Ha! I feel like I've just been handed a check for $500 ... I have been informed that I do NOT have to get a residence permit! It says very clearly 'if you stay longer than 3 months' in the information I received, but in the meeting today, they told us it's really 4 months! I wasn't actually planning to get one anyway, considering the fact that (a) the Australians in my building last year didn't bother with it and they got along fine, and (b) my passport didn't get stamped at Schiphol - don't ask me how - so they can't prove how long I've been here anyway... but since UCU had my name on a list I was afraid I might not have a choice. So that was the highlight of my day... €433 that I budgeted for and now don't have to pay! Woohoo! For once, Dutch bureaucracy works in my favor! Alert the media!