Netherlands · NL-OY · Work visa

Orientation Year Visa (Zoekjaar)

Valid for 1 year.

5 official facts · checked 4 Nov 2026

Cost
€254
Time
90 days
Stay
12 months
Netherlands NL-OY

Orientation Year Visa (Zoekjaar)

5 verified facts

Cost
Application fee: €254.
Time
The IND must decide within 90 days.
Stay
Valid for 1 year.
Leads to
To be confirmed with the IND before applying.
Your match

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The details

What the official rules say

Each line links to its official source and the date we checked it. Anything we could not check is marked.

Cost

€254

Application fee: €254.

≈ USD 284 — indicative only, at the ECB reference rate of 3 Nov 2026. Not an official fee.

ind.nl ↗ · checked 4 Nov 2026

How long it takes

The IND must decide within 90 days.

Legal maximum, not the usual time

ind.nl ↗ · checked 4 Nov 2026

How long you can stay

Valid for 1 year.

ind.nl ↗ · checked 4 Nov 2026

Can it lead to living there permanently?

To be confirmed with the IND before applying.

Rules

A qualifying degree or research in the 3 years before you apply — e.g. from an institution in the top 200 of recognised rankings, or a Dutch degree.

ind.nl ↗ · checked 4 Nov 2026

These are the official rules we have so far. There may be more. Read the official page before you apply.

Official page

Residence permit for orientation year — IND

ind.nl ↗ · checked 4 Nov 2026

What can come next
  1. This visa Orientation Year Visa (Zoekjaar)
  2. Next step Highly Skilled Migrant Visa
  3. Then Dutch Permanent Residence Usually needs 5 years
  4. Then Dutch Citizenship (Naturalisation) Usually needs 5 years

A possible next step. Times come from each visa's official rules. See what long-term visas need.

Keep exploring

Compare this with other visas.