| 23 May 2009 The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) issued the first residence document for highly-educated persons for the Orientation Year at the IND’s Office for Labour and Highly Skilled Migrants in Rijswijk. The document issued to Ms Ima Shaista from Indonesia, who, in 2007, attained a Master’s degree in Strategic Product Design at the Delft University of Technology. Deputy General Director Versluis ( IND) was pleased to welcome such an exceptional talent to the Netherlands as a result of this scheme. The residence document will enable Ima Shaista to utilise the period of one year to look for work as a highly-skilled migrant in the Netherlands. She proudly received the document and indicated that she had received the document sooner than expected, and that she in particular ‘had every confidence that she will have a successful year in the Netherlands’. Modern Migration Policy The new admissions scheme for highly-educated persons makes it possible for exceptional foreign talent, who have attained a Master’s degree or a PhD at a Dutch university or foreign top university, to be able – on the basis of a points system – to freely look for a job on the Dutch labour market as a highly-skilled migrant during the period of one year (maximum), or to start an innovative company. The scheme entered into force on 1 January 2009 in anticipation of the new migration system: the ‘Modern Migration Policy’. This policy is in line with the Dutch Government’s objective of making the Netherlands more attractive to exceptional foreign talent.
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