New members of the Netherlands forum, introduce yourselves here - 2020

Good evening to y'all!
I'm a newby here in the Netherlands and in this website as well, of course!
I'm actually here to find a new job, because due to this chrisis it became really difficult.
I hope you're all safe and sound!

Hello JamilaLakhlifi,

Welcome to Expat.com

This crisis has indeed disrupted the professional lives of many. I sincerely hope that however difficult your present work situation may be, it will soon improve.

As a rule, expats who are job-seekers are advised to go through the articles in the Work in the Netherlands in our guide to find job-hunting tips and other similarly useful resources,  and create their CV in the Jobs in Netherlands section.

I would request you to do so.

Additionally, you may want to think about creating a new thread on the Netherlands forum to seek advice on looking for work in these difficult times and find people in the same situation as yours who could have some insight to provide.

Stay safe and good luck for the future.

Diksha
Team Expat.com

Hello! Greetings from Rotterdam. I just moved to this city on January this year as I got a job in an IT company in Rotterdam. I haven't been able to explore Rotterdam and its communities yet as we suddenly get hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and it becomes very difficult to mingle around.

I am looking for any communities that are open for a new member I would love to involve in any discussions or interesting activities with other expats or locals and hopefully can share my stories too! Especially about getting a job in the Netherlands (which is not easy for expat starter, but absolutely achievable if you know how ).

Cheers,

Annisa

Hello Annissa and welcome among us !

We are always open for new members, so you are very welcome into our expat community in the Netherlands

If you want to be involve into discussions, the forum is the place to be, you can speak about almost anything from your experience as an expat to questions about Rotterdam or the Netherlands

if you wish to share your experience, and give useful tips to other expats, please do so by creating a new topic 

Again, welcome aboard and stay safe !

Regards.

Loïc
expat.com team

Hi everyone,
I hope you all are safe and well.

I am married to a British citizen and currently we live in Brazil. However, since last year, we have decided to move to Europe and the Netherlands has always been a country that we both are very interested in.

With Brexit happening now, we have so many doubts on how to start,  whether I would be eligible for a work permit or not, and how we would do it.

But luckily I've found this group which seems very helpful

Thanks for accepting me here,
Regards,

Ana.

anaclopes wrote:

Hi everyone,
I hope you all are safe and well.

I am married to a British citizen and currently we live in Brazil. However, since last year, we have decided to move to Europe and the Netherlands has always been a country that we both are very interested in.

With Brexit happening now, we have so many doubts on how to start,  whether I would be eligible for a work permit or not, and how we would do it.

But luckily I've found this group which seems very helpful

Thanks for accepting me here,
Regards,

Ana.

Hi Anna and welcome to the Forum.

EU citizens have the right to live and work anywhere in the EU.  The UK has already left the EU and both are currently in a negotiation as to their future trading relationship, once these discussions are complete, then you will both need to apply as 3rd country nationals, this could be any time from the end of June 2020 (depending on how the discussions go).

There are a few options, for example, if one of you qualifies as a highly-skilled migrant, life becomes very simple in terms of the immigration hurdles you have to overcome; so perhaps if you told us a bit more about yourselves, what your qualifications, experience are/is.

In the meantime, if you are serious about the Netherlands, start learning Dutch, it's important.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hello everyone!

I've  been browsing the internet for months on how to move to Netherlands, get a job and hopefully settle here for good. I'm  glad I found expat.com. So far it's been very helpful with the information I needed.

December 2019 I've  decided to work abroad because I think it's  about time to try something I've  never done before. I've  never been outside the Philippines. I only travel locally. I have my passport ready and just searching the internet for countries where it's   possible to start a new life and career. So far European countries got my attention specially Netherlands so now I'm  here in this forum.

I'm a single mother and currently working in a BPO company. I'm just here trying to give my son a better future. But since covid19 happened all I can do for now is wait for the right time. I'm  also learning Dutch since I have more free time.

Thank you for expat.com team for this place where I can freely ask questions, look for options and hear experiences from other expats.

Hello karenalolor and welcome to expat.com

Thank you for your kind message !

if you have any questions regarding the Netherlands, please create a new topic and our expats will be able to answer them

Or simply read our Living in the Netherlands guide


Loïc
Expat.com Team

Hello i'm from Philippines too and now living here in the netherlands. It's difficult now to find a job due to corona crisis and i hope it will over soon

Hi all,
I’ve been in NL for a long time now but just found this community and thought I could nosey around and see what happens. Very nice to e-meet all of you!
Maya

Hello Barbara here,

I'm American and I've been living in Amsterdam for a while.  My long term goal has been setting up a skills business to help other expats integrate with work.  This is my first time on the forum and I look forward to learning and contributing.  Cheers, Barbara

Hi All

Im Manoj, from India, moved to Netherlands right before the crisis.

Im working as AWS cloud architect. Looking out for some friends :-)
Up for discussions, learning, activities.

Stay safe!!!

Hi Manoj

Hello Vishakh nice to meet you.

Hi friends am from India. Am seeking job at EU all of them help me to find a good jobs and job fields. Stay safe friends

All of them going well?

Hi all,

I'm an Italian 25 years old girl. I met a dutch guy during my exchange program in Rotterdam and... well you probably already heard this story. It is now almost two years that we are together.
I'm trying to give a new boost to my life under many aspects and I thought that this was perfect timing to become an expat (at least if it wasn't for a global pandemic). Thus, I'm now in Rotterdam, temporarily in my boyfriend's room, waiting for an answer from a master program to decide what will be next.

So, I'm not officially an expat yet but hoping to become one very soon and I hope to find here someone to share my adventure with

Hi All,

I am Lonza and I am based here in the UK.  I am currently researching whether to make the move to the Netherlands whilst I am still covered under the Withdrawal Agreement.  Obviously with COVID, the odds are not favourable for anyone doing anything at the moment but I really want to try to see if it is possible.  I don't speak Dutch, which is a major hurdle.  However I do have enough savings to sustain myself & partner for a period of time, depending on how long that time period was for.

My interest in the Netherlands comes from having visited the country a number of times, going to Amsterdam, Leiden and Utrecht and really enjoying the architecture, art and family friendly vibe of the country.  So if anyone wants to chip in with some advice or answers to the following questions I would be very grateful:

1.  Employment situation - obviously speaking no Dutch is going to hold me back.  Would it be possible to get a job in the current climate without speaking Dutch?  Or is this completely unrealistic currently? 
2.  How long would it take to learn Dutch to a level to get a job (an entry level job).  I don't speak any other languages apart from basic German.
3.  How easy would it be to rent an apartment whilst having no Dutch income?  Again whilst I have no Dutch income I do have enough income to sustain me for a period of time.

I am looking forward to talking with everyone and getting the advice of people who have done this before!

Hope you all have a great day!

Lonza1878 wrote:

Hi All,

I am Lonza and I am based here in the UK.  I am currently researching whether to make the move to the Netherlands whilst I am still covered under the Withdrawal Agreement.  Obviously with COVID, the odds are not favourable for anyone doing anything at the moment but I really want to try to see if it is possible.  I don't speak Dutch, which is a major hurdle.  However I do have enough savings to sustain myself & partner for a period of time, depending on how long that time period was for.

My interest in the Netherlands comes from having visited the country a number of times, going to Amsterdam, Leiden and Utrecht and really enjoying the architecture, art and family friendly vibe of the country.  So if anyone wants to chip in with some advice or answers to the following questions I would be very grateful:

1.  Employment situation - obviously speaking no Dutch is going to hold me back.  Would it be possible to get a job in the current climate without speaking Dutch?  Or is this completely unrealistic currently? 
2.  How long would it take to learn Dutch to a level to get a job (an entry level job).  I don't speak any other languages apart from basic German.
3.  How easy would it be to rent an apartment whilst having no Dutch income?  Again whilst I have no Dutch income I do have enough income to sustain me for a period of time.

I am looking forward to talking with everyone and getting the advice of people who have done this before!

Hope you all have a great day!

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

To try and answer your questions:

To get a job anywhere, you really need the following:

Relevant qualifications (the Dutch are very big on qualifications)
Relevant experience
Speak the local language
Luck

The more of those you can tick off, the better your chance; you've told us very little about yourself, so I'll leave you to tick off what you have and come to your own conclusions.

How long to learn Dutch - how long is a piece of string; some people pick up languages very easily (my wife speaks 4 fluently; I speak 3 badly).  When I learnt Dutch, I did a 4-week intensive course, then spent the next 30 years being constantly corrected by my wife, but I get by, she's a Dutch mum whose job in life is to constantly correct the bad Dutch of her family.

At the moment the COVID issues are making life difficult for all, but there is still manual work in warehouses, but I'll warn you that there is no longer any contract security, 7-month rolling contracts are the norm in Holland these days, then when it comes up to 2 years, they will let you go, regardless of how good you are; this is because of the Dutch employment law makes it really difficult to retain staff without significant financial risk, so only the highly skilled that companies have to have get permanent contracts.

Rental accommodation in the Netherlands is always in short supply, in particular, the ones that are in nice areas and in good condition; in these circumstances, it makes those expensive.  You will not be entitled to apply for social housing, this is now only available to those on social benefits, to which you will not be entitled until you have worked there for some time, even then, the current influx of asylum seekers is exhausting most of the social housing supply.  My advice would be to look on the internet, then if you see something you like to contact the company renting it; it will almost certainly already be gone, but they may have something similar; if they have, be prepared to move immediately because if you don't, it will be gone the next day.

So what do other people do?  Long-range job searching is problematic at best; the moment they realise you don't speak Dutch and can't start work tomorrow morning, they lose interest rapidly, so it's hard; many give up at this point as they're not prepared to take the risk.  Those that are willing to give it a try, having checked that they have qualifications that are accepted in the Netherlands, they rent something from Airbnb for a month; having made the jump, they then look for work.  If they are lucky and get work, they either extend their Airbnb or are very lucky and find something to rent themselves.  If they get no work, then at worse, you've had a months holiday in the Netherlands and still have somewhere to go to back in the UK.

One last point Amsterdam, Leiden and Utrecht are nice places, but maybe not the ideal place to find work.  In Dutch, they call the employment agencies "uitzendbureau" Google the name of the city with uitzendbureau after it and you'll get a list of such agencies; call them and see what they can tell you about finding work as a non-Dutch speaker, most of them will speak English.  If you have a particularly strong accent, speak slowly to them so they can understand you.

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

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi Cynic

Thank you so much for the comprehensive reply!  I really appreciate it, it was both informative and entertaining (your wife sounds really funny!).

On this part:
Relevant qualifications (the Dutch are very big on qualifications)

We are not very well qualified people.... yet.  I am doing a BSc degree in Computing remotely and have 2 years left to finish :-(  However saying that we both finished school here in the UK and are literate!

Relevant experience

I have worked in Insurance and Financial Services for 10+ years for some very well known companies.  However I am looking to potentially try and move to other industries using my degree when I finally get it.  Partner is happy to do any type of work having previously been a Fitness Instructor, worked in Security, bar man etc.

Speak the local language
Nope - as discussed

Luck
I like to think we make our own.

I really liked the idea of just getting an Airbnb and going for it!  Do people really just do that?  The reason I ask is that I thought I would need to get to the Netherlands and register as a resident, I wasn't sure that I could do this from an Airbnb address?  I have tried applying to Dutch companies from here in the UK, but I am not getting anywhere doing that - most probably for the reasons you stated.

In light of the new information, would you recommend other locations?  I thought that Utrecht had quite alot of Financial Services companies but I may be mis-informed.  My partner also likes the sound of Rotterdam.

Thanks once again for the information!

Hi again.

Thanks for the extra details.

With regards to your qualifications; to be blunt you don't have any that will get you a job by themselves today.  School qualifications are worthless if they are more than 5 years old and degrees are necessary if you work in a regulated profession (medicine, sciences, engineering etc); outside of that, unless you've just left full-time education, it's your own experience that is going to get you a job today, so that's what you need to work on with your CV, you need to be the best at whatever it is you're applying for.  By all means, mention that you completed high-school, but you are wasting valuable CV space telling them lots about your A levels unless they are relevant to the job you are applying for.

All I really have to add to what I've said previously is yes, you can register from any address in the Netherlands, the only pre-requisite is that if you're not the owner, then the owner must consent to you registering at that address; so ask before you pay.

My daughter registered from an Airbnb when she went back and we were abroad; other people have told us that they registered from a hotel address, so ask.  The difference between her and you is she was single at the time, she speaks/writes fluent English/Dutch/German; she had relevant experience and had a job within 2 days and had rented a house within a week, but that was a few years back now.  COVID and Brexit are going to make this very difficult for you today.

My advice would be to finish your degree, then get experience working in that new skill, then look again at emigrating.  That said, my daughter ignored me as well and she has thrived over there, but she ticked more of the boxes than you do.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

When you live in the Netherlands, life around you is in Dutch, from a simple (?) bus timetable to the posters displayed in your doctors surgery; learning Dutch can only improve your job-seeking prospects; that said, I can see your role as being aimed at further education establishments and as many of their courses are in English, would agree with what your recruitment agency has said, except there is more to life than work.

I think the main problem you will have is that these English language courses are aimed at non-Dutch students and COVID has really screwed up people's desires to attend a Uni in the Netherlands, so it's affecting the demand for what you do and foreign students are the big money earners for the Dutch Universities.

Perhaps rather than try and rush this and perhaps make the wrong decision now, you should speak to your agency and see what they think the chances of you waiting till Brexit is over and done with, then applying as a skilled migrant.  It will give you a chance to perhaps finish your Masters/PhD; improve your Dutch and your employability.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

yazid_ous wrote:

Hey!

I am a 3rd country national living in a EU under a with a work permit. My unmarried partner (EU citizen) and I wish to relocate to the Netherlands. We have been together for 10 months in an exclusive relationship, but unfortunately we do not have a registered partnership or shared address/bills. Can we still apply for a partner visa? What exactly do we need to provide in this case?

Thank you!

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

The visa that applies to the circumstances as you have described them is "Family member with different nationality".  The details are fully explained on the Dutch Government website (IND); this link will take you straight there.  Please read the link very carefully, everything is explained there.

To answer your questions.  The relationship requirement does not have to be registered and the duration is a minimum of 6 months, but you do have to prove it with documents, maybe e-mails between you both, photographs, something that will enable the immigration officer to say yes; you just saying it does not help one bit.

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

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi everyone,

I am Alberto, a Spanish musician and entrepreneur based in Utrecht. I teach brass instruments after school at the International School of Utrecht and run my own music academy Bom-B Music as well.

I love Utrecht and the Netherlands in general. I live here for some years already but it's the first time I get in touch with this webpage. Great community from what I see.

Nice to meet you all!

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Hi
This is Vicky. I am happy to find this forum and hope to have exchanges about big and small things in the Netherlands.

Hi There,

I am hoping to get some sound advice from this community regarding my intent to move to The Netherlands, specifically Amsterdam. As a creative working for the past 14 years, the last 5 of which have been in Dubai, I am hoping to make the move the Netherlands to contribute to a society that I have a great deal of respect and admiration for and to live a lifestyle whereby my contributions will result in the reward of a happy, peaceful, safe and constructive existence, amongst a peer of creatives that will inspire me to enhance my skills, with a nation that just seems to have it right!

I have been a successful freelancer in Dubai for the last 5 years, and in RSA for 3 years before that, however as the UAE is only a transient destination with no hope of obtaining citizenship, I need to look at where my time will be best invested going forward. Dubai has been an amazing experience, a school of life that has taught me so much about myself and the world around me. So for that I am truly grateful.

I now wish to enhance my creativity in either Film, Advertising, Live Events or Branding and live in a creative community that can foster this growth!

If anyone can share advice on how to go about this and the likelihood of this materializing as I would hate to ruin my access to The Netherlands by following the wrong procedure. (Ive visited 4 times in 5 years )

Although I have not obtained my BA Degree (Due to a work opportunity I could not resist) I did study my full 3 years and have a shit hot portfolio to prove it. I Am a well rounded and internationally experienced film Production Designer and Creative Director, and being a freelancer can rock Client Services too.

All and any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Love and Light,
@CalviCam

I am also fluent in Afrikaans and can speak basic German so am sure I will pick up Dutch pretty quickly and would love advice on where to get the best lessons from.

Hello everyone!!

My name is Nikos and I live in The Hague for 3 years now. I have also lived in Arnhem for 4 years and fell in love with the Netherlands ever since I moved here.

I am a musician and a just graduated from Codarts Rotterdam with a masters degree in Jazz Guitar. I play many different types of concerts and I teach music/guitar.

Hope everyone is doing alright!!!

CalvieCam wrote:

I am also fluent in Afrikaans and can speak basic German so am sure I will pick up Dutch pretty quickly and would love advice on where to get the best lessons from.

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

At the top of this page is a link to our Discover section; if you mouse over that you will get a drop-down menu that will take you to our Netherlands Guide; select that then read it and the links it contains.

To answer your specific question.  There are many options open to you in regard to getting a work permit in the Netherlands, they are all described on the Dutch Government website; this link will take you straight there.  My advice is to read it, see which one you fit in with, then follow it up by looking for that all-important job.

Speaking the local language is always important; my advice to you is while Afrikaans will help you, your accent won't, so try and work on losing it.  There is a Dutch language/integration course online called "Naar Nederland", somebody has uploaded it to YouTube, so my advice is to try that first before you spend any money on language training.

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

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi all,

I'm Nisa, 34, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
At the moment still based in KL and looking to move to Netherlands, soon.

Hello niss27,

Welcome to Expat.com 

Could you please tell us more about you?

Are you going to work in the Netherlands?

Cheers,

Cheryl
Expat.com team.

Cheryl wrote:

Hello niss27,

Welcome to Expat.com 

Could you please tell us more about you?

Are you going to work in the Netherlands?

Cheers,

Cheryl
Expat.com team.

I'm female, 34 with 3 cats 
I like coffee with almond milk and enjoy taking pictures, travelling and cooking.
I am currently working as Talent Acquisition Manager in an HR consultancy firm in KL.
Yes, looking to work in NL as my partner is a German currently living in NL and a Dutch PR.
We've been together for almost a year, long distance, and we're looking to stay together in one place.

Hi All,

I have been in love with the Netherlands since I first set foot there on vacation some 5 years ago, I have been plotting ever since to make it my future home.

Fortunately I recently accepted a job offer and my employer has submitted my MVV application today on my behalf.

I trust all will be succesful and I hope to learn and share my experience on the forum

Hello melvincosta,

We are happy to have you on board.

Great presentation. 

I hope that you will get feedback from the other members.

Meanwhile, I would suggest you to create your CV in theJobs in the Netherlands section, where you can check the latest job offers.

I also strongly recommended you to have a look at the Living in the Netherlands guide as there are several instructive articles that will also guide you to make your expat project a success.

All the best.

Cheers,

Cheryl
Expat.com team

Hello guys,

I found this forum on the internet and I am happy to be here.
I've been living in the Netherland for 7 years, where I found a new life and a new family.
I decided to come abroad and living the second part of my life in a new environment and to test new opportunities.
After a carrier as Sales Manager in Italy, I decided now to put in field my capabilities also to help people to get the same goal I got.
Now I am working as a professional advisor, to help people to do this: a new life, maybe in the Netherlands.
It seems to be easy, but it isn't. I know this personally.

***

Ciao
Adriano

melvincosta wrote:

Hi everyone,

Hope you are all doing well.

I am aerospace engineer graduated from TU Delft and currently living in Schiedam, 6 months into my orientation year visa. I am  I am from India, 32 years old and looking for a innovative and challenging job in NL.

I made a move from my previous career from architecture to engineering, now looking to start as a entry level candidate in the technical sector with some experience in the building industry - design, construction management, and documentation. 

In the meanwhile, as I am scouting through recruitment firms and job boards looking for openings in engineering firms, I am also looking for part time jobs and assignments in other industries. I like cooking, and would like to work in a restaurant/kitchen both as a bucket list and a way to make ends meet.

I could use some suggestions and advice from your personal experience.


Thank you and best regards/ Met vriendelijke groet,

Melvin Costa

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

You're already doing the things you can do to find a job with your primary skillset; have any consultants spoken to you, perhaps commented on your CV?  If not, perhaps contact the local uitzendbureaus, drop your CV off.  The Dutch have a saying "you have no, you may get yes", so knock on the doors.

My only advice is that I find your statement above confusing, almost a professional student.  My experience of the aerospace industry is that you have avionics, engines and structural engineers and a good one was worth his/her weight in gold; however the reality today is that the demand for aircraft has plummeted.  Are you licenced (EASA Part 66) to work in the EU; if you're not, nobody is going to let you anywhere near an aircraft?

In general, to get a decent job anywhere, you need 4 things, namely relevant experience, relevant qualifications, be able to speak the local language and a bit of luck.  How is your Dutch?

What I said regarding the 4 things will also apply to part-time work etc; the Dutch are very big on qualifications.  If you don't have a Horeca diploma, you have virtually no chance of getting any work in a restaurant; perhaps bar work, but the current Pandemic will be causing issues for all people looking for employment; perhaps you also need to look elsewhere, consider returning home in order to gain experience.

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

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi Julien,

I am new here and i am really interested in moving to Netherlands on a student visa. I have also post a topic here and asked help from all the members. It would be great if you see my post and help me out.

Thanks.

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

If that's your only question, while you're waiting to see if any of your countrymen stumble across you, try LinkedIn.  The question will be how unique are your skills.  Anyway, once you think you're ready to take the plunge, at the top of this page is our Discover section, mouse over it and you'll get a drop-down menu with access to our Netherlands Guide.  Read that and follow any links it gives you.

You should be aware that Covid is currently making life in Holland very difficult, so you may want to consider waiting until the world gets a grip on this pandemic.

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

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team