Erasmus MC Careers, Salaries & Jobs

Erasmus MC is the university medical centre of Rotterdam and the medical faculty of Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Its 2025 annual report puts the workforce at about 17,000 employees and more than 4,000 students, and its own pages describe it as the largest university medical centre in the Netherlands.

As a university medical centre it provides tertiary care: complex treatment for patients with rare conditions, acute needs or needs for special equipment or medication. The 2025 annual report says it hosts 58 recognised expertise centres for rare disorders, the highest number in the Netherlands, and three institutes for cancer, transplantation and heart and vascular care. Erasmus MC Sophia, on the same campus, calls itself the oldest and largest children's hospital in the Netherlands.

Erasmus MC is one of the few Dutch hospitals with a clear, public service for international staff. Its International Office handles residence permits, MVV visas and municipal registration for new international employees and PhD candidates. That support covers immigration; it does not replace the BIG registration and Dutch language proof that any clinical role requires.

Pay follows the Cao umc. Its careers site links to the English text of the collective agreement for university medical centres.

Founded

2002

Run by

Erasmus MC, the university medical centre of Rotterdam and medical faculty of Erasmus University Rotterdam

Leadership

• Stefan Sleijfer, Voorzitter en decaan (chair and dean)
• Paul Boomkamp, Vice voorzitter en CFO (vice chair and CFO)
• Dirk Schraven, Lid (member)
• Joke Hendriks, Lid (member)

Switchboard

+31 10 704 0 704

• Erasmus MC Cancer Institute

  Cancer care and research, with more than 100 years of experience in diagnosing and treating cancer, according to the institute.

• Erasmus MC Transplant Institute

  Brings together the specialists involved in organ transplantation; the institute was formally unveiled in 2021.

• Heart and vascular care

  One of the three institutes Erasmus MC has set up for multidisciplinary top clinical care.

• Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital

  Described by Erasmus MC as the oldest and largest children's hospital in the Netherlands, treating mainly children with complex or rare disorders.

• Rare disorders

  58 recognised expertise centres for rare disorders in 2025, the highest number in the country according to the annual report.

• Acute and complex care

  Erasmus MC focuses on patients with complex care needs, rare conditions or acute needs for care and treatment.

• Erasmus MC has an International Office that helps new international employees, PhD candidates and students prepare for their journey and stay in the Netherlands. For non-EU staff it handles the residence permit application and, where needed, the visa through the IND, including the MVV entry visa collected at an embassy.
• The International Office also arranges an appointment with the municipality of Rotterdam for a citizen service number (BSN), runs pre-boarding and onboarding sessions, a buddy programme and social events, and has a housing partnership for PhD candidates and Research Master students. It can be reached at [email protected].
• Erasmus Medisch Centrum is listed in the IND public register of recognised sponsors for labour and highly skilled migrants (checked 21 October 2026).
• We did not find a recruitment programme aimed at internationally trained nurses or doctors. The International Office supports people once they are hired; clinicians still need BIG registration and Dutch before they can work with patients. Several featured vacancies on the English careers site were research posts and internships.

• BIG registration. To work at Erasmus MC as a doctor, nurse, physician assistant, pharmacist, midwife, physiotherapist or in another profession listed in Article 3 of the BIG Act, you must be in the BIG register. With a diploma from outside the EEA and Switzerland you first need a certificate of professional competence, assessed by the BIG register on the advice of the CBGV. The BIG register says the whole process takes on average 6 months to 1.5 years from your application, the application and assessment are free, and registration costs €85. Your first registration is conditional: you work for 3 months under supervision before it becomes definitive.

• Dutch at the level the BIG register sets. You prove Dutch before you apply for recognition: B1 for nursing, B2 for higher vocational professions such as physiotherapy and midwifery, and B2+ (above B2, below C1) for doctors, dentists and pharmacists. The BIG register also asks for proof of English reading skills, and says learning Dutch to the right level takes on average one and a half to two years.

• The BI-test. Doctors, dentists and nurses sit a professional knowledge test (BI-toets) as part of the assessment. The BIG register lists the fee for nurses as €400. For doctors it said, when we checked in October 2026, that there are no test places available at the moment and that it is not known when doctors can be scheduled again.

• A residence permit. Non-EU staff usually come on the IND's highly skilled migrant (kennismigrant) permit, which only a recognised sponsor can apply for. Erasmus Medisch Centrum is listed in the IND public register of recognised sponsors for labour and highly skilled migrants (register updated 5 October 2026, checked 21 October 2026). In 2026 the salary must be at least €5,942 gross a month if you are 30 or older, or €4,357 if you are under 30, excluding holiday allowance; the fee is €423 and the IND decides within 90 days.

• BIG registration for the permit. The IND states that if you will practise a profession listed in Article 3 or 36a of the BIG Act, you must be registered (or conditionally registered) in the BIG register. For doctors in specialist training the salary only has to reach the minimum wage, but the training must be recognised by the RGS or another listed committee.

1. 1

   Check your profession and start BIG recognition

   If your job is a BIG profession, use the BIG register's advice wizard and apply for a certificate of professional competence through mijn.bigregister.nl. It is free, but it takes months and may end with extra training, so start well before you apply for jobs.
2. 2

   Get your Dutch to the required level

   Plan for the language certificate the BIG register asks for: B1 for nurses, B2+ for doctors. Certificates must be no more than two years old when you apply.
3. 3

   Find a vacancy at Erasmus MC

   Search the vacancies at werkenbijerasmusmc.nl/en. Set a job alert if nothing fits yet. Read each advert for the Cao umc scale, the hours and whether BIG registration is required.
4. 4

   Apply online

   Apply through the vacancy with your CV and motivation letter. Mention your BIG status (registered, in progress or not yet started) and your Dutch level, because both decide whether you can start in a clinical role.
5. 5

   Let the International Office handle your permit

   After you accept an offer, the International Office prepares the residence permit and, if needed, the MVV application with the IND. Erasmus MC applies as a recognised sponsor, so do not file your own application.
6. 6

   Start under supervision

   If your BIG registration is conditional, you work your first 3 months under the supervision of a BIG-registered colleague in your profession, then send the signed supervision form to the BIG register.

• All general scales (1 to 18)

  €2,744 to €13,171 a month

  Cao umc appendix A, from scale 1 step 0 to the top of scale 18, 1 July 2026.

• Salary scales for nurses (8aM, 8M, 9aM, 9M)

  €3,626 to €5,845 a month

  Cao umc appendix Aa, 1 July 2026. Which scale applies depends on how the nursing job is graded.

• Doctors not yet specialists, including residents (scale 11a)

  €4,642 to €6,393 a month

  Cao umc appendix B, steps 0 to 10, 1 July 2026. Covers aios and anios.

• Medical specialist (MS scale)

  €7,727 to €9,136 a month

  Cao umc appendix C, 1 July 2026.

• University medical specialist (UMS scale)

  €10,032 to €14,265 a month

  Cao umc appendix C, 1 July 2026.

• Holiday allowance

  8% of annual salary

  Cao umc article 4.5.

• Year-end bonus

  8.3% of annual salary

  Cao umc article 4.4.