Hello! Advice please...

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Not an easy question to answer because Brexit may influence your options.

As it stands, if you went today, you would have the right to live and work anywhere in the EU; you don't need to come on this Forum and ask questions.  However, after Brexit, you won't have the same rights and you'll almost certainly have to go through MVV the same as all other non-EU citizens.  So from now on, I'm assuming that you will be arriving in the Netherlands after Brexit.

It's good that you're learning Dutch because a Dutch language exam is a part of the MVV process; MVV is a joint residence and work permit; it's about integration into Dutch society and whether you'll be able to sustain yourself when you get there, so the Dutch Government agency responsible for all immigration matters (the IND) consult's with the Netherlands Employees Insurance Agency (UWV) and assesses whether you have any chance of finding work in the Netherlands; if they don't think you will, your application will stop there and you will be rejected for a visa.

You haven't told us anything about what you do, but you will need a job to go to.  To get a decent job anywhere, you will need 4 things:

1. Relevant qualifications (the Dutch are very big on qualifications)
2. Relevant experience (absolutely no point in applying for a job which requires experience if you don't have it)
3. Speak the local language (every customer facing role will require this)
4. Luck

English speaking jobs do exist, mainly with multinationals, so my advice would be to start there.  Another method would be to use the Dutch Employment agencies (uitzendbureau); this link will take you to a Google search I just did that will help you down this route.  There is a catch to using agencies; in many cases, the moment they realise you don't live in Holland, can't speak Dutch and can't be available for interview tomorrow to start the next day, they will lose interest in you; for this reason, speculative CV's tend to not have much success and tend to end up in the bin.

If you have a particular skill that is in short supply and can't be filled by people already living in Holland, then you may qualify for a skilled migrant visa.  This is a lot easier (no Dutch exam) and issued within 7 days as opposed to 90 days for MVV.

Amsterdam is mouthwateringly expensive (more so than London), the further east you go, the cheaper it gets.  The Numbeo website will give you some idea of the costs of living; this link will take you there; I've set it up to do a comparison between Manchester and Amsterdam.

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

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi Cynic!

Thanks for your detailed and helpful response.

I am essentially working as a recruitment consultant and I had a look online and there are jobs, English speaking but I appreciate Dutch will be an advantage. I want to learn anyway as I do believe it's so important for integration and I'd want to have the best experience possible.

I did look online and the Brexit situation shouldn't impact until 2020 so hopefully I'll have time. But, who knows what's going to happen! It's frustrating, this uncertain time.

Amsterdam itself isn't essential, I love the Netherlands particularly for how accessible the country is, so I'd definitely be happy to move somewhere which will cater to my budget.

Learning Dutch is something I'll hopefully be able to do, I'm at basics state but the language isn't as challenging as I had thought. If I could somehow get an English job and work on my Dutch whilst living there, this would be great. I think learning is best when you're surrounded.

For now I shall continue to learn, and in the New Year I'll have savings to make it work. Providing somewhere hires me!

Hi again.

Then I wish you the best of luck in your journey. 

Cynic
Expat Team

Thanks for your kindness, Cynic.

At the very least - Dutch is a super fun language!

Zeker wel, maar je moet altijd oefenen (dat heb ik gedaan).  Veel success met je reis.

I speak Dutch with a Twents accent, apparently, that's their West Country farmer style of accent.

Hoi Cynic,
I've a question  "how to know f I have a particular skill that is in short supply, and can be considered as skied immigrant?" this issue is clear in Australia as they have list of jobs which are in shortage

Thanks for your efforts, your forum really helps me a lot