Foreign income count towards rental requirement?

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Foreign jobs and income do cause issues; primarily because you are taxed based on where you live more than 183 days of a calendar year.  There are also payroll-related taxes and insurance that are required by law in the Netherlands; if you are paid overseas, it seems to cause them problems; these are facts.

For example, we have heard stories on here of people being denied Health Insurance because their income is from overseas; if you can't get health insurance, then you must leave the country - there is no further discussion.  Whether that's right or wrong, we don't know, suffice to say if the matter is important, then it's probably best to go direct to the regulating authority (so the IND), whatever you are told on here is worthless if the guy from the IND says no.  All of the contact details for the IND are on their website, this link will take you straight there.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

That's why I'm getting a job...

My question was if foreign income counts toward rental requirements.

This is so that we might avoid temporary housing.

I suppose we could go through a rental agent before we leave and the landlords will either say yes or no.

epiphanatic wrote:

That's why I'm getting a job...

My question was if foreign income counts toward rental requirements.

This is so that we might avoid temporary housing.

I suppose we could go through a rental agent before we leave and the landlords will either say yes or no.

Long-distance house hunting is always problematic and because of scammers, we never recommend it

Many people use something like Airbnb for the first month, then use that time to find something more to their liking - so the first month you'll pay off your credit card before you land.  Rental accommodation in Holland has always been a problem with many Gemeentes now taking action to stop it as it was causing problems for people actually living there.

Once you take the plunge, 99% of landlords will expect a substantial (3 months rent) deposit up front, then payment by direct debit from your Dutch bank account.

Be careful of scammers; members have told us of being scammed on the doorstep - walking through the front door to find somebody else's clothing in the cupboard.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

It would really be nice of someone could actually answer the question.

Correct me if I'm wrong, you want to know if a landlord will consider overseas income when determining your eligibility for housing? That will be up to the landlord. My experience with this is that they don't really care where it comes from, so long as you can show proof of income and you have a Dutch bank account to set up for the direct draw.

So far as I'm aware, the IND doesn't include any income qualification for zoekjaar, in fact they rather expect you won't have any until you arrive in the Netherlands. I'm not sure about partners joining you for zoekjaar, I haven't personally dealt with that.

As Cynic said, your best bet is to call the IND and ask if it's a requirement on their end.

Thank you very much for your reply. That indeed is what I was looking for (whether landlord will care or not). I thought it might be up to the individual landlord, but did not know if that was something that was just widely considered one way or the other. Thank you

You're welcome! Best of luck to you on your move!

epiphanatic wrote:

It would really be nice of someone could actually answer the question.

You probably mean you don't like the answer.

As a Dutch citizen I can tell you it's nearly impossible to find housing in the Netherlands while being in Australia. Rental agents aren't a thing in the Netherlands. I hope you have a big bank account, because rental housing is in high demand. You probably going to pay  minimal 1000 euros a month rent, add local taxes, our mandatory health insurance and our other taxations.
As Cynic has said if you don't work in the Netherlands you are going to pay a lot of money for your health insurance and you are going to get other difficulties.

I welcome you to our country, but it isn't going to be easy. Getting a job without any knowledge of the Dutch language is also nearly impossible. I wish you lots of luck finding housing and the other stuff you will have to deal with to live in the Netherlands.

Yes, I don't like answers that clearly don't answer a simple question therefore not being an answer. "What is 1   1?" Oh the answer to that is it is impossible to get housing....

I do know Dutch. I am aware housing is difficult.  It was a simple question. Jesus Christ.

Good luck with your terrible site. I wish you all the ad revenue success.....

epiphanatic wrote:

Yes, I don't like answers that clearly don't answer a simple question therefore not being an answer. "What is 1   1?" Oh the answer to that is it is impossible to get housing....

I do know Dutch. I am aware housing is difficult.  It was a simple question. Jesus Christ.

Good luck with your terrible site. I wish you all the ad revenue success.....

Ach je krijgt niet de antwoorden die je wilde en nu geef je deze site de schuld. Lekker volwassenen van je en je vraag was toch of je met je buitenlandse inkomen een huis kon huren?
Het antwoord daarop is gewoon nee dat accepteert niemand.

Je gaat het zeer lastig krijgen in Nederland, als je zo'n kutmentaliteit hebt.

Veel succes met google translate

It is possible to rent with foreign income, I've done it myself.. twice. In fact, I'm doing it now! It's also possible to find a rental while still abroad, I've done that as well myself. However, nothing in OPs comment gave any indication that's what they intended to do. I think his original question was misinterpreted, resulting in a less than optimal reply.. it's as simple as that. I don't think that's any reason to be discouraging or overly negative about the process. I answered his question before you replied.

Yes, it can be difficult for some to come to the Netherlands and feel their way through the immigration system. I've been an expat in 3 European countries, each has its pros and cons, but it's clearly not impossible.. otherwise none of us would have been able to. My sense is that if someone managed to defend a doctoral dissertation, they're probably suitably equiped to navigate the relatively simple process of renting an apartment on a zoekjaar visa.

Here's hoping we can be a bit more welcoming and helpful

Well if you respond like the topic starter did then they can be sure you will get a very direct answer from me.
Cynic tried to answer the questions and the topic starter was very rude towards his reply.

Coming from outside the EU to study in the Netherlands comes with some difficulties.
You simply cannot work for a foreign boss and study in the Netherlands. You will need enough own money to finance yourself while studying at a university. You can however do some work in the Netherlands, but only part-time.
So no topic starter cannot get a rental place with his/her foreign income.

You can read about it on the IND page

Ramses K. wrote:

Well if you respond like the topic starter did then they can be sure you will get a very direct answer from me.
Cynic tried to answer the questions and the topic starter was very rude towards his reply.

Coming from outside the EU to study in the Netherlands comes with some difficulties.
You simply cannot work for a foreign boss and study in the Netherlands. You will need enough own money to finance yourself while studying at a university. You can however do some work in the Netherlands, but only part-time.
So no topic starter cannot get a rental place with his/her foreign income.

You can read about it on the IND page

Well, offense is taken, not given. I read his response as frustrated, not rude. I answered in kind and he was perfectly civil with me.

Again, I think this is a simple misunderstanding. He's not coming to study, he's coming on a zoekjaar to look for work AFTER study.. which is exactly what that visa is intended for. It's his partner's income he was asking about. They want to come and find a place to rent without bothering with temporary housing if possible. Will it be easy, probably not but that's more to do with the rental market than it does where the money comes from.

Bottom line, it is 100% possible to rent a place if you have foreign income, to say otherwise is confusing. Nobody would be able to come on a DAFT visa if it wasn't possible to get housing without a Dutch job contract. Every single leasing agent I spoke with when I was looking this time (in Den Haag) said it's perfectly fine, only you have to prove you have sufficient, consistent income with contracts, invoices, bank statements, etc. So long as OP and his partner can prove the ability to pay, they should be fine.

OK - this is now going off-topic.  The OP has an answer; I've asked that this thread be locked.

Thank you all for your contribution.

Cynic
Expat Team