Studying in Holland: scholarships, accommodation, visa and work while studying

Today we continue the topic of education in the Netherlands . In our article you will learn about scholarships and grants, accommodation, visas and additional opportunities during study. Recall that in the previous article we talked about the features and cost of training in the Netherlands.

Scholarships

There is a very convenient service for finding scholarships and grants at Dutch universities - the Grantfinder scholarship search engine .
All scholarships from Dutch universities for Russian students are available in a search engine. At the moment there are more than 60 of them.

So, we list the main scholarships for studying in the Netherlands:

• Orange Tulip Scholarship or OTS is a scholarship program specifically for talented students from Russia. For 2015-2016, OTS scholarships are available for various master's and bachelor's programs in economics, business, international finance, MBA, art, law, medicine and other fields, as well as for the Final-year program (Bachelor degree).
  

• Erasmus Mundus is a chance for talented and energetic young people who have studied at the university for at least four years to continue their education abroad - in several European countries. Students with a state diploma of higher education (bachelor, specialist or master) can apply for participation in the Erasmus Mundus program to continue their studies in Europe and obtain a master's degree from European universities.

• Global Education is a Russian program of financing students who have independently entered foreign universities. The program already involves more than 200 universities in 27 countries. If, according to international programs, admission to the university and scholarship are provided at a time, then a Russian grant is given only to those who have already entered a foreign university, but want to pay their tuition at public expense.

• Holland Scholarship is a scholarship for talented students from countries outside the European Economic Area. The program is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, research universities and universities of applied sciences of the Netherlands.

This is only part of the scholarships, there are many of them, as a rule, each university has a few more of its scholarship programs.

Residence

Students most often do not live in dormitories, but in their own rooms.

As a rule, in Holland, students do not live on campuses, but in apartments or rooms - the tradition of student
dormitories here did not work out. However, if your university offers the option of living in a student dormitory, we recommend that you accept.

Most students live in or near the city where their university is located.
If you decide to search for housing on your own, then you need to start as early as possible - it can be difficult to find a good and inexpensive option.

Take a look at the university: perhaps there are options for accommodating students. If you come for an exchange program or as an international student, you may be offered a room for living. Agree immediately - then you can regret that you missed the opportunity.

Rental housing An

average room in the Netherlands costs between € 300 and € 600 per month.

Before renting a room, make sure that utility bills are included in the rent. If this is not the case, payments can seriously undermine your budget. Sometimes the rental price includes the price of gas, electricity, a TV antenna and the Internet, in other cases, you will have to pay extra bills.

Most rental agreements are concluded for a period of 6 months or for the school year.

Work while studying

Part-time job opportunities in Holland

For students from Russia, some restrictions are imposed on work in parallel with study.
Firstly, you need a work permit, and secondly, you can work no more than 10 hours a week, or full time, but only in the summer (from June 1 to August 31).

Requesting a work permit

An application for a work permit for you must be submitted by your employer. The organization that issues work permits is called UWV Werkbedrijf .

Internship

If you study at a Dutch university and internship is an integral part of your study program, you do not need to apply for a work permit. Instead, your university and employer sign an internship agreement.

Dutch diploma and job search

Orientation year or year for finding a dream job

If you are educated in the Netherlands (namely, you have a bachelor, master or PhD diploma), then you have the opportunity to stay in the Netherlands for a year in order to find a suitable job.

Holders of Dutch university diplomas have several options:

1. “ Orientation year highly educated persons”Is a program that applies to foreigners who have received a master's or PhD diploma in one of the Dutch universities no more than 3 years ago. This program allows you to apply for a residence permit in the Netherlands for 12 months in order to find work. It should be remembered that after obtaining permission to stay under this program, the applicant has the right to work in the Netherlands only if the employer draws up a work permit for him.

2. “ Orientation year for graduates in the Netherlands”- a similar program applies to foreigners who have received a bachelor’s or master’s diploma in one of the Dutch universities. This program also provides an opportunity to obtain permission to stay in the Netherlands for 12 months in order to find work. IND strongly recommends applying for this program within 4 weeks after graduation. The main advantage in this case is that the holder of this residence permit can work this year in the country without applying for a work permit.

3. “ Highly skilled migrants”- a special immigration status that foreigners can apply for if they are employed by one of the companies on the IND (Public Register Recognized Sponsors) list. In this case, work does not require a work permit. A residence permit for a person in the “Highly skilled migrant” status can be issued for up to 5 years. In order to receive it, it is necessary to satisfy a number of conditions (requirements for age, income level, etc.).

Visa and temporary residence permit

Students from Russia who plan to study in the Netherlands must undergo a series of immigration procedures.

Depending on the length of stay in the Netherlands, you may need either:

• A short-term visa (Visum Kort Verblijf, VKV) for a stay in the country of less than 3 months;
• Long-term visa (Machtiging tot Voorlopig Verblijf, MVV);
• Residence permit (Verblijfsvergunning Regulier voor bepaalde tijd, VVR) for a stay of more than 3 months.

To get an MVV for studying in the Netherlands, you need to contact the host institution, which will submit an application for MVV on your behalf in accordance with the accelerated procedure. Upon arrival in Holland, you must immediately contact the host institution to help you apply for a residence permit.

Students cannot apply for a residence permit themselves. The host country is responsible for contacting the IND (Netherlands Immigration Service). In addition, all international students must register with the local municipality.

To obtain any visa, you must personally submit an application to the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Moscow or the Consulate General in St. Petersburg .

Learn more about visa requirementsyou can also visit the IND website (Netherlands Immigration Service).

The author of the article is Vyacheslav Davidenko, founder of MBA Consult .

This article was prepared jointly with Nuffic Neso Russia , the official representative of Dutch education in Russia.