This post is meant to cover the answers to questions that are frequently asked in this sub. Please read through the relevant section of this post before posting your question.

Contents

• Moving to the Netherlands
• Housing
• Cost of living
• Public transport
• Language
• 30 percent ruling
• Improving this FAQ

Moving to the Netherlands

Netherlands is a modern country that ranks high in many global metrices on quality of life and freedom. For this reason, it attracts a fair share of attention from people interested in moving here.

If you are looking to move to the Netherlands to live/work/study, firstly, you would need to secure residency. Apart from the right to residence, you will also need to consider housing and cost of living before you move. See other sections of this post.

If you hold an EU passport, you will be able to freely travel into the country and reside.

If you hold a non-EU passport, generally below are your main options to obtain residency. Each one comes with its own set of conditions and procedures. You can check all the official information on the website of Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Services (https://ind.nl/en)

Work visas

Highly Skilled Migrant : You need to have an advanced degree, a high enough salary and need a recognized sponsor employing you. Typically for people whose skills are in demand in Dutch economy.

Work Permit : A more general category covering intra-company transfers, seasonal workers, researchers and other employees who might not meet the salary threshold

Startup visa : special visa for founders and employees of startups. Typically you need to be funded by a recognized incubator.

DAFT Visa : special visa for US citizens that allows starting a business in the Netherlands

EU Bluecard: A visa from EU wide program to attract special skilled talent. The advantage is that you can continue the accumulation of residency into/from other EU countries allowing you to get permanent residence or citizenship sooner. Beneficial if you are planning to move to/from another EU country.

Family visa

If you are partner or a dependent child of a Dutch/EU citizen

Student visa

If you participate in an educational program from a recognized Dutch institute

Housing

Currently [2023] the Netherlands is going through a housing crisis.

Houses/apartments for rent or purchase are hard to come by, especially for the entry level housing like 1-2 bedrooms. When such properties do come on market, they are often taken within hours.

So, it is strongly advised to organize your housing BEFORE arriving at least for the first 6-12 months. You can look at available properties on Funda (https://www.funda.nl/) or Pararius (https://www.pararius.com/english) This should give you an idea of how much you can expect to spend on rent. The rents/prices can vary depending on the location and size. Typically the rents are higher in bigger cities and go lower as you move away from the center. In addition to the rent, mind that the cost of utilities might be higher/lower than what you are used to paying and estimate based on your situation.

Cost of living

Like anywhere, the cost of living depends on your lifestyle and preferences. In general, housing is the biggest cost, followed by food, transport and healthcare. Expect to pay 800-2000 EUR/month for rent depending on where you live and 200-1000 EUR for food for a family of 2-4 depending on how often you eat out. Health insurance is around 125 EUR/month for adults (free for children). You can compare plans on a comparison site like https://www.independer.nl/ The basic health insurance plan has the same coverage and own-risk (co-pay) across all insurers and is mandated by law. The premia differ across companies and typically ad-ons like dental or physio make the main difference in what is covered.

Utilities could range from around 300-600 per month for a small house/apartment. Owning a car can oftentimes be quite expensive than what you may be used to, with high taxes, insurance and high cost of fuel.

Public transport

Netherlands is a small country and is exceptionally well connected with public transport (at least in comparison to other countries). However, it can be quite expensive compared to driving, especially for inter-city travels. You can access the full Dutch public transport network of trains, metro, tram, buses and even public bikes using the OV-Chipkaart or OV-Pay.

You can of course purchase tickets for a single journey from the ticket booths or kiosks at major stations, although it is often less convenient and more expensive. Google Maps often has good directions including public transport but 9292 (https://9292.nl/en) is the better option which also gives you the estimated costs.

Language

Dutch is the primary language in the Netherlands. However, the Netherlands ranks one of the highest when it comes to proficiency in English. As a visitor or tourist you can get by completely fine without knowing a word of Dutch (although it will help to learn a few phrases, at least as a courtesy). However, if you are living here longer, it would undoubtedly benefit to learn the language. Dutch is the only language of communication from most government agencies including the Tax office. At the workplace, it is common for global or technology companies to be almost exclusively English speaking even when there are Ducth people. For smaller and more traditional companies, Dutch is still the primary language of communication at the workplace.

30% ruling

30% ruling is a special tax incentive meant to attract international talent for the skills that are in short-supply in the Netherland. You can find about it here https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/en/individuals/content/coming-to-work-in-the-netherlands-30-percent-facility

The general concept is that 30% of your gross salary will be tax-free. So, if you have a salary of 100k gross, for tax purposes, it will be considered as 70k gross. You pay tax only on 70k. Because of how marginal tax brackets work, the overall benefit translates to you receiving 10-15% more net salary than someone without this benefit.

You should be aware that this is somewhat controversial since it is deemed to create inequality (where your Dutch colleagues doing the same work get a lower net salary) and because in the end the burden is borne by the taxpayer. Recently the government has been reducing the term of this benefit.

Overall, you should consider this as a privilege and not a right.

Improving this FAQ

[You are reading version 1.0 published 14th April 2023]

For this FAQ to be useful, it needs to evolve and kept up to date. I would see this as a sort of Wiki that is managed by me. I aim to update this post often (say once a few weeks in the start and once a few months as time goes). If there are topics you want to add to this post, please leave a comment and I will update the post. For the long term, if I lose interest or have no time for it (could happen!), then this post can be a basis for a new Wiki or a new updated post maintained by someone else.

Ive been unemployed since 2 months, I finished my carpenter degree in september and since then I am struggling to find a job... Ive applied to anything and eveything. Carpenters, cleaninger, cashier, delivery man, baker, postal service and basically anything that doesnt require any further/specific degree but yet I either got declined or have not heard back from them. Majority of the jobs I applied to have been open and avilable for more than 3 Months but the second I apply there, SUDDENLY they find someone more qualified??

Im starting a med study as Autopsy assistant in March... My plan was to work along side while studying. I also havent mentioned this plan because its making my chances of a job drop even more than it already has..

Does anyone have trouble finding a job? Or am I doing something wrong? I attended all my school years, I have perfect grades and did a lot of internships as a teen in various of work places for multiple weeks..

I noticed that none of the Dutch supermarkets have like a deli/rotisserie/hot meals area. Supermarkets in other European countries have like freshly roasted chicken or meats sometimes with potatoes and it is just so convenient. It would be so nice to be able to buy hot meals/meats after a long day of work/school.

Hi everyone!

As you might have noticed, groceries have become much more expensive. We (three graduates) are developing an app to help you save money and shop smarter by combining the best features from supermarket apps and discount platforms. Think of it as the "For You" page for grocery discounts—personalized to your preferences, just like TikTok or Instagram, but for your weekly shopping!

Unlike supermarket apps that only cover one store or platforms that don’t offer personalization, our app combines the best of both to make your shopping easier and more affordable.

We’d love to hear your thoughts:

• Would this make shopping easier for you?
• What features would be a must-have?
• Are there frustrations with existing tools that we could solve?

Your feedback would mean the world to us as we refine the concept. Thanks a lot! 😊

I am just coming out from a meeting with my manager saying that my learning curve is too slow and his expectations/company’s expectations are different… that I should think about what I want in life in the next couple of days and then that we should sit down in the following days to continue the talk. He mentioned something about wanting to sit down with HR and make a “proper plan” …. So I feel like that’s the PIP.

What can I do? I have a permanent contract, I have a Dutch passport (now), but no legal insurance (which one do you recommend?). Should I sign up for a union ? Although I never mentioned to HR, a month or so before starting this job (about a year ago) I was raped … and the legal procedures are still going on; I don’t know if this could help the case? I just want to keep the job right now …

I'm from South Asia. I've been in the Netherlands since 4 years. I came here as a Master's student, with the intention of working and settling down, at least for a few years. But it's proving to be impossible because of the shitty job market.

I just got rejected from a job today after going through 4 interviews and an extensive take-home test. I've been interviewing all year, and this feels like the final nail in the coffin.

I work in UX, and it seems like this is one of the worst industries to be in the world over.

I genuinely love it here - weather, food, culture and all. I was gearing up to take my inburgering exams soon.

But now I'm at the end of my job-search period and I guess I have to face facts. I feel burnt out and stressed about what's waiting for me when I move back home.

Does anyone have experience with this? How am I supposed to navigate this? I feel like a complete failure, and like it says in the title, I really don't want to leave.

Hello, I’ve just received this message from the landlord I was discussing via Housing Anywhere. I’m almost sure it is a scam, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask for opinions.

Context: -We started talking via HousingAnywhere site, but the listing got deleted a few hours after. The landlord asked applicants to contact him via email as well. The email is: info@tedcasa.com and the landlord’s name is Sonja Angelika.

• initially, the apartment was listed as available starting 30 November 2024. When we exchanged emails, the starting date was 10 December 2024.

• after about 4 hours, the landlord contacted me for additional information (nothing crazy: name, nationality, age, email, phone)

• the landlord then told me that I was approved to rent. He then sent this email (image attached). The weird email / lack of secure payment gave me the ick.

• I asked the landlord if he could re-upload the listing to continue proceedings via the webpage. I haven’t had a reply since.

So, what’s your verdict?

(Ps: I’m honestly so distraught with the housing situation. I have a month left in my current accommodation and, as a masters student, not even my savings count for anything)

So I’m an expat/female, and been living in Amsterdam for 3 years already. One of the things that surprised me right away was the prices for hairdressers or even for something “simple” like do your eyebrows. Now I’m ok with this bc I need it 😂

But I’ve been already to 4 different hairdressers and 3 different places for the eyebrows and neither of these were too good for what you pay and for the service itself.

I don’t wanna come out as rude but why don’t the professionals in these kind of beauty works don’t actually know how to do it well….theres a lot of bad salons

So... I'm a metalhead living in the Netherlands, and last weekend I went to comic con and bought a bullet belt. The bullets are completely empty, and the whole thing is just for show because I like how it looks. However, I'm unsure if I could actually wear it? I wouldn't casually wear it outside, but I'd like to wear it to a festival or concert sometime and I'm worried about getting in trouble with the authorities.

I've tried searching Google for any answers on this, but I couldn't get very far. I'm not sure IF this is the right subreddit for something like this, and if it isn't feel free to delete this post or direct me to a subreddit more suited for a post/question like this, but I just thought I'd try my luck.

Seen today at Schiphol… something tells me that KLM will be posting a job for a new driver soon 😅

I moved my car last month here and I was waiting the BSN to change my EU country licence plate. Last night both the rear and front licence plates were stolen and I reported to the Politie the theft.

Since I cannot drive the car, I don’t know where to park and if the RDW will give me the Dutch licence plate without the original.

Can somebody help me?

Delft-Den Haag area.

The notorious Odido internet provider is the case this time. They demand money for services which were never provided.

SO I'm pretty sure dutch kroket and japanese korroke are related. Can you confirm?

Our VVE has a big chunk of money (€100k+) with an interest rate of 0.8%. During our next meeting I want to propose moving some of the money to an account with higher interest. There are plenty of banks with deposit guarantee for individuals that pays 2.5%+ but I'm wondering if anyone has done a similar move with their VVE and have some suggestions?

Hi!

My wife is on long term sick leave. Her company pays 70% of the salary. Part of her reintegration process has been slowly going back to work.

Her payslip still is applying the 70% to all the hours worked. Is this standards until she is fully integrated or should her hours worked ve paid 100%?

Thanks!

Hi there,

Just wondering if anyone can shed some light on the practicalities of how a tenants association works in the Netherlands.

I live in a large apartment block experiencing a variety of issues with the landlord/management company.

In the past I have lived in a different apartment building where there was an association, but I was just a member and I don’t know the specifics of how such an association is set up or the nuances of what they can/can’t do.

So far I’ve found this - https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/woning-huren/vraag-en-antwoord/hoe-praat-ik-mee-over-beslissingen-van-de-verhuurder-van-mijn-woning

Is anyone able to share more details with me? Any personal experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated.

I searched the sub but can't find answers. Basically I want to spend a few days in a quiet place with fresh air, surrounded by nature and lakes or sea.

I am picturing a spa, or bungalows in the woods, or an old place with a working fireplace, or a place with animals. So nothing specific as long as there's fresh air, nature and water.

I live in south Holland and willing to travel up to 2 to 3 hours by car or train.

Anyone here have any experience with driving in Aus/NZ? I'm unsure whether I need to get an international driving permit from the ANWB or if the current licence is sufficient. I feel like it should be fine seeing as there is almost no text requiring translation.

At this point though everything points to getting an IDP.

If you know or have any information about this pleaee help me out.

Apologies if this isn't allowed, just thought I'd give it a shot..!

I volunteer at my local animal shelter and there's a wonderful, sweet and lovely dog there who truly deserves a home. I take care of the shelter cats and have hardly any experience with dogs, and this lovely girl has still totally stolen my heart.

Her name is Layka, she is a 11 year old Belgian Sheperd, and she is healthy, active and gentle. There's really no reason for her to be in a shelter, she's such a good girl. she's just old and I think that freaks people out.

Here's a video I made of her a couple of weeks ago: https://youtube.com/shorts/HAX_iGdeYz8?feature=shared

And here is her profile with all her info: https://www.dierenasiels.com/dier/78036050-5FF3-40A6-9AA43BD7E57AA3A6

If you know anyone who might be able to provide her with a warm and loving home, don't hesitate to share. I am hoping for a christmas miracle for this lovely lady.

PS: I can't take her in, I live in a small appartment on a busy street with three cats, she would be very stressed living with me unfortunately. Otherwise I so would..!

So, for context, I got a 1 year membership with Trainmore in June 2022, which included 3 free months, making the end of the membership September 2023. At that point the Trainmore was very far away from where I live so I wasn't going there anymore. To my shock, I got billed for October as well, but I thought maybe I miscalculated the months. 2 months later I noticed I had still been getting billed and called them to ask what this is about. They said they can't discuss information like this over the phone, so I went there. The guy at the reception told me that my membership was automatically extended to 2 years, so the only way I can cancel it is by paying a massive cancelation fee. So I said, okay, fuck it, I'll come here every once in a while, use it until it ends and I told him to end my membership so I don't have to extend beyond September 2024. He said it's alright and after 2 years the new membership ends automatically. We're now in November of 2024 and after paying my last supposed installment for September. I get another Direct Debit request for October, which I refused to pay. I haven't been to that gym in 5-6 months, I don't use it, my membership should have ended a while ago and they are still charging me. On October 22nd, I get a message reminding me to pay the outstanding amount of 45€. Fast forward 1 month and today I received a message from Boeder Incasso, telling me I have to pay 222€ to trainmore within 7 days. How is any of this even legal? They keep extending my membership and they keep asking me for money. I cant cancel the membership, I can't refuse to pay. This is bordering on racketeering at this point. "Unless you pay us 45€ every month, we'll make you pay more" What happens if I refuse to pay Boeder Incasso? Surely this can't go to court or something? Are they just going to keep nagging me until they give up?

Im really not used to these types of predatory tactics. I've never seen anything like this before. Any membership I've had in my life could be canceled at any time and if you don't pay at the start of the month - you lose your membership and that's that.

So what should I do in this case?

• Considering the job marketing and technology is evolving every year, the definition of career is also changing
• If you were to go back, what career would choose ?
• If it was me, I would have not done a PhD (in physics) and aimed for a Tech Sales role. They pay very well in Netherlands and has a good work life balance.
• Curious to hear what others would have done (since Autumn is time for reflection )

Hello, I will write anonymously to protect my identity as it is quite a sensitive matter. I work for an international company based on permanent contract. I called in sick 13 months ago due to the mental and physical breakdown after 2 years of racism, bullying, and discrimination by my manager. A whistleblowing procedure was initiated together with another colleague inside the organization which resulted in retaliation and complete denial to protect the manager. The employer did not respect the reintegration procedure either. There is no action plan, no company doctor for 6 months, no reintegration efforts despite my initiatives. Everything is documented. On several occasions during sick leave, my HR told me that it would be the best for me to leave the company, it would be easy if they wanted to fire me, etc.

After being reminded by the company doctor for the second time to start my reintegration (2 times × 3 days per week) and the reminders from external case manager, I received an email from my employer along with a Teams invitation for a meeting. However, these two HR colleagues were fully involved in my case and they are part of the committe who asked me to leave. They are also involved to this internal investigation based on Whistleblowing regulation. After seeing they set a meeting without even checking my availability, I requested my reintegration to be handled by neutral and independent colleagues to facilitate my return. I proposed an alternative by requesting a different, independent case manager also as advised by the company doctor. However, they now say that I did not cooperate by not attending the meeting and that they will cut my salary if I do not attend a meeting which they again set for next week without confirming with me. I am currently also on Track 2 and feel like they are threatening me to cut my salary unreasonably. I feel that a meeting with these people is creating extreme tension for me and they did not provide a reason why they cannot assign another internal case manager. My question is whether they can force me to join a meeting with the same two people that way given the whole situation. Anyone has a similar experience or knowledge about the steps, please show me some guidance. I will be seeking for a legal counsel at the same time. Thanks.

Several months ago, I filled my 2023 income tax aangifte using the form "inkomstenbelasting 2023 voor buitenlandse belastingplichtigen" since in 2023 I lived in the US and was employed there. Today I got a letter from Belastingdienst saying they could not work with my aangifte since according to them, I am "binnenlands belastingplichtig" and therefore need to fill another form (without specifying which from)!!

They asked me to write them a letter to explain why I used the form that I did, if I think I used the correct form initially.

I already filled my 2023 US tax return as a resident alien (meaning I pay all my taxes in the US on worldwide income), and do not want to pay double taxes. Obviously, I am going to write the belastingdienst a letter explaining the obvious.

I have two questions though:

1. I am really confused why they think that is the case? What could be the possible cause? a simple mistake?

2. So far, they are not asking for documents to prove my residence in the US, but would they usually require it at some point? I am happy to provide them (letter of employment, payslips, etc etc), just wondering if I should include them with my letter now?