Moving to Tilburg

These are the necessary documents you should bring when traveling to the Netherlands:

• Letter of acceptance and/or employment contract from Tilburg University.
• Passport and other identification documents such as a driver’s license.
• Any original documents that may be required for processing by the immigration authorities, such as birth and marriage certificates and diplomas and degree certificates (note: diploma implies a secondary school/high school diploma).
• Master’s diploma and transcripts for the Graduate School.
• Cash (in euros) and credit card for temporary accommodation, transportation, meals, et cetera.
• Copy of your health insurance policy or travel insurance.

If you wish to come to the Netherlands, there are certain immigration procedures you need to follow. If required, the HR department of Tilburg University will apply for a residence permit for you and explain the procedure. It can take up to three months to receive your permit. Tilburg University will not reimburse the visa fees for external PhD candidates.

In order to prepare your stay, please keep the following things in mind:

• Make sure that your passport is valid for at least another 6 months after your scheduled arrival (and preferably as long your intended stay). Expiration of your passport often means that you will have to renew your residence permit and will have to pay the fees again.
• Some employees choose to live outside The Netherlands (for example in the Belgian or German border region). If you do this, keep in mind that this will complicate the immigration process as you cannot benefit from the special fast track procedure we have agreed on with the Dutch immigration authorities.
• Inform HR services if you are planning to change your official place of residence in the coming months, i.e., your official place of residence in your home country or the country where you have valid residency. Please send a copy of your residence permit to HR services if you officially reside in a country other than your country of citizenship.
• If you are currently already in the Netherlands for study purposes, please inform HR services as this changes the application procedure.

After you have obtained your PhD, you can apply for an 'Orientation year highly educated persons' residence permit. As a holder of this residence permit, you are allowed to work in the Netherlands without any restrictions. Read the information about the permit.

Please note that you yourself are primarily responsible for finding accommodation. Arranging accommodation beforehand is very important because if you intend to stay in The Netherlands for four months or more, you are obliged to register at your local municipality. It is only through this registration that you will be assigned a Citizen Service Number (BSN), which is essential for other things such as opening a bank account.

The housing market in the Netherlands is very tight; therefore, the choice of housing could be limited. We recommend that you start your search as soon as possible. Here a few links that might be of help:

• P&D Expat Care
• P&D Housing
• Only Expats
• Pararius
• Temporary Housing Tilburg
• iamexpat.nl

If you run into any problems, Huurteam Tilburg provides free services to tenants of the municipality of Tilburg regarding all issues relating to renting a home. This may concern the amount of the basic rent, the service charge settlement (or lack thereof), maintenance problems or splitting an all-in rental price.

The Language Center of Tilburg University offers various Dutch language courses designed to help you develop and improve fluency in Dutch. The first Dutch language course that internal and scholarship PhD candidates follow at the Language Center will be reimbursed.

Many of the Tilburg residential areas also have so-called community centers (Wijkcentrum). These are mainly run by volunteers and they offer Dutch language courses as well.

For online and self-study, you can consult the following resources:

• Free online introduction to Dutch on FutureLearn.
• learn dutch offers free and premium courses.

tilburg international club (tic) aims to provide social and educational activities for expatriates living in Tilburg and the surrounding area, represents the international community to local authorities and further amicable relations among people of different nationalities. If you are a non-Dutch internal PhD candidate, the University will pay your membership dues for your first 2 years of membership.

For further information on social networks in the region of Tilburg, please consult The Expat’s Guide to Brabant. Learn more about expat’s groups throughout The Netherlands.

• ACCESS: Non-profit organization that serves the needs and interests of the international community in The Netherlands.
• Holland Expat Center South: Information for expats living in Brabant.
• Expatica: General expat guide to The Netherlands.