Scholarships of universities in Holland

The Netherlands wants to stimulated the educated migrants to come for study or work.  The Netherlands needs for far more highly skilled people than Holland can educate locally.

Under a policy in force since 2004, 19,000 high skilled migrants have come to the Netherlands for work. The new procedures will make it easier for such migrants to come to the Netherlands.  The proposed new policy will also help those looking for work and who do not count as highly skilled, as well as those coming here to study.

Competition with US and Canada

The reason of this changes is to compete with the United States and Canada which attract highly skilled immigrants. The European Union had a chance to offer the US more competition with the introduction of the blue card.

The Netherlands, together with Finland, wants to go further. Certain categories of residency visas will be recognised by both countries. The hope is that other Scandinavian countries will join.

What will be changed:

• In place of two applications for a residency visa, one submitted in the country of origin and one upon arrival here in the Netherlands, only one application will be necessary.
• The length of a residency visa will be coupled with the reason for being in the Netherlands. For instance, a student pursuing a three-year programme will be granted a visa for the whole period of study in Holland.
• A number of businesses and Dutch universities will be recognised as regular sponsors for immigrants. Their applications will be handled faster.
• The time required for a company to arrange a work visa is reduced from 3 - 6 months, to 2 - 3 weeks.
• Fees, already higher than in other European countries, likely to rise even further.
• Privacy. Authorities will no longer evaluate an immigrant annually, since visas will be for longer periods. In exchange, more information about an immigrant may be monitored
•  Potential sponsors will be required to provide more proof of their good intentions. Penalties for abuse will become severe.

Source: Expatica