Recruiting foreign staff is becoming increasingly important for Dutch universities. But how – apart from offering interesting jobs – do universities try to make themselves attractive to foreign researchers? And which Dutch universities are making the most effort? A ‘Top 13’ of Dutch universities.
Martine Postma
If you’re a foreign researcher and accept a university position in Utrecht or Twente, you had better have some money in reserve: your residence permit costs 430 euros, plus the same amount for each family member you want to bring with you to Holland. If, on the contrary, you accept a job at the University of Groningen, the university pays all these costs for you. Foreign researchers at Amsterdam’s Free University usually have to find their own housing, a foreign scientist in Maastricht gets a free university-paid journey home for Christmas, and foreign staffers at the University of Tilburg get free Dutch courses for the whole family.
There is, in short, quite a difference in how Holland’s universities treat their foreign staff members. Delta therefore wondered which Dutch university offered a foreigner the best package of service and support. We rated the facilities for foreigners at all thirteen Dutch universities based on a scale of 1-5 points (5 points being the best), in five key areas:
(H) Housing
(V) Visas
(S) Settling in
(F) Families: partners/children
(€) Special financial arrangements.
‘Ready-made’, 5 points, awarded to universities that provide a full service, for example, if the university refunds foreigners the full cost of their visas; ‘No further than this’, 4, 3 or 2 points, awarded depending on the level of service the university provides, such as housing facilities for six months or a year; and ‘Good luck’, 1 point, awarded to universities that give foreigners little or no assistance in the key areas listed above. This survey led ultimately to the following ‘Top 13’ foreigner-friendly Dutch universities, ranked from best to worst.
1. University of Tilburg: 20 points
H: 5 points
V: 3
S: 5
F: 4
€: 3
In Tilburg, they’ve really thought things through; for example, the university guarantees “adequate housing”: for short-term visitors there are contracts with hotels, and for scientists who stay for longer periods, the university employs housing associations and brokers to find accommodation that is suitable for the personal needs of each foreign staffer. The University of Tilburg is the only university that has made the costs of visas tax-deductible by means of the so-called ‘keuzemodel arbeidsvoorwaarden’ – a tax-deductible arrangement that is normally used to allow people to buy a bicycle or computer cheaply, or take extra days off. Tilburg however uses this arrangement for visas for partners and children. And there is more: in Tilburg the whole family can take a free course in Dutch, moving expenses are refunded to a maximum of €9,600, the university offers assistance with child day-care, there is an international association which organizes social gatherings, and foreigners are kept informed of interesting cultural activities.
2. University of Groningen: 17 points
H: 3 points
V: 5
S: 3
F: 3
€: 3
When it comes to visas, Groningen beats all other universities: Groningen is the only university that refunds all visa fees (plus annual renewals) for foreign scientists and their families. Also, apart from that, the facilities are good: there are no central arrangements concerning accommodation, but Groningen and its environs don’t have a housing problem, so finding affordable accommodation yourself “can very well be done”, a university spokesperson said, while adding that if you get stuck, the university will “bend over backwards” to find you accommodation somewhere. The university’s Foreign Guest Club organizes activities for the whole family, there is ample child day-care facilities, if parents want to send their children to an international school, the university pays part of the fee, and moving expenses are refunded. And finally, Groningen – like in fact all other universities – uses the so-called 30-percent-rule, which is tax rule that leaves foreigners with more of their real income than Dutch employees.
3. Eindhoven University of Technology: 16 points
H: 3 points
V: 4
S: 3
F: 3
€: 3
Eindhoven also offers good facilities. Visa fees are refunded, also for partners and children, although a university spokesperson said that very few foreign researchers at Eindhoven have partners and children. The university offers housing for a six months maximum, but in Eindhoven you won’t have a problem finding suitable accommodation within that time period. To help you settle in there are programs both on the faculty level and on a central university level, and there is also an International Neighbour Group. You can even get a refund for settling in again after having moved within Eindhoven.
4. Maastricht University: 15 points
H: 2 points
V: 4
S: 3
F: 2
€: 4
Maastricht has got things well organized: the university pays the cost of visas for employees (but not for partners and children), moving expenses are refunded, there is an allowance for expenses if you want to visit family in your own country, you get a personal guide and you can take a free Dutch course (family members enjoy a discount). Housing facilities are less impressive: foreigners can stay in the university guesthouse for a short time, but a university spokesperson says that they have to rely on “their own channels” for more permanent accommodation. One arrangement however is quite special: foreign staffers who continue to maintain a house in their home country receive a grant for double living expenses.
5. Wageningen University: 13 points
H: 3 points
V: 3
S: 3
F: 2
€: 2
Finding a house in Wageningen is no problem; a couple of phone calls is normally all it takes for the departmental secretary to find suitable accommodation for foreigner staffers. Visa fees are not refunded as a rule, but, according to a university spokesperson, “you can count on at least a considerable share to be refunded”. In Wageningen, foreigners are overloaded with information about the Netherlands, the town and the university, and there are also plenty of social activities organized for foreigners. Special arrangements like a refund for moving expenses are not standard, but in practice, the spokesperson says that “something can always be worked out”.
6. Twente University: 12 points
H: 4 points
V: 1
S: 3
F: 2
€: 2
For residence permits in Twente, foreigners must pick up the bill themselves. The university does refund moving expenses – to a maximum of €5,400 – and helps foreigners find accommodation in Hengelo, Enschede or on the campus, where 69 apartments are reserved for foreigners and their families (foreign PhD students often live in a student flat). A Dutch course is free for employees, but family members must pay for the course. To help foreigners find their way in their new surroundings, Twente has so-called ‘support groups’, which are networks of foreign employees who share information and experiences with each other. The International Office assists in arranging all sorts of important matters. The campus offers sufficient child day-care facilities.
7. Erasmus University Rotterdam: 12 points
H: 2 points
V: 4
S: 2
F: 2
€: 2
For its 12 points, Rotterdam can largely thank its generous policy regarding visas, as the university scores poorly in all other categories. The university pays the full €430 fee for its foreigners, plus the annual renewal (€258) fees. Apart from that, Rotterdam’s facilities are decidedly unspectacular: the university owns very few apartments for foreigners, and, generally, foreigners must find their own accommodation. Twice a year there is a gathering for all foreigners, which, a university spokesperson says, “offers diversion, but where you can also obtain information on how to use the metro”.
8. University of Amsterdam: 11 points
H: 3 points
V: 3
S: 1
F: 1
€: 3
To land some alluring arrangements at the University of Amsterdam, you have to be a smart negotiator. The number of standard facilities for foreign staff is minimal: “All allowances and refunds are part of individual salary negotiations,” as a university spokesperson put it, adding that residence permits are “practically always” refunded. And other bonuses, like performance grants, are pretty common as well. There are special housing programs for PhD students, but other foreigners are largely on their own, forced to resign their fate to Amsterdam’s highly competitive housing market.
9. Catholic University of Nijmegen: 11 points
H: 3 points
V: 2
S: 2
F: 2
€: 2
Nijmegen is just up to average. The university does not own a guesthouse, but the housing department explores every avenue in trying to find accommodation for foreigners. If the only housing options are too expensive, the department will somehow find the extra money needed, or as a university spokesperson said: “They’ll find a way out.” The costs of visas are refunded occasionally, but standard practice is to only offer assistance with bureaucratic matters. You can take a Dutch course at a discount, but you’ll have to bargain about other bonuses and there are no special facilities for partners and children, apart from the normal arrangements for child day-care. The university’s ‘Committee Welcome’ organizes social gatherings for foreigners.
10. Delft University of Technology: 11 points
H: 3 points
V: 2
S: 2
F: 2
€: 2
Facilities in Delft are average as well. Foreigners are offered accommodation for one year; after that they must find their accommodation. Residence permits are not refunded as a rule, but in practice some faculties do it, especially for PhD students and post-docs. Help in settling down in Delft is adequate at best: there is no special international club or meeting place for foreigners – unless you consider that to be the ‘Wives of foreign scientists’ club….
11. Utrecht University: 10 points
H: 4 points
V: 1
S: 2
F: 1
€: 2
Utrecht scores points for promising that foreigners who announce their arrival two-months in advance can count on receiving appropriate and affordable accommodation for two years. Apart from that, facilities are not overwhelming: residence permits are not paid for, moving expenses and the cost of child day-care only occasionally paid for, and Dutch courses are not free. The university does have an International Neighbor Group, which organizes events like a feast of St. Nicholas and a monthly cookery gatherings.
12. Free University of Amsterdam: 8 points
H: 2 points
V: 2
S: 1
F: 1
€: 2
The Free University pays the visa fees for half the cases (mostly for PhD-students); family members usually must pay for their visas themselves. For people who stay longer than two years, moving expenses are refunded to a maximum of €2,500. Otherwise, the Free University is not very generous: the guesthouse has 112 units – mainly single rooms – available for one year maximum. Foreign staffers and their families who stay for longer periods of time must find their own accommodation – and then this in Amsterdam, with its housing shortage and high rents. In terms of social activities, nothing is organized and there is currently no money available in the budget for compensation towards the cost of child day-care.
13. Leiden University
Despite repeated email and telephone requests over a period of two weeks, did not managed to, or decided not to, supply the information required to participate in this survey.
Martine Postma
If you’re a foreign researcher and accept a university position in Utrecht or Twente, you had better have some money in reserve: your residence permit costs 430 euros, plus the same amount for each family member you want to bring with you to Holland. If, on the contrary, you accept a job at the University of Groningen, the university pays all these costs for you. Foreign researchers at Amsterdam’s Free University usually have to find their own housing, a foreign scientist in Maastricht gets a free university-paid journey home for Christmas, and foreign staffers at the University of Tilburg get free Dutch courses for the whole family.
There is, in short, quite a difference in how Holland’s universities treat their foreign staff members. Delta therefore wondered which Dutch university offered a foreigner the best package of service and support. We rated the facilities for foreigners at all thirteen Dutch universities based on a scale of 1-5 points (5 points being the best), in five key areas:
(H) Housing
(V) Visas
(S) Settling in
(F) Families: partners/children
(€) Special financial arrangements.
‘Ready-made’, 5 points, awarded to universities that provide a full service, for example, if the university refunds foreigners the full cost of their visas; ‘No further than this’, 4, 3 or 2 points, awarded depending on the level of service the university provides, such as housing facilities for six months or a year; and ‘Good luck’, 1 point, awarded to universities that give foreigners little or no assistance in the key areas listed above. This survey led ultimately to the following ‘Top 13’ foreigner-friendly Dutch universities, ranked from best to worst.
1. University of Tilburg: 20 points
H: 5 points
V: 3
S: 5
F: 4
€: 3
In Tilburg, they’ve really thought things through; for example, the university guarantees “adequate housing”: for short-term visitors there are contracts with hotels, and for scientists who stay for longer periods, the university employs housing associations and brokers to find accommodation that is suitable for the personal needs of each foreign staffer. The University of Tilburg is the only university that has made the costs of visas tax-deductible by means of the so-called ‘keuzemodel arbeidsvoorwaarden’ – a tax-deductible arrangement that is normally used to allow people to buy a bicycle or computer cheaply, or take extra days off. Tilburg however uses this arrangement for visas for partners and children. And there is more: in Tilburg the whole family can take a free course in Dutch, moving expenses are refunded to a maximum of €9,600, the university offers assistance with child day-care, there is an international association which organizes social gatherings, and foreigners are kept informed of interesting cultural activities.
2. University of Groningen: 17 points
H: 3 points
V: 5
S: 3
F: 3
€: 3
When it comes to visas, Groningen beats all other universities: Groningen is the only university that refunds all visa fees (plus annual renewals) for foreign scientists and their families. Also, apart from that, the facilities are good: there are no central arrangements concerning accommodation, but Groningen and its environs don’t have a housing problem, so finding affordable accommodation yourself “can very well be done”, a university spokesperson said, while adding that if you get stuck, the university will “bend over backwards” to find you accommodation somewhere. The university’s Foreign Guest Club organizes activities for the whole family, there is ample child day-care facilities, if parents want to send their children to an international school, the university pays part of the fee, and moving expenses are refunded. And finally, Groningen – like in fact all other universities – uses the so-called 30-percent-rule, which is tax rule that leaves foreigners with more of their real income than Dutch employees.
3. Eindhoven University of Technology: 16 points
H: 3 points
V: 4
S: 3
F: 3
€: 3
Eindhoven also offers good facilities. Visa fees are refunded, also for partners and children, although a university spokesperson said that very few foreign researchers at Eindhoven have partners and children. The university offers housing for a six months maximum, but in Eindhoven you won’t have a problem finding suitable accommodation within that time period. To help you settle in there are programs both on the faculty level and on a central university level, and there is also an International Neighbour Group. You can even get a refund for settling in again after having moved within Eindhoven.
4. Maastricht University: 15 points
H: 2 points
V: 4
S: 3
F: 2
€: 4
Maastricht has got things well organized: the university pays the cost of visas for employees (but not for partners and children), moving expenses are refunded, there is an allowance for expenses if you want to visit family in your own country, you get a personal guide and you can take a free Dutch course (family members enjoy a discount). Housing facilities are less impressive: foreigners can stay in the university guesthouse for a short time, but a university spokesperson says that they have to rely on “their own channels” for more permanent accommodation. One arrangement however is quite special: foreign staffers who continue to maintain a house in their home country receive a grant for double living expenses.
5. Wageningen University: 13 points
H: 3 points
V: 3
S: 3
F: 2
€: 2
Finding a house in Wageningen is no problem; a couple of phone calls is normally all it takes for the departmental secretary to find suitable accommodation for foreigner staffers. Visa fees are not refunded as a rule, but, according to a university spokesperson, “you can count on at least a considerable share to be refunded”. In Wageningen, foreigners are overloaded with information about the Netherlands, the town and the university, and there are also plenty of social activities organized for foreigners. Special arrangements like a refund for moving expenses are not standard, but in practice, the spokesperson says that “something can always be worked out”.
6. Twente University: 12 points
H: 4 points
V: 1
S: 3
F: 2
€: 2
For residence permits in Twente, foreigners must pick up the bill themselves. The university does refund moving expenses – to a maximum of €5,400 – and helps foreigners find accommodation in Hengelo, Enschede or on the campus, where 69 apartments are reserved for foreigners and their families (foreign PhD students often live in a student flat). A Dutch course is free for employees, but family members must pay for the course. To help foreigners find their way in their new surroundings, Twente has so-called ‘support groups’, which are networks of foreign employees who share information and experiences with each other. The International Office assists in arranging all sorts of important matters. The campus offers sufficient child day-care facilities.
7. Erasmus University Rotterdam: 12 points
H: 2 points
V: 4
S: 2
F: 2
€: 2
For its 12 points, Rotterdam can largely thank its generous policy regarding visas, as the university scores poorly in all other categories. The university pays the full €430 fee for its foreigners, plus the annual renewal (€258) fees. Apart from that, Rotterdam’s facilities are decidedly unspectacular: the university owns very few apartments for foreigners, and, generally, foreigners must find their own accommodation. Twice a year there is a gathering for all foreigners, which, a university spokesperson says, “offers diversion, but where you can also obtain information on how to use the metro”.
8. University of Amsterdam: 11 points
H: 3 points
V: 3
S: 1
F: 1
€: 3
To land some alluring arrangements at the University of Amsterdam, you have to be a smart negotiator. The number of standard facilities for foreign staff is minimal: “All allowances and refunds are part of individual salary negotiations,” as a university spokesperson put it, adding that residence permits are “practically always” refunded. And other bonuses, like performance grants, are pretty common as well. There are special housing programs for PhD students, but other foreigners are largely on their own, forced to resign their fate to Amsterdam’s highly competitive housing market.
9. Catholic University of Nijmegen: 11 points
H: 3 points
V: 2
S: 2
F: 2
€: 2
Nijmegen is just up to average. The university does not own a guesthouse, but the housing department explores every avenue in trying to find accommodation for foreigners. If the only housing options are too expensive, the department will somehow find the extra money needed, or as a university spokesperson said: “They’ll find a way out.” The costs of visas are refunded occasionally, but standard practice is to only offer assistance with bureaucratic matters. You can take a Dutch course at a discount, but you’ll have to bargain about other bonuses and there are no special facilities for partners and children, apart from the normal arrangements for child day-care. The university’s ‘Committee Welcome’ organizes social gatherings for foreigners.
10. Delft University of Technology: 11 points
H: 3 points
V: 2
S: 2
F: 2
€: 2
Facilities in Delft are average as well. Foreigners are offered accommodation for one year; after that they must find their accommodation. Residence permits are not refunded as a rule, but in practice some faculties do it, especially for PhD students and post-docs. Help in settling down in Delft is adequate at best: there is no special international club or meeting place for foreigners – unless you consider that to be the ‘Wives of foreign scientists’ club….
11. Utrecht University: 10 points
H: 4 points
V: 1
S: 2
F: 1
€: 2
Utrecht scores points for promising that foreigners who announce their arrival two-months in advance can count on receiving appropriate and affordable accommodation for two years. Apart from that, facilities are not overwhelming: residence permits are not paid for, moving expenses and the cost of child day-care only occasionally paid for, and Dutch courses are not free. The university does have an International Neighbor Group, which organizes events like a feast of St. Nicholas and a monthly cookery gatherings.
12. Free University of Amsterdam: 8 points
H: 2 points
V: 2
S: 1
F: 1
€: 2
The Free University pays the visa fees for half the cases (mostly for PhD-students); family members usually must pay for their visas themselves. For people who stay longer than two years, moving expenses are refunded to a maximum of €2,500. Otherwise, the Free University is not very generous: the guesthouse has 112 units – mainly single rooms – available for one year maximum. Foreign staffers and their families who stay for longer periods of time must find their own accommodation – and then this in Amsterdam, with its housing shortage and high rents. In terms of social activities, nothing is organized and there is currently no money available in the budget for compensation towards the cost of child day-care.
13. Leiden University
Despite repeated email and telephone requests over a period of two weeks, did not managed to, or decided not to, supply the information required to participate in this survey.
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