New members of the Netherlands forum, introduce yourselves here - 2019

Hi All,

I am new to the community! I'm Nat and am considering moving to Amsterdam in the next year, cause my girlfriend is likely being transferred there by her company. I am very excited, but very curious about what the implications would be for me and my employer if I were to work remotely for a US company while living in the Netherlands. If anyone has experience with this, I'd love to chat!

hi Julian, i am in such a bad and sad state. i am from South Africa, my girlfriend has to study for 4 years in breda and i have to be there for her wich means i have to find acc and a job just to get by, will do anything realy desperate and it is heartbraking. I need all the help i can get please.. and thank you

kind regards
jon-luc

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

For a start, I'd advise you to read our Netherlands Guide (top left-hand corner of this screen is a link to our Discover section, the guide link is in there.)

Once you have read the guide, if you have any further specific questions, please come back to us.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

thank you very much I will do so.

Hello Allemaal

I have been here in NL for almost 2 years, and joined this Expat community maybe since many years ago but I am not that active!

So guys ... I live in Almere, I came from Indonesia
I wrote a lot about my experiences especially MVV, Inburgering test, and food & cultures in Netherlands (in Bahasa Indonesia)

hope by being active again, I can get more information and also share information I knew with you!

Good Day,

I have been investigating a potential move to the Netherlands for some time, and have read quite a bit of forum posts on here as well.
I have now been invited for a job interview and if all goes well, I will update my introduction when we relocate. 
I will be spending a couple of days in the Netherlands prior to my interview in an attempt to cross some more T's, and dot some more i's, with respect to the relocation process.
I also hope to get some good information on this forum leading up to my visit.
We are a family of four, consisting of two kids (10 and 14), my stay-at-home wife and myself. 

Thanking you in advance.
PaxNL

How s Rotterdam looks like?

Karibu  holland shiro

Hi,
My name is Beauty and I'm from Namibia. Planning on visiting the Netherlands for 3 months, starting in October.

When you come let me know

Hi,

I am looking to move to the Netherlands from South Africa but finding it very hard to find a job from this side of the world. Does anyone have some tips for me.

Thank You

AdamLevyza wrote:

Hi,

I am looking to move to the Netherlands from South Africa but finding it very hard to find a job from this side of the world. Does anyone have some tips for me.

Thank You

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

You're discovering what almost everybody else has, that unless you have a skill that is in great demand and also in short supply, that long-range job searching is at best problematic.  Basically, the moment they realise you can't speak the local language and can't start work tomorrow morning, they move on to the next guy who can.

So my tips would be to address those issues, i.e.

Learn Dutch
Get your skill-set up to date
Save up your money so you can move to Holland and live off your savings until you can find a job

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Thank you for your response,

Is it possible to live in the Netherlands while looking for a job?

We can only get a holiday visa as far as I am concerned.

Adam

Adamlevy wrote:

Thank you for your response,

Is it possible to live in the Netherlands while looking for a job?

We can only get a holiday visa as far as I am concerned.

Adam

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

You haven't told us much about what you can do, so it's hard to guide you on a specific path.  At the top of this webpage is a link to our "Discover" section; if you mouse over that, you'll get a dropdown menu with a link to our Netherlands Guide; I'd advise you to read that as it contains a lot of information that may be of some use to you in planning your journey.

To answer your specific question, you can look for a job, but nobody will be allowed to employ you until you've been through the appropriate immigration visa/residence permit process, for which you will have to leave the country; part of that process includes a Dutch language exam.  So you can stay in the Netherlands for the duration of your visa, then you will have to go back.

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

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi

My name is JJ we currently live in New Zealand, but are planning to make the move to The Netherlands. I am actively job hunting and hopefully I will come right in the near future.

Then I will have heaps of questions

Hello everyone!

Hope you all are having a great time!

I am new to this community but and I am hoping to move to the Netherlands by next year when I am done with my studies. Currently I am in the process of finalising my CV and was hoping to gain further knowledge in a problem I have encountered.

I have read that in Netherlands it is not a good idea to boast about your achievements but when receiving expert help from topCV, my feedback was that I did only list my work tasks and not achievements.

Is there anyone here who has more experience in the matter? Should I just list relevant tasks done or mildly brag about how well I achieved my goals?

Thanks in advance,

Alexander

alexstorm91 wrote:

Hello everyone!

Hope you all are having a great time!

I am new to this community but and I am hoping to move to the Netherlands by next year when I am done with my studies. Currently I am in the process of finalising my CV and was hoping to gain further knowledge in a problem I have encountered.

I have read that in Netherlands it is not a good idea to boast about your achievements but when receiving expert help from topCV, my feedback was that I did only list my work tasks and not achievements.

Is there anyone here who has more experience in the matter? Should I just list relevant tasks done or mildly brag about how well I achieved my goals?

Thanks in advance,

Alexander

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

The whole point of a CV is to get you that important interview ahead of your peers.  How it works is that if your diploma is in a skill or qualification that is absolutely essential for your role (i.e. doctor or engineer), then you need to make sure that your qualification is in the opening line of your pre-amble, so something like "A newly qualified graduate of whatever university with an M.D. in ........"; that will get you through the first cut.

As a general rule when writing your CV, if you have relevant experience in a particular field or activity, then emphasise the experience, particularly as you get older.  After 5 years, your qualifications are generally accepted and your experience becomes more important.

If you are fresh out of Uni, then people will not expect you to have any experience, so you need to emphasise your qualifications and anything you have achieved in gaining these qualifications.  In this example, a bit of bragging will not do you any harm but keep it low-level.

One last comment; emphasise any team skills you may have, languages help to demonstrate communication skills; poor spelling and grammar will not help you at all - so read your CV.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Thank you so much. It's really helpful.

Hi everyone,

I'm in a situation that I haven't seen anyone else talk about here (although I may have missed the thread). I'm a Canadian citizen by birth, however my dad's side of the family is Dutch. About three years ago I finally tracked down all of the paperwork required to apply for my Dutch citizenship - and I got it! I'm now in the weird situation of having dual citizenship for Canada and the Netherlands. I would really, really like to spend some years living in Netherlands and learning to speak Dutch fluently. However, the requirements for Dutch citizens entering the Netherlands on their Dutch passport for the first time is that they have to pass a language test no later than 6 months after they enter.

I speak absolutely zero Dutch. At the start of the year I attempted to start teaching myself, however life and work quickly swallowed up all of the good intentions I had to learn it.

I'm hoping to connect with others who have experienced a similar situation to me - others who have gained their citizenship first, and then had to work backwards to learn the language, move over, find employment and create new friendships.

Likewise, if you are in a similar situation and find yourself struggling to apply for a citizenship you believe you may be entitled to by birth, please feel free to reach out. My application was a wild experience, and resulted in myself with citizenship and my jongere zus (who is only younger than me by three years, and who has the same parents and was born in the same city as me) not getting her citizenship. It took me nearly a year to get the required paperwork together, and multiple trips to the embassy four hours away.

Thank you.

Canadiandutch wrote:

Hi everyone,

I'm in a situation that I haven't seen anyone else talk about here (although I may have missed the thread). I'm a Canadian citizen by birth, however my dad's side of the family is Dutch. About three years ago I finally tracked down all of the paperwork required to apply for my Dutch citizenship - and I got it! I'm now in the weird situation of having dual citizenship for Canada and the Netherlands. I would really, really like to spend some years living in Netherlands and learning to speak Dutch fluently. However, the requirements for Dutch citizens entering the Netherlands on their Dutch passport for the first time is that they have to pass a language test no later than 6 months after they enter.

I speak absolutely zero Dutch. At the start of the year I attempted to start teaching myself, however life and work quickly swallowed up all of the good intentions I had to learn it.

I'm hoping to connect with others who have experienced a similar situation to me - others who have gained their citizenship first, and then had to work backwards to learn the language, move over, find employment and create new friendships.

Likewise, if you are in a similar situation and find yourself struggling to apply for a citizenship you believe you may be entitled to by birth, please feel free to reach out. My application was a wild experience, and resulted in myself with citizenship and my jongere zus (who is only younger than me by three years, and who has the same parents and was born in the same city as me) not getting her citizenship. It took me nearly a year to get the required paperwork together, and multiple trips to the embassy four hours away.

Thank you.

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Where have you seen or who has told you this?

If you hold a Dutch passport then you have the absolute right to live and work in the Netherlands (or anywhere else in the EU).  The language exam is part of the inburgering process that certain expats have to go through; Dutch citizens are not in that group.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi  my name is Adrià, I'm from Catalonia, Spain and I'm here because I would like to move to the Netherlands when I finish my studies on IT field. I'm even trying to learn Dutch on Duolingo and probably it's going to take me many ages until I don't speak it fluently.

Dank je wel for reading, tot ziens!

Hi I am also coming to Neatherland. Rotterdam on OCT 3rd. Having some questions on mind. And also looking for new friends

Hello everyone!

my name is James Canadian from Newfoundland, i arrived here in Amsterdam 3 weeks ago to visit my family stayed 3 days but i decided to travel to neighbouring countires for couple of weeks sightseeing, just got back to Amsterdam 3 days ago. i made a decision i want to stay here close to family and friends, i already got a job offer lined up and i made an appointment to register at my brother's residence. i do have some questions if anyone can help me i'd appreciate it

cheers

nb35 wrote:

Hello everyone!

my name is James Canadian from Newfoundland, i arrived here in Amsterdam 3 weeks ago to visit my family stayed 3 days but i decided to travel to neighbouring countires for couple of weeks sightseeing, just got back to Amsterdam 3 days ago. i made a decision i want to stay here close to family and friends, i already got a job offer lined up and i made an appointment to register at my brother's residence. i do have some questions if anyone can help me i'd appreciate it

cheers

Go ahead and ask your questions.

so i made an appointment to register and i was wondering what are the next steps to obtain the work permit

nb35 wrote:

so i made an appointment to register and i was wondering what are the next steps to obtain the work permit

Have you got Dutch nationality?  If you haven't, what visa did you use to enter the Netherlands?

If you entered on a temporary visitor visa, you may have to go back to Canada and apply for your joint residence/work permit.

If you do have Dutch nationality, then you don't need a work permit, you'll get your BSN number when you register, which is all you need to get a job.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi Friends,

I am from India.My husband is working in Netherlands nearly two years.I am currently working in IT sector in Automation Testing-Selenium/UFT/Cucumber .
I am now started learning basics of dutch.I will be coming Netherlands in December,2019 with Spouse Visa.That's why I am eagerly searching for jobs in Software Testing as Software Test specialist.

Any help/reference regarding my job search is appreciated.

Thanks & Regards
Jayati Chowdhury

JayatiChowdhury wrote:

Hi Friends,

I am from India.My husband is working in Netherlands nearly two years.I am currently working in IT sector in Automation Testing-Selenium/UFT/Cucumber .
I am now started learning basics of dutch.I will be coming Netherlands in December,2019 with Spouse Visa.That's why I am eagerly searching for jobs in Software Testing as Software Test specialist.

Any help/reference regarding my job search is appreciated.

Thanks & Regards
Jayati Chowdhury

Hi again.

There is a jobs section at the top of this page, you can always check that out.

To answer your specific question, unless you have a unique, or skill-set that is in short supply, then long-range job searching is always problematic.  I don't know if you fall in that category, but if you've had no success to date, then I suspect you don't.

All you can do is keep trying, but consider what you can do to enhance your chance of a job, so learn Dutch to a good level; also, consider what you can do to make your skill-set more desirable, is there a course you can do while you are waiting that will make you stand out above the rest of the applicants.  You can try joining LinkedIn and reaching out to your peers who may have already made the move successfully.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hallo mensen

Ik ben mark. Woon in Nederland afgelopen seizoen zzpr in de landbouw geweest. Lekker met de hak op het veld staan heerlijk en ook nog goed betaald krijgen.
Ik vraag me af of iemand een andres heeft waar ik een tijdje kan werken in het buitenland. Bijv Spanje?

Groeten mark

markdiepenbrock wrote:

Hallo mensen

Ik ben mark. Woon in Nederland afgelopen seizoen zzpr in de landbouw geweest. Lekker met de hak op het veld staan heerlijk en ook nog goed betaald krijgen.
Ik vraag me af of iemand een andres heeft waar ik een tijdje kan werken in het buitenland. Bijv Spanje?

Groeten mark

Hi Mark and welcome to the Forum.

To answer your question; probably better off asking in our Spain Forum; this link will take you straight there.  When you get there, you'll find a jobs link at the top of the form, you can try looking in there.  Also, while you're in the Netherlands, you can use Google to look for "werken in het buitenland"; I just tried it and got quite a few hits.

Lastly, this is an English language Forum - all posts here have to be in English; it's for your own benefit as most people can understand English and while I speak/read Dutch, not many others can.

Hope this helps.

Groetjes

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi, I looking at taking a job in the Hague, but wondering what the cost of living is like in and around the Hague. 
-Where is best place to live, I will be on my own so either a room or house/flat share. What do you suggest.. 
-Buy/rent a car or public transport.
-Would you suggest living in/around the Hauge against travelling from outside of Amsterdam.
-Things to do, pubs/restaurants. Not too fussed on nightclubs cos I'm nearer the grave than my youth (56)

*** I have a week to get my answers before I have to decide if I am taking the job

Expat367r. wrote:

Hi, I looking at taking a job in the Hague, but wondering what the cost of living is like in and around the Hague. 
-Where is best place to live, I will be on my own so either a room or house/flat share. What do you suggest.. 
-Buy/rent a car or public transport.
-Would you suggest living in/around the Hauge against travelling from outside of Amsterdam.
-Things to do, pubs/restaurants. Not too fussed on nightclubs cos I'm nearer the grave than my youth (56)

*** I have a week to get my answers before I have to decide if I am taking the job

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

To try and answer your questions:

Best place to live - Holland isn't that big a place, the 2 places you mention are extremely expensive, on top of which Den Haag is the Dutch place of Government and has a large transitory population, all looking for what you're looking for.  Amsterdam is always problematic in this regard, so my advice would be to look around Rotterdam, Gouda.  Initially, use something like AirBnB (but watch out for scammers whatever you use); then once you are there and sure you like it, start looking around for somewhere more permanent.

Transport - Commuting in the Netherlands is always a nightmare.  I'd always recommend trying to use public transport as parking in the Netherlands can also be problematic.

Things to do - Holland doesn't have pubs in the English sense, more cafe's and Restaurants - mostly all are OK.

Cost of living - it's not cheap to live in Holland; the Numbeo website has some interesting information about costs in different places, this link will take you there.

All said and done, Holland is a great place; you may need to consider that Brexit may change your immigration path to where you have to learn Dutch in order to get a visa - nothing has been said about that (yet), but that's what many other 3rd nation citizens have to do.

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

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hello everyone, it so nice to be here.

I'm Sherin, from India and staying here in A'dam since 2 years for studies, which is about to complete.

I wana share something with you all and specially my fellow Indians. I was part-time city guide, it helps me lot with day to day needs. I explored online, almost everywhere to attract new clients, as I was bit shy and accepts only my country fellows. Kidding, but true. Unfortunately, I have to relay on my network only, neither blogs helped me nor association with renowned platforms.

****

Hi everyone!

My name is Lisa, myself and my partner Michael moved here a week ago with our three year old daughter Ada as he had managed to get a job in Nieuwegien. It had always been a dream of ours to move to this beautiful country after vistiing for the first time in 2014.

I don't want to ramble on too much but the reason I joined today, but Michael had his first day at work today and it was rather lonely, so I thought I would see if I could reach out to people in a similar position to myself  

Thank you for taking time for read my post

lmd1986 wrote:

Hi everyone!

My name is Lisa, myself and my partner Michael moved here a week ago with our three year old daughter Ada as he had managed to get a job in Nieuwegien. It had always been a dream of ours to move to this beautiful country after vistiing for the first time in 2014.

I don't want to ramble on too much but the reason I joined today, but Michael had his first day at work today and it was rather lonely, so I thought I would see if I could reach out to people in a similar position to myself  

Thank you for taking time for read my post

Hi Lisa, hartelijk welkom in Nederland.

The Expat life can be a bit overwhelming with everything around you in another language, so the first thing you need to do is learn a bit of Dutch; if you need a bit of help and don't have any neighbours to help you, then check out YouTube and search for "Naar Nederland", this is a Dutch Government-sponsored programme for people learning to speak Dutch.

I know when I first started learning the language, that I made lots of mistakes, I was embarrassed when something I had worked out perfectly well in my mind, came out like a mouthful of strange noises and I walked out of the Post Office with a lottery ticket instead of the postage stamp I had originally gone in there for.  You just have to accept that you will make mistakes and some people will laugh, but most will help you out and appreciate your efforts.

It's a great country, the sooner you can integrate the better.  I wish you and your family the best of the rest of your life in the Netherlands.

Cynic
Expat Team

Am a GHANAIAN and am coming to Netherlands to find work. Can anyone house me for a while before I move on? I would much appreciate that.

KWABENA MARFO wrote:

Am a GHANAIAN and am coming to Netherlands to find work. Can anyone house me for a while before I move on? I would much appreciate that.

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

At the top of this page is a link to our housing section, you can check that out to see if there is anything suitable.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Am grateful

Hallo lieve forum vrienden,

Toetteke is here! 😇 I am very happy to be part of this platform and looking forward to sharing my experiences and learn from yours. Currently, I live in Istanbul but my heart is in the NL and my goal is to live in the Netherlands. I've studied and worked voluntarily in the NL before (enough to have A2 level Dutch). Now I am graduated as chemical engineer and finally (after a year full with rejections) found a company which wants to hire me. Luckily, I wait an answer from my gvva application and I will be able to make my dreams come true I need good wishes more than ever! Very afraid of negative answer Maar alles komt goed en fijne week allemaal!

(PS: Toetteke is a nickname given by my favorite Dutch oma and many people call me toet/toetteke when I am in Netherlands)