Visa & permits
Nov 25, 2011
This page will explain the different permits you need to know about before studying in Holland.
Visa
If you will be staying for longer than three months (90 days), Mexican students, like inhabitants from most countries, need a ‘provisional residence permit’ ('Machtiging tot Voorlopig Verblijf or MVV') to enter the Netherlands. This is a sticker placed in your passport at the Dutch embassy or consulate in your home country or in a third country where you are legally residing.
In most cases, your Dutch host institution will seek advice from the IND concerning your application for an MVV, before you actually hand in your MVV application. It is important that you provide them with all the necessary documents so they can request the advice in good time.
If the advice of the Dutch Immigration Service (IND) is favourable, you then have to apply for the actual MVV yourself at the Dutch embassy or consulate in your home country, or in the country in which you legally reside. The Dutch embassy or consulate will then issue you with the MVV in the form of a sticker placed in your passport.
MVV
An MVV is a ‘single entry’ visa, allowing you to enter the Netherlands for a stay of more than three months. You will need to show it when applying for the residence permit after your arrival. Remember that the purpose of stay on your MVV and on your application form for a residence permit must always be the same.
It is extremely important that you obtain this required document before travelling to the Netherlands. If you want to travel outside the Netherlands in the first 90 days of your stay, we advise you to apply for a combined visa (short stay visa and MVV), called a D+C visa, instead of a normal MVV. The Dutch Embassy in Mexico usually gives you the D+C visa automatically.
For more information about this subject read 'MVV and travelling'.
Procedure and costs
The Dutch higher education institution will request the visa on your behalf with the IND. This procedure is called the 'fast track procedure.'
Your provisional residence permit (MVV) will cost € 300. The handling fee will be paid by the institution through automatic bank transfer. You cannot be sure that your application for an MVV will be granted. For this reason, you are advised to wait until you have your MVV before you buy a ticket for your trip.
Since an MVV is an entry visa you can not collect an MVV in the Netherlands. MVVs can only be collected at the Dutch embassy or consulate in your home country (or the country in which you legally reside).
Documents required
- A valid passport.
- A letter or other document from the Dutch host institution stating that you are or will be enrolled as a student, or that you are going to do a traineeship.
- Proof that you can support yourself financially.
- For trainees, a copy of the application for a work permit, if applicable
Please notice: Although not a requirement for obtaining your visa, it is advisable to have a legalized birth certificate ready, as most likely you will be asked for it after your arrival in the Netherlands, when registering at the municipality.
Validity of MVV
Starting from the date on which the IND authorized the embassy or consulate to issue the MVV to you, you have six months to go to the embassy or consulate to pick up your MVV. When you receive your MVV, it will be valid for another six months. You may travel to the Netherlands during this period of six months. Please note that the MVV is only valid for one single entry.
MVV and travelling – Combined visa
While an MVV is only valid for one single entry into the Netherlands, a combined visa allows you to travel more freely. A combined visa, also know as a D+C-visa, is a special kind of MVV which allows you to travel in and out of the Netherlands during the first 90 days after the visa was issued. Also, this combined visa allows you to travel through the Schengen area during these 90 days. If you are intending to travel outside of the Netherlands during your first three months, it is therefore advisable to apply for an MVV D+C visa instead of the normal MVV. You can ask for this at the embassy or consulate when you go there to pick up your MVV. The Dutch Embassy in Mexico usually gives you the D+C visa automatically.
Residence permit
Upon arrival there are some formalities you will have to deal with. The amount of paperwork to take care of may vary depending on your nationality and the duration of your stay, but the university can always help you if you have questions.
For a stay of up to three months
You are required to report to the Aliens Police within three days of your arrival.
For a stay of over three months
- You are required to report to the Aliens Police within three days of your arrival.
- You are required to obtain a residence permit.
- If you intend to stay for over 4 months, you are required to register at your local municipality.
Residence permit
A residence permit looks like a credit card and proves that you are residing legally in the Netherlands. You are obliged to obtain a residence permit if you are a citizen of Mexico or another non-EU/EEA country or Switzerland and you would like to stay in the Netherlands for a period of more than three months. A residence permit will generally be issued for a period of one year. Depending on the purpose of your stay, the validity may be for a longer or shorter period of time.
If you are staying here as a student for a longer period than one year, you have to extend your residence permit before the expiring date. Furthermore, a change of purpose of stay in the Netherlands also means your residence permit has to be changed.
On arrival – first application
Within five days of your arrival in the Netherlands your host institution (university or university of applied sciences) has to apply on your behalf for your residence permit.
If you come to the Netherlands to do a traineeship (you are studying abroad) or if you come for the purpose of work experience (you already have a job abroad), you have to go to the IND office in the region where you are staying.
For more information about the residence permit, please visit the "Study in Holland" website.Work permit
Dutch employers that want to employ foreigners in the Netherlands need in most cases work permits for these people.
International
students with a non-EU/EEA nationality who are doing an internship or practical training as part of their studies in the Netherlands do not
need a work permit anymore. However, there must be an internship agreement between the employer, the intern and the host institution. If
you have followed a programme of study in your home country, and you come to the Netherlands solely for an internship or practical training,
you will need a work permit if you are not an EU/EEA national. Your employer must apply for this permit for you. You also need a work
permit if you want to take paid work alongside your studies.
There are two options if you want to work while you study: either less than ten hours a week year-round, or full-time during the months of June, July and August only. If you have successfully completed your programme of higher education, you may apply for a residence permit to work. To do this, you must have a contract of employment. For more information about all of these procedures, see the Study in Holland website.