Eligibility

04 Mar 2010

A candidate applying for an NFP fellowship for a PhD degree programme must:

be a national of and working in one of the developing countries on the NFP country list valid at the time of application;
be a mid-career professional with at least three years' work experience;
have been unconditionally admitted to a Dutch institution as a PhD student. This means that the applicant must have met all the academic requirements set by the Dutch university or institute;
have completed an NFP PhD Study application form and have submitted all the required documentation to the Netherlands embassy or consulate;
not have received an NFP fellowship or any other fellowship in the three years prior to the start of the proposed PhD. (Please note that the Ministry has decided not to check applications against this specific criterion anymore as of the April 2010 NFP deadline until the May 2011 NFP deadline. If the Netherlands Embassies establish that an applicant has received multiple scholarships during the recent past, they can make a remark about this. The Dutch institutions have the possibility to exclude these applicants);
offer proof that the PhD will be pursued according to a ‘sandwich’ or ‘picnic’ model, which means that a large portion of the PhD research will take place in the candidate’s home country;
be nominated by his or her employer, who pledges to continue paying the candidate’s salary and guarantees the candidate will be able to return to an equivalent position after the termination of the fellowship period. Partial payment of salary can sometimes be allowed as an exception to the rule. It is up to the Dutch embassy to decide if an agreement between the employer and the candidate about partial continuation of payment of salary is acceptable. It should be realized, however, that the NFP allowances are not sufficient to support family members, either in the home country or in the Netherlands;
not be employed by a large industrial, commercial, international or multinational organization, which can be assumed to have sufficient resources of their own to finance staff training;
offer evidence that he or she is sufficiently skilled in speaking and writing in the language of communication during the PhD, which may be English, French or Spanish. If this is English, candidates who have received their tertiary education in any language other than English must provide evidence in the form of a score in an internationally recognized test, such as IELTS (a score of at least 6.0) or TOEFL (a score of at least 550 points on the paper-based test, 213 points on the computer-based test or 79 on the internet-based test). An exception to this rule is made for candidates who have received their tertiary education in English, and for candidates who have previously attended a course or programme at a Dutch educational institution in this language, but no longer than two years ago;
be available full–time to pursue the PhD without interruption, and be physically and mentally able to take part in the entire programme;
declare that they will return to their home country immediately after the period of study and research in the Netherlands has ended;
comply with country-specific rules set by RNE (for more information please contact the Netherlands Embassy or consulate in your home country).

Pregnancy

Please note that the health insurance policy does not cover pre-existing conditions. For instance: being pregnant before the start of the fellowship period. Costs that are not met by the health insurance policy cannot be claimed from Nuffic.

Medical expenses arising from a pregnancy conceived in the Netherlands will be covered by the health insurance. However, pregnancy and childbirth can cause a number of financial, insurance, legal and logistical problems that are not easily solved and are therefore best avoided during the fellowship period.

If a pregnant fellowship holder is able to follow the programme or course and complete it within the specified time she may, of course, continue her studies as planned. The medical expenses arising from a pregnancy conceived in the Netherlands are covered by the insurance. Pregnant fellowship holders always have to contact their Dutch institution to check their position.