New members of the Netherlands forum, introduce yourselves here - 2018

Hi
Im priya grom Srilanka .my huisbrand applied for my VISA almost a month ago.how long Will take them to process the VISA.and how Will they contact is regarding the VISA .
Thank u
Priya

Hello!

I am a Dutch citizen but live with my husband and son in the US. We have another little one joining us in December. We have our own business here (structured as an S-corp) and make about 170k a year with this.

However, missing my family in The Netherlands, we decided we want to move back to The Netherlands. We have a 1099 worker who does contracted work for our business here and we are the only two employees. We want to register our business in The Netherlands and start there as well, while still receiving income from the US side of the business. All in all, pretty complicated! Not sure if we need to do the DAFT way or if we can register our current business as a corporation and get a residency permit for my husband like that while using the 30% ruling.

I have a dutch passport, my husband and kid(s) will all have American passports. However I can easily get a dutch passport for the kids.

Basically, I've come here to see if anyone has been in our shoes and can share some of their wisdom.

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Not a problem for you and your kids; I think you could have a couple of options open to your husband, but it would probably be easier in the long-term to apply for a family visa for him.  I say this as all work type visas are by definition temporary and you'd end up re-applying for another visa a few years later..

My advice would be for you to contact the IND and ask for some advice on what your options are; this link will take you to the contact page on their website.  Stand by for some frustration, the civil service has not improved in the years since you left.

Watch out for your taxes as your husband will still have to file tax returns to the IRS when he lives in Holland; probably best to speak to a tax-adviser on the best way to structure your business activities in the US.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi, Hoi, Servus to everybody!



My Name is Teresa/Resi - you can chose :-)
I am originally from Austria but am now living in The Hague attending the Royal Academy of Art to get deeper into story telling through art or more specifically - with photography.



I recently lost my mother - my best friend, soul mate, the one who filled me up with love, happiness, strength and hope. The one I gave my heart and my soul to.
And now she is gone and with her all the qualities I just mentioned. I am about to find a way to somehow get them back. I don't know yet how this is possible but there must be a way and I am certain that there always is one if you just try :-)

I am in the middle of a project which includes art, a way to handle the burden and at the same time meeting people who have similar experiences. The Project is called From Mamaste to Julley and should be about children, grown ups, women and men who lost somebody or something. It doesn't really matter what they have lost - even if it is just a feeling they somehow can't find anymore in their body. Or if they have just lost their balance in life or a book they really admired. I would love to meet inspiring and unique people who are open to even inspire me with my project and who have no problem documenting it (though I will set it up anonymously if preferred) with a lense and a pen.

It is basically all about meeting people who have or want to share and bring something out there - or only share. It's about meeting people and finding new and unique connections. Maybe about sharing experiences, sharing deep talks that shift your perspective in life.

I'd be honoured and more than just happy to meet you :-)

Hi everyone! I'm Aiszy Joice from the Philippines. I was in the Netherlands last year to meet my fiancé's family which i find it very important for both parties since we will be part of each other's lives. I find NL and it's culture to be very refreshing and educating. My fiancé and i are still trying to research on how to get married and how he could bring me there (i said he can come and stay in PH if he wanted but the heat here is exhausting him a lot so he said it's much better to bring me to NL). Looking for info, recommendations and advices about marriage, formalities and relocation. Thanks everyone!

Aiszy.singkit wrote:

Hi everyone! I'm Aiszy Joice from the Philippines. I was in the Netherlands last year to meet my fiancé's family which i find it very important for both parties since we will be part of each other's lives. I find NL and it's culture to be very refreshing and educating. My fiancé and i are still trying to research on how to get married and how he could bring me there (i said he can come and stay in PH if he wanted but the heat here is exhausting him a lot so he said it's much better to bring me to NL). Looking for info, recommendations and advices about marriage, formalities and relocation. Thanks everyone!

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

At the top of the page is a link to our "Discover" section; if you select that, one of the options is our "The Netherlands Guide"; this contains many articles written to help you plan your journey.

Once you have read those, if you still have any specific questions, please come back to us.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hello All,

I am Aditya Ghan, I live in India and I'm planning to move to the Netherlands this December along with my wife.

I'm really looking forward to my stay in the Netherlands!

Pleased meeting you all!

Hallo,

Im asaf from the Netherlands
I like to get to know other people with a different culture and background. I now live in Amsterdam but I have traveled a lot.   I like to help people who come to living here  that can be anything for example Dutch lessons ... or communication with agencies.


Greeting,

Asaf

Hi all!.

Newbie here. I'm Ed from Philippines but currently working in Singapore. I'm thinking Netherlands to be my next destination. Hope I can get some information from this group.

Regards.

Hi I was born in the Netherlands in 1944, emigrated to South Africa in 1948.Would like to return to the Netherlands. I have duel citizenship so I know I can return anytime. Can I get any support re housing or health care.I can support myself financially for a few years but is there any chance of support later. Thanks Ada

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

You're a Dutch citizen returning to live in the Netherlands, so normal expat rules don't apply to you.  My advice to you is to contact the Sociale Verzekeringsbank and ask there; this link will take you to their website; they also have a kind of FAQ contact page at this link.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi,

I hope you all are keeping well.

I am currently studying in Nottingham, England. I will be attending a conference at RAI Amsterdam this Thursday (15 Nov) until Monday (19 Nov 2018).

I was thinking to visit Giethoorn but I have no idea how to get there. Also, I'm looking for a friend to go there as I'm travelling alone.

Suggestion/recommendation is highly appreciated.

Kind regards,
Ross

Hi All. My name is Leo.
I am a attorney in South Africa with a Law degree and a Business Management degree and 5 years working experience.
I am looking to relocate to the Netherlands, and I'm in need of a job. I can speak, read and write Afrikaans and English fluently, and can read an understand Dutch on a decent level.

Any assistance in my job search would by greatly appreciated!!

Leeu11 wrote:

Hi All. My name is Leo.
I am a attorney in South Africa with a Law degree and a Business Management degree and 5 years working experience.
I am looking to relocate to the Netherlands, and I'm in need of a job. I can speak, read and write Afrikaans and English fluently, and can read an understand Dutch on a decent level.

Any assistance in my job search would by greatly appreciated!!

Hi Leo and welcome to the Forum.

You have 2 options really; either somebody employs you as a "highly-skilled migrant", which means they do the majority of the legwork in getting your visa; or you go through the Dutch integration (MVV) system, find your own job etc.

At this stage, I'd recommend you check out our Netherlands Guide (top of the webpage on the left, is a link to our Discover section, it's in there).  Once you've read that, I'd then go to the Dutch Government (IND) website which has all the details on the different visas open to you; this link will take you there.

A few general points regarding job searching:

If you can go the highly skilled route, it is much easier.  If you can't, unless you have some key skill that people are crying out for and they can't recruit locally, then long-range job searching is generally pretty ineffective; the moment they realise you can't start work tomorrow, or can't speak Dutch, they lose interest very quickly; the same applies to speculative CV's.  So you need to network, my daughter just found her next job in Holland by using LinkedIn (yeah, surprised me as well).  Other places you can try are the multi-nationals based in Holland where English is the working language; Google will be your friend to find those.

If you are thinking of working in the legal profession, then you'll need to have your qualifications recognised; the Dutch Government have an organisation called NUFFIC who can help you with that; this link will take you to their website.

Languages - I suspect your Dutch is pretty similar to my Afrikaans, you can understand much of it and haven't tried to speak it very much.  Afrikaans is based on English, Dutch, German and African tribal languages as they spoke them 200 years ago and it hasn't developed much since then.  Nobody in Holland speaks it except other South African expats; that said, most Dutch people should be able to understand you, it will be your accent that will make it hard to understand you.  Anyway, if you want a decent job, it's very important to learn Dutch.

One last point at this stage; you should realise that all work-based visas are by definition temporary, they do not automatically guarantee permanent residence in any country.  Holland does have a scheme by which you can apply for permanent residence once you are there and working, but there is no guarantee you'll get it.

After you've read our guide and checked out the IND website, If you have any further specific questions, please come back to us.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hello to everybody,

My name is Anthony, I am a 32 years old Belgian who will be coming to live in Amsterdam as of end of January 2019.

I am joining Amsterdam following a new professional challenge which I will start February 1st.

I do speak English and French. I have some basis of Dutch which I learned for many years but have never practiced unfortunately.

To start with, I'd like to find help getting to know anything I need to be properly setup in Amsterdam. I am pretty sure that surfing on the website will help me but I don't mind being guided.

What I'd like to achieve relatively quickly is to find a place to stay and to know what could be the best (my job is located 1.5km away from Central Station and I feel like I don't especially want to be too far from there)

In the short term, if I can find a team of people playing football, indoor football, or runners, or a good gym to go to that'd be great

Please do not hesitate to add me as a contact, as I'd like to know people as quick as possible to make sure the integration is as smooth as possible.

Looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible

Anthony

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

You're in a similar position to my daughter 2 years ago; she did it no problem (albeit a different job skill and she speaks and wrote Dutch fluently - her Dutch mum made sure of that )

Assuming you've maintained your Dutch nationality and passport, you can just move back, the difficulty will be finding work in your skill-set.  To get a decent job in any  country, you need 4 things:

Relevant qualifications
Relevant experience
Speak the local language
Luck

The more of those you can tick off, the better your chances of getting a decent job.  Long range job searching and speculative CV's usually proved to be pretty ineffective the moment they realise you can't start work tomorrow morning and don't speak Dutch.  I know nothing of the design industry, although I assume it must exist in Holland, perhaps you need to ask around your Peers to see what they know of it.

If you are absolutely determined, then it's probably better for you to seek some help from your Dutch family, see if they can accommodate you while you learn Dutch.  As a Dutch citizen, once you register at the Gemeentehuis you'll be entitled to social support for a short duration, this will be based on your work record prior to moving back to Holland, so make sure you bring things like your payslips, tax records and bank statements with you.

Oh - one last point - Amsterdam - mouthwateringly expensive and probably way past your ability to afford, cast your eyes further inland, the further away from the big cities, the more affordable it becomes.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

hi all

I am new to this website and i am in love with the Netherlands and Amsterdam, i am planning on moving May 2020 with my fiance, We visit the country regularly and are currently learning the Dutch Language, we have looked at some areas already that we would like to move to and have checked out rental prices and understand when we first move we may need to move outside of the city until we have secured permanent jobs an know what we can afford.

i am super excited to move to Amsterdam and am currently researching all that we need to do regarding getting our BSN, housing, insurance the job market,

The only real concern i have is Brexit and how this may affect us moving, i am not sure if we will require visa's and how hard these are to obtain?

I am not a highly skilled migrate i dont think, i currently work for the largest supplier of Gas and Electricity in the UK within our Digital Engagement & Transformation team ensuring that our online account management for our customers is working correctly providing onsite fixes and resolutions, working alongside our learning and development department delivering training and ongoing support, managing reporting. 

myself and my partner plan on trying to apply for some jobs before we come over but understand we may not have a luck with this option which we expect but no harm in trying but will be coming with enough money to keep us going for at least 6 months to ensure we can afford rent and bills to give us enough time to secure a job.

lovely to digitally meet you all.

happy new year

Glyn

Glyny wrote:

hi all

I am new to this website and i am in love with the Netherlands and Amsterdam, i am planning on moving May 2020 with my fiance, We visit the country regularly and are currently learning the Dutch Language, we have looked at some areas already that we would like to move to and have checked out rental prices and understand when we first move we may need to move outside of the city until we have secured permanent jobs an know what we can afford.

i am super excited to move to Amsterdam and am currently researching all that we need to do regarding getting our BSN, housing, insurance the job market,

The only real concern i have is Brexit and how this may affect us moving, i am not sure if we will require visa's and how hard these are to obtain?

I am not a highly skilled migrate i dont think, i currently work for the largest supplier of Gas and Electricity in the UK within our Digital Engagement & Transformation team ensuring that our online account management for our customers is working correctly providing onsite fixes and resolutions, working alongside our learning and development department delivering training and ongoing support, managing reporting. 

myself and my partner plan on trying to apply for some jobs before we come over but understand we may not have a luck with this option which we expect but no harm in trying but will be coming with enough money to keep us going for at least 6 months to ensure we can afford rent and bills to give us enough time to secure a job.

lovely to digitally meet you all.

happy new year

Glyn

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Regarding working, please read the post above yours; it explains how international job searching works nowadays.

With regards to Brexit; who knows, nothing has been signed, sealed or delivered; the current EU stance is that there will be no special arrangements for the Brits, they will be treated the same as every other non-EU person.  The Dutch Government department that deals with Immigration is the IND; this link will take you to their website.  The IND currently doesn't have any information on visas and residence permits for Brits post-Brexit, but it does have information on what others have to do, so there is a thing called MVV (basically Dutch integration) which has 2 hurdles you have to get over, the first is a Dutch language exam (not hard IMO, but I speak the language), the next is an appraisal by the Dutch Government of what chance you have to be able to work in Holland.  I agree with your thought that you won't qualify for highly-skilled migrant; the details of that are also in the link I've given you, so as non-Dutch speakers, you're looking at manual work (warehousing, non-customer facing type of stuff); there is plenty of that type of work available, it's whether the contracts being offered post-Brexit meet the Immigration rules at that date.

As for moving to Amsterdam; I get the attraction to a newcomer, but it is mouth-wateringly expensive to live there and to be frank, with the job skills you've described, you will find yourself paying out all your money to live there, but not be able to afford to actually do any living.  My advice is to look further east.

For now, I wouldn't worry about it until 29 March 2019, I can almost guarantee you that what you are currently being told is the only deal available, will be different on that date.

If you have any further specific questions, please come back to us.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Cynic wrote:

Glyny wrote:

hi all

I am new to this website and i am in love with the Netherlands and Amsterdam, i am planning on moving May 2020 with my fiance, We visit the country regularly and are currently learning the Dutch Language, we have looked at some areas already that we would like to move to and have checked out rental prices and understand when we first move we may need to move outside of the city until we have secured permanent jobs an know what we can afford.

i am super excited to move to Amsterdam and am currently researching all that we need to do regarding getting our BSN, housing, insurance the job market,

The only real concern i have is Brexit and how this may affect us moving, i am not sure if we will require visa's and how hard these are to obtain?

I am not a highly skilled migrate i dont think, i currently work for the largest supplier of Gas and Electricity in the UK within our Digital Engagement & Transformation team ensuring that our online account management for our customers is working correctly providing onsite fixes and resolutions, working alongside our learning and development department delivering training and ongoing support, managing reporting. 

myself and my partner plan on trying to apply for some jobs before we come over but understand we may not have a luck with this option which we expect but no harm in trying but will be coming with enough money to keep us going for at least 6 months to ensure we can afford rent and bills to give us enough time to secure a job.

lovely to digitally meet you all.

happy new year

Glyn

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Regarding working, please read the post above yours; it explains how international job searching works nowadays.

With regards to Brexit; who knows, nothing has been signed, sealed or delivered; the current EU stance is that there will be no special arrangements for the Brits, they will be treated the same as every other non-EU person.  The Dutch Government department that deals with Immigration is the IND; this link will take you to their website.  The IND currently doesn't have any information on visas and residence permits for Brits post-Brexit, but it does have information on what others have to do, so there is a thing called MVV (basically Dutch integration) which has 2 hurdles you have to get over, the first is a Dutch language exam (not hard IMO, but I speak the language), the next is an appraisal by the Dutch Government of what chance you have to be able to work in Holland.  I agree with your thought that you won't qualify for highly-skilled migrant; the details of that are also in the link I've given you, so as non-Dutch speakers, you're looking at manual work (warehousing, non-customer facing type of stuff); there is plenty of that type of work available, it's whether the contracts being offered post-Brexit meet the Immigration rules at that date.

As for moving to Amsterdam; I get the attraction to a newcomer, but it is mouth-wateringly expensive to live there and to be frank, with the job skills you've described, you will find yourself paying out all your money to live there, but not be able to afford to actually do any living.  My advice is to look further east.

For now, I wouldn't worry about it until 29 March 2019, I can almost guarantee you that what you are currently being told is the only deal available, will be different on that date.

If you have any further specific questions, please come back to us.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

hi

thank you so much for getting back to me, that was really helpful,

yes i will have to wait to find out what happens with Brexit and if there is a transition period or not where free movement will continue until 31st dec 2020 where i am sure if we move before then it will be the same for brits moving to Netherlands as it is now.

that really helps us knowing what we would need to do if there is no transition and we need to complete the MVV, we currently have a ducth teacher learning us the language who is originally from the Netherlands who has advised us that we may have to complete the test so hopefully we will be up to a good place with our dutch language skills.

i know its a hard one to answer but do you think its hard to be able to move to the Netherlands from outside the EU?

thanks for the advice about the living cost's i have looked into rental prices and yes they are a lot higher than here in the UK, we are looking on the outskirts of the city due to rental prices, we are looking at buying as soon as we have been in employment for a year to avoid the high rental prices.

once again thank you for your advice it has been most helpful

Glyn

wrote:

.... do you think its hard to be able to move to the Netherlands from outside the EU?

Hard ............ no; thousands do it every year.  My only negative view of this is that people sometimes think that actually living in the Netherlands is just like it is when they come over for a weekend, or a holiday ................. it is not.  If you work here, you will pay taxes here, the Dutch pay social taxes on top of income tax, these bring the tax rate to almost 40%.  On top of that, you have to pay for Health Insurance and council taxes; these aren't negotiable and will be charged from day one of arrival.

Cynic wrote:

wrote:

.... do you think its hard to be able to move to the Netherlands from outside the EU?

Hard ............ no; thousands do it every year.  My only negative view of this is that people sometimes think that actually living in the Netherlands is just like it is when they come over for a weekend, or a holiday ................. it is not.  If you work here, you will pay taxes here, the Dutch pay social taxes on top of income tax, these bring the tax rate to almost 40%.  On top of that, you have to pay for Health Insurance and council taxes; these aren't negotiable and will be charged from day one of arrival.

hi

yes i have looked into all that and we are very aware that tax is a lot higher than in the UK, i am under no illusion that it is not going to be hard work or a lot more money than what we pay in the UK. i appreciate you providing me with all the information.

i totally understand that it is not going to be like when we come on holiday, its going to be hard work, alot of money spent but you know when you go somewhere and you feel the most comfortable you have ever felt in a country, its very cliche but its where myself and my partner are meant to be and we are committed and under no illusion that is going to be easy.

i really appreciate your honesty and advice

Glyn

Glyny wrote:

Cynic wrote:

wrote:

.... do you think its hard to be able to move to the Netherlands from outside the EU?

Hard ............ no; thousands do it every year.  My only negative view of this is that people sometimes think that actually living in the Netherlands is just like it is when they come over for a weekend, or a holiday ................. it is not.  If you work here, you will pay taxes here, the Dutch pay social taxes on top of income tax, these bring the tax rate to almost 40%.  On top of that, you have to pay for Health Insurance and council taxes; these aren't negotiable and will be charged from day one of arrival.

hi

yes i have looked into all that and we are very aware that tax is a lot higher than in the UK, i am under no illusion that it is not going to be hard work or a lot more money than what we pay in the UK. i appreciate you providing me with all the information.

i totally understand that it is not going to be like when we come on holiday, its going to be hard work, alot of money spent but you know when you go somewhere and you feel the most comfortable you have ever felt in a country, its very cliche but its where myself and my partner are meant to be and we are committed and under no illusion that is going to be easy.

i really appreciate your honesty and advice

Glyn

Then I wish you and your partner the best of luck with your journey. 

Cynic wrote:

Glyny wrote:

Cynic wrote:

Hard ............ no; thousands do it every year.  My only negative view of this is that people sometimes think that actually living in the Netherlands is just like it is when they come over for a weekend, or a holiday ................. it is not.  If you work here, you will pay taxes here, the Dutch pay social taxes on top of income tax, these bring the tax rate to almost 40%.  On top of that, you have to pay for Health Insurance and council taxes; these aren't negotiable and will be charged from day one of arrival.

hi

yes i have looked into all that and we are very aware that tax is a lot higher than in the UK, i am under no illusion that it is not going to be hard work or a lot more money than what we pay in the UK. i appreciate you providing me with all the information.

i totally understand that it is not going to be like when we come on holiday, its going to be hard work, alot of money spent but you know when you go somewhere and you feel the most comfortable you have ever felt in a country, its very cliche but its where myself and my partner are meant to be and we are committed and under no illusion that is going to be easy.

i really appreciate your honesty and advice

Glyn

Then I wish you and your partner the best of luck with your journey. 

thank you i really appreciate your advice

Saholland wrote:

Hello everyone,

I am married, and we have 3 kids. We would love to immigrate to the Netherlands. I have a couple of questions. Firstly I would like to know what jobs are on the skills shortage list.
Secondly I am currently based in Cape Town South Africa, I am in sales into the Agricultural sector, specifically greenhouses. Is there anyone that can point me in the right direction pertaining area in Holland to Stay and where to look for a Job. I am 39years old.

Best regards
Saholland

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

It doesn't quite work like that in Holland.  Potentially, any job could be in demand; the criteria is "are their jobs that can't be filled from the local marketplace?"; when you apply for your visa, in very general terms, you either apply for a highly-skilled visa (where your new employer sponsors you), or you apply for a normal MVV visa where the Dutch Government will judge whether you have any possibility of getting work when you get to the Netherlands.  I have no idea as whether Greenhouse salespeople are in demand, I do know that they use a lot of huge, commercial greenhouses, so perhaps you need to focus on that and see if you can't become a highly skilled greenhouse person that they can't live without.

One last point - learn Dutch; start now, it will only help you get a decent job, particularly in customer facing roles.  Afrikaans will help you understand Dutch, but the only people in Holland who speak it are other South Africans.

Another last point - you haven't said how old your kids are, but search through this forum for questions others have asked about education in Holland.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi Everyone!

I am a newbie here and hoping to make some great connections. I am a South African and looking to find employment in Amsterdam. It would be great if someone could help me with this!

Hope you guys can provide me with tips on how to achieve this as I would love to relocate as soon as possible!

Thanks!

Wayneg777 wrote:

Hi Everyone!

I am a newbie here and hoping to make some great connections. I am a South African and looking to find employment in Amsterdam. It would be great if someone could help me with this!

Hope you guys can provide me with tips on how to achieve this as I would love to relocate as soon as possible!

Thanks!

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

At the top of the page is a link to our Discover section, if you select that, you'll get access to our Netherlands guide which may contain information useful in planning your journey.

To answer your direct question; from South Africa, you are probably limited to using the Internet to try and find work; whether that is successful will depend very much on your qualifications/experience and whether those skills are in great demand.  You haven't provided us with much more information, so that's about as far as I can say.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

[Post under review]

[Post under review]

Drivingschool Oulad wrote:

Hi everybody,

We are a drivingschool voor Expats who needs a driverslicense or drivinglessons. We are qualified mentors. We take care of the whole proces and very flexibel.
We hope to see you soon.
Contact us for questions and comments on:

Phonenumber:XXXXXXXXXX
E-mail: [email protected]
Facebook: XXXXXX

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

The main part of the Forum is not for Business adverts and I have removed your 2 posts related to this.  At the top of the page is a link to our Services Section, this contains our business directory where you can place your advertisement for your driving school.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team