Wanting to live and work in the Netherlands

@kimberlys65

Hello and welcome !

Till members provide some insights on your query, I would suggest that you read the Living in the Netherlands guide for expats.

All the best

Bhavna

    Hello!
I am a licensed Massage Therapist from the United States. I have been failing at cooking up with any successful direction on how to expat myself to the Netherlands and do massage. If anyone might be able help me in any way I will be forever grateful.
Thank you all so much in advance!
   

    -@kimberlys65

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

The significant issue you will face initially is that a Massage Therapist is not recognised as a skilled occupation by the Dutch government when they consider immigration issues, which effectively bars any business from sponsoring your residence permit.  So, if you think it's just a case of packing a suitcase, flying to Amsterdam and finding a job, no, that's not going to happen.

However, all is not lost because there is the "Residence Permit self-employed person" which may offer you a way in by starting your own massage business in Holland; the various Dutch Government departments will assess your ability to start a business and be able to support yourself, while integrating and contributing to Dutch society, part of which would be your ability to communicate with your customers, who will be speaking Dutch, so you should think about how you will do this.

So, a few links that will hopefully set you on your way:

• There is a process known as the DAFT treaty which makes things a little bit easier for US and Dutch citizens to trade in each other's countries; it has a Wikipedia page and this link will take you straight to it.
• The Dutch Government (IND) has a section on their website in regard to the Residence Permit I mentioned; this link will take you to it.
• You may also want to speak to the Dutch Chamber of Commerce about setting up your business; this link will take you straight to their website, which has a help and contact section.

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

I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck in your journey.

Cynic

Expat Team