your city or town within five days after arrival. You can fill in the attached formOpent extern.
You must submit the following documents to register:
- A valid passport
- Your rental contract, evidence of boarding at an address or the title deed to your home
- Original birth certificate of all those to be registered translated in English or Dutch by a sworn translator, and if applicable, certificates of marriage, divorce, or the death of partner(s). ALL certificates must bear an apostille or legalisation stamp Opent externand also be verified if necessary.
HR International will make an appointment in Rotterdam or The Hague on your behalf. Please adhere to the time slot awarded to you, as communicated by HR International. Missing your appointment and the delay in having you registered may have serious consequences.
Citizen Service Number
Anyone who registers in the Municipal Personal Records Database is automatically assigned a Citizen Service Number (in Dutch: BSN). The BSN is a personal number under which you are registered with the government. EUR needs this number to be able to pay your salary, for instance. You also need it to open a bank account or purchase insurance.
Expat Desk Rotterdam/The Hague
If you plan to reside in or near Rotterdam/The Hague your application for an entry visa (MVV) and Residence Permit (VVR) runs via the Expat Desk Rotterdam/The Hague (please ask your HR department), then two preliminary steps are combined: VVR application and Municipal Personal Records (Basis Registratie Personen [BRP]) registration. Your HR department will schedule an appointment for you via Expat Desk, to (in the following sequence):
- register in the BRP (see above regarding the documents that you need to bring with you)
- visit the regional IND desk, to receive your residence permit, or to submit a passport photo and a Passport Photo Form in order to generate your residence permit.
Health Insurance
In order to obtain a VVR you must purchase health insurance. You should satisfy this condition as soon as possible. HR Support International can advise you.