Optional model for employment conditions

Introduction

The  expat scheme is meant as compensation for necessary extra costs in connection with the acceptance of (temporary) employment outside of the own country of residence: the so-called “extraterritorial costs”.

The advantage for you if you take up the expat scheme is that a reduction of pensionable earnings is not required. You accrue a pension over the salary that would apply to you without applying the expat scheme.

Please note: applying the expat scheme does have consequences for, among other things, the application of other employment conditions regulations and your social security entitlements, such as unemployment benefits or disability benefits (WIA)

To be eligible for the expat scheme, you need to meet several conditions, see below.

Conditions

To be eligible for the expat scheme, the remaining duration of your employment should be at least 3 months.

You have been recruited from a country outside the Netherlands. At the moment on which you entered into an employment contract with the university, you were not living and working in the Netherlands.

You meet the 150 kilometres criterion. In the period of 24 months immediately prior to the start of your employment with the University of Twente, you lived at a distance of more than 150 kilometres from the Dutch border for more than 16 months.

This calendar year you didn’t make use of one or more of the exchange options in the Optional Model Employment Conditions (except for the multi-year savings model). You are not eligible to the expat scheme in a calendar year if in that year you have already made use of one or more of the exchange options in the optional model (except for the multi-year savings model)

The expat scheme can also be applied if immediately prior to the start of your employment with the UT you were employed by another Dutch employer where you made use of the expat scheme. In this situation, you can continue to make use of the expat scheme if the maximum term of the tax ruling of the Tax Administration has not yet expired and you meet the conditions set for this.

Some exceptions (for example, the PhD exception) are not included here. Should this exception apply to you, you will be informed of this by e-mail during the application procedure. 

Proces

• When you enter into an employment contract with the university and you are of non-Dutch nationality, your expat scheme application procedure automatically starts in My HR.
• HR Services will indicate via My HR whether you are eligible for the expat scheme or not.
• In the event that HR Services believes that you are eligible, you will receive an email with additional questions and information.
• In the event of a positive decision from the Tax Administration, the scheme is granted from the effective date of the decision. HR Services will look into the administrative processing. Normally, the expat scheme will be applied retroactively after we have received approval. Please note: the expat scheme will only be applied retroactively after there is an approval from the tax authorities, the request is sent to the tax authorities within four months after your start date and the approval is received within the same fiscal year.
• If the Tax Administration rejects your application, you can make use of the Optional Model Employment Conditions of the current calendar year.

If there are any questions, please feel free to contact the HR department at the following e-mail address: expat-scheme@utwente.nl