30% ruling approved after studying and working part-time in the Netherlands – sharing my experience
Hi everyone!
I wanted to share my experience in case it can help other non-EU professionals who are or have been in a similar situation.
I am a non-EU professional who came to the Netherlands to pursue a Master's degree. During my studies, I also had a part-time job for approximately three months under my student residence permit. Shortly after graduating, I found a full-time job and initially switched to the orientation year visa.
Today, I received the confirmation that my application for the 30% ruling was approved.
One of the main arguments in my application was based on the decision ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2019:4616, from 2019. Based on this case, I argued that, despite having lived in the Netherlands as a student, I had not established permanent or long-term ties with the Netherlands and that the centre of my personal and economic life remained in my country of origin.
I submitted extensive evidence to support this, including:
- Bank transactions from my account in my country of origin;
- Phone bills showing that I had maintained my original phone number, despite also having a Dutch number;
- Payments of professional association fees in my home country, related to a professional qualification that has no practical use in the Netherlands;
- Evidence regarding my part-time student job. I explained that this employment was inherently temporary and connected to my status as a student. The position did not provide any possibility of remaining in the Netherlands through an employer-sponsored residence permit.
My application was quite extensive: 7 pages of legal/factual arguments plus approximately 45 pages of supporting documents.
It took approximately two months for the Belastingdienst to assess my application and issue a positive decision.
I am sharing this because, when I was researching the 30% ruling, it was difficult to find information about successful applications from people who had already lived and worked in the Netherlands as international students. In my case, having studied here and having had a part-time job did not prevent me from qualifying for the ruling.
Of course, every case depends on its individual circumstances, and this is not legal or tax advice. But if you know someone in a similar situation who believes they may not qualify simply because they studied or had a student job in the Netherlands, please share this information with them.
The financial impact of the 30% ruling can be significant, so it may be worth looking carefully at your individual circumstances rather than assuming you are automatically ineligible.