After a successful trial in Utrecht, the Immigration and Naturalisation Bureau (IND) plans to accelerate the residence permit procedure for international students. By 2008, students will be able to obtain a residence permit in six weeks.
Although the IND already has an accelerated procedure for students, getting a residence permit currently takes a minimum of three months, owing to processing delays. "Sometimes students don't receive their residence permit until they have completed their time at Tilburg University", according to Hans-Georg van Liempd, head of the International Office. Non-EU students have to apply for an authorisation for temporary stay (MVV), a visa that allows them to enter the Netherlands. Once they arrive, they apply for a temporary residence permit, which is valid up to one year. Without such a residence permit students are not allowed to travel outside the Netherlands.
The new procedure no longer requires the university to go through the municipal government to request residence permits for its students. Instead, the university can contact the IND directly. The Netherlands Organization for Cooperation in Higher Education (Nuffic) and the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) have been urging the IND to speed up the procedure for some time, arguing that the lengthy waiting period discourages international students from coming to the Netherlands. Van Liempd notes that the high cost of the residence permits forms another obstacle: "Lowering the costs should be the next step. In comparison to other countries, the residence permit is very expensive in the Netherlands." Non-EU students pay € 250 for the MVV, € 188 for the temporary residence permit, and another € 52 for each extension.
On Monday 30 and Tuesday 31 October, 125 Utrecht University students were the first to receive residence permits obtained through the new accelerated procedure. |
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