advice on moving to Holland

Member since 29 July 2020

IngebechMember03 August 2020 06:07:24

Good day, my name is Inge, i work in the financial markets currently.
I would like some advice or information about relocating to the Netherlands.
My daughter is 17 and I am 57, we both have Dutch passports from my father..he came to work in SA.
What is the process, can we just move there, or is there a process that needs to be followed i.e job, certain finances,etc.
Would my daughter get free education,ec
I would appreciate being pointed in the right direction.

many thanks

Diksha Moderator

Member since 01 September 2017

DikshaModerator03 August 2020 12:48:23

4832

Hello Ingebech,

Welcome to Expat.com

Please note that your topic has been moved to the Netherlands forum in accordance with your query.

I hope someone reads your post and has some clues to provide in regard to you and your daughter's situation.

All the best,

Diksha
Team Expat.com

Cynic UK/Netherlands Expert

Member since 15 September 2015

CynicUK/Netherlands Expert03 August 2020 14:00:42

8048

Hi Inge and welcome to the Forum.

As Netherlands passport holders, you have the right to live and work anywhere in the Netherlands (EU); there are no restrictions imposed on you by the Government, you can come and go as you please, current COVID restrictions notwithstanding. You would currently (today, 3 August 2020) not be allowed to enter the Netherlands from South Africa unless your journey was deemed essential; if they let you in, you would need to go into 14-day quarantine on arrival in the Netherlands, you can read about the restrictions here (link).

There are some aspects of life in Holland that you need to bear in mind. People who have lived in the country all their working lives have paid into the national social fund, so are entitled to social benefits and old-age support. If you decide to move to Holland, you will not be entitled to old-age pension, social housing, welfare benefits, unemployment benefits (until you've worked for at least 2 years); so you need to have some other arrangements in place. You will also both have to pay for Medical Insurance from the day you arrive in the country. The message is that perhaps not all Dutch passport holders are equal.

Education is free and compulsory, home education is against the law. If of school age, your daughter must attend a local school. If she's 17, then it's probably best for her if she finishes her education in South Africa and makes sure that any qualifications are accepted in Europe.

Work-wise - you haven't said what you do and whether you speak Dutch. Experience and the ability to speak the local language are keys to getting a job anywhere. Assuming you speak Afrikaans, that will help you in learning Dutch as some of the vocabulary and sentence construction is similar, but Afrikaans as a language is a mixture of Dutch, German, English and African tribal languages as they spoke them 200 years ago and as a language, it has never developed; the only people in Holland that speak it are other South Africans; while most will understand you if you speak very slowly, it's your accent that many struggles with; so learning Dutch and speaking without a SA accent is important if for no other reason than life around you is in Dutch. You will need to factor in paying for Dutch lessons for both you and your daughter.

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

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team