Residence permit and visa steps for Azerbaijani passport holders

Azerbaijani citizens need two things: an entry visa, the MVV sticker, and a residence permit for study.

The good news is that you barely deal with the IND yourself, because EUR is a recognised sponsor and files the application for you. The bad news is that the whole thing runs on deadlines, and those are yours to miss.

The application, step by step

1. EUR starts the procedure, the combined MVV and permit application known as TEV, once you are admitted and have paid what the university asks. It all runs through the university’s immigration office. Answer their emails quickly. They are working through hundreds of files in the same few weeks.

2. You supply documents and proof of money. The IND wants evidence that you can cover living costs for the year, either in your account, a sponsor’s account, or as a scholarship. The exact amount and the application fee change every year, and the university tells you the current figures as part of the procedure, so wait for their email rather than budgeting off a number you found online.

3. MVV collection, and this one catches people out. Once the IND approves, you collect the sticker in person. At the moment it is only issued in Tbilisi, Georgia, not in Baku, so plan a trip for it. You get three months to collect it, and it is issued for a 90 day entry window.

4. After arrival, biometrics and pickup. You give fingerprints and a photo, often arranged through the university’s registration days, then collect the physical card at an IND desk when they tell you to.

The tuberculosis check. A chest X-ray is part of this for Azerbaijani nationals. One of us submitted one in 2025. The IND keeps an exemption list that does change, so confirm what applies to you in your own IND letters rather than assuming either way.

What the permit actually means

How long it lasts. The permit runs for the length of your programme plus three months, to a maximum of five years, and only for as long as you keep meeting the conditions. Switch programme or university and your sponsor changes, which the IND has to be told about.

Work is capped, and the cap is specific. No more than 16 hours a week, or full time but only in the summer months. It is one or the other, not both in the same year. Either way your employer needs a work permit for you, a TWV, which they apply for at the UWV. Plenty of student employers know the drill. A few pretend not to.

Study progress is checked. You have to earn at least 50 percent of your credits each year, and the university reports students who do not. That can cost you the permit. If you are having a bad year, talk to your study adviser early. Documented circumstances protect you. Silence does not.

All three of those come from the IND’s own page for international students, which is the version worth trusting when somebody in the group chat tells you otherwise.

Keep your address current with the gemeente. The IND writes to your BRP address, and a missed IND letter is the classic self inflicted emergency.