Its close to the UK and convenient to get back for visits (though dont do that too often if you want to pass the Centre of Life test). Basically everyone speaks English amazingly well! You can get buy here without needing to speak Dutch unless it something you absolutely need for the work you do (e.g. dealing with customers). There is a HUGE expat community here and the Dutch are used to and welcoming of the Expats (though I must say Im a white middle class Brit and my husband a white Kiwi I suspect that, just like in Britain, racial stereotyping will mean some people get a less welcoming reception). Rental housing is the norm and there is a breathtakingly good public transport system so you can get around easily and wont need to buy a car, in fact you can have an amazing time getting everywhere by bike! The Dutch are famously tolerant. They are accepting of others religions, sexual orientation blah blah. They believe if people arent hurting anyone with their behaviour then they can do what they like. Honestly they have been so friendly. The Netherlands is soooo cute gorgeous old buildings, canals, tulip fields, windmills.. you can feel like youre on holiday and really enjoy the experience of living in a funky Euro city rather than letting the need to live outside the UK get you down! Weve loved it so much we decided not to bother coming back to the UK, at least not as soon as we had originally planned. Why not the Netherlands? They love bureaucracy. Its definitely not the fastest place to do the Surinder Singh as you can expect to take at least a month to get set up and registered before you can start collecting time that counts for the Surinder Singh route. Your non-EU partner may have to wait quite a while whilst all the boxes are ticked before they can start work (up to 2 months) Like the UK they are concerned about economic migrants and so have similar stupid rules for their own citizens. They have very few restrictions on EU citizens but expect to have to prove you have some money to keep you afloat or a salary. Its expensive. Salaries are high to make up for that but youll need a decent amount of money to keep you going before that first pay packet arrives, especially when you need to pay a security deposit and a months rent in advance to get an apartment.
The steps to take to do the SS in the Netherlands
1. Get your docs prepared. Before you arrive in The Netherlands get your birth certificates and marriage certificates legalised: https://www.gov.uk/legalisation- document-checker/y/birth- certificate%2cmarriage-certificate. Remember this might take several weeks, especially if your partner is from a country with a less efficient registration service. Itll cost 30 in the UK for every document you have legalised. N.B. legalised and apostile mean the same thing (wed never heard of it either!).
2. Get a job. You should start looking for a job as soon as you arrive because you cant get a tenancy agreement without proof of salary. We moved to the Netherlands because I already had a consultancy contract there with my old organisation so I cant provide much advice on job searches though I would recommend looking for a job before you arrive where possible. Its not so far if you need to fly across for an interview before you get here. There are plenty of temp agencies here too though and some of the expat website (listed lower in the document) advertise jobs more suited to expats (e.g. where you need to speak English). I worked as a freelancer (self employed) which involved a lot of bureaucracy in the correct order to set up. I have written a guide to that below too.
3. Find a flat. If staying in Holland more than 3 months (which you are) you need to register with the municipality, and when you have done so you receive your BSN number (equivalent of NI number in UK). In order to register you must have an address, so get finding a flat, or register at a friends address and change it once you have found your own place. To find a flat check out: a. www.funda.nl b. www.pararius.com c. www.expatica.nl d. www.iamexpat.nl Most apartments are rented on 12 month contracts so youll need to negotiate something shorter if you arent staying that long. Dont be fooled by estate agents trying to charge you one months rent as a commission. This is not legal, you should instead pay a much lower administration fee to the estate agent. Dont be fooled into filling in your details on an estate agents website this is how they justify asking you for a search fee.
Rental prices are high, brace yourself. Its cheaper if you can stay out of Amsterdam. You can find a 1 bedroom apartment for under 1000 a month but if you can splash out a bit more for something nicer and typically Dutch so you can enjoy the experience. We found ourselves a flat in the old town of Haarlem overlooking a canal for 1200. Youll need proof of income before youll be able to sign the tenancy agreement so you need to find a job first and bring a letter from your employer confirming your salary.
Utility bills are often included in the rent. Make sure the tenancy agreement is in both of your names.
4. Register with the Municipality. You can do this by contacting your local municipality when you have found a flat and signed a tenancy agreement. In the big city you might have to wait 2 or 3 weeks for an appointment to register theyll issue your BSN number basically straight away. We registered in Haarlem a small city and registered straight away without needing an appointment but then it took them 3 weeks to send me my BSN number. You cant be paid, open a bank account or basically do anything until you have that number. Too late I realised that the smarter faster way to do this is to go to the Expatcentre and have them organise it all, if possible using a friends address to register so you can do it straight away before you have found a flat. Note: Your partner will not be able to get a BSN number (or work) until you have received yours and then registered with the IND, after which the municipality will issue your partners BSN number (with the same delay again).
5. Open a bank account. Credit cards are not used widely in Holland (theyre not even accepted at supermarkets) so until you have a bank account and a debit card its hard to pay for things and you cant organise things like subscription services e.g. getting an OV- chipkaart (Dutch Oyster card). ABN Amro specialise in dealing with expats. Theyll be able to set up your account and all the various communications in English for you. Unfortunately banks in the Netherlands charge rather annoying account fees. You cant set up your bank account until you have a BSN number from the Municipality. Since the EU citizen will receive their BSN number a couple of weeks before their partner you should set up an account for the EU person and add the non-EU partner to it, making it a joint account later.
6. Register with the Immigration Department (the IND). You need to call them up and book an appointment, explaining that you wish to register and your partner is non-EU. You will need to fill out the correct forms before you go (the municipality may have sent you these but probably in Dutch so here are the English versions): https://ind.nl/EN/Documents/5005.pdf https://ind.nl/EN/Documents/6021.pdf Also take with you: Your legalised marriage certificate Your letter from the municipality confirming your BSN Number. Proof of your employment and pay rate or proof that you have enough money to support your partner. We showed them that we had 15,000 in savings and they accepted that. I was still setting up my business so couldnt prove my income otherwise. The documentation the Municipality gave your partner at registration so that it could be handed on to the IND. You will both receive stamps in your passport there and they will take a photo and fingerprints of the non-EU partner who will eventually be issued an ID card (residence card), though the EU partner doesnt get one and is supposed to carry their passport everywhere. An overview is in this brochure: https://ind.nl/Documents/8005.pdf
7. Organise your insurance. Youll need to get Basic health insurance for you and your partner plus liability insurance each. Be warned health insurance is pricey expect to pay 80 per person per month and another 5 for liability insurance. To compare the market check out (sorry but its compulsory to have it): www.independer.nl
8. Organise a utility. Many apartments are rented with utility bills included so you cant have one put in your name. We got around this by signing up for a cable internet/TV contract (80/mth). Im sure there are other cheaper subscription services that could fill the same role. Remember to tell them the bill has to be in both names.
Other useful information
Getting about to and from work etc. You need an Ov-chipkaart (Netherlands version of the Oyster card) to use public transport. When you first arrive you can buy an anonymous card from a train station/Schipol airport but long term to get the best price for your travel you need a personalised card and buy season ticket for the train to be cheaper. You cant buy these until you have an address and a Dutch bank account. Find out about discount rates here (note this is just for the train not metro or tram): http://www.ns.nl/reizigers/producten/abonnementen/index.html To plan your journeys on public transport there is a fantastic website (and smartphone app): www.9292.nl Of course the best thing about Holland is the ability to get about by bike. You can buy a very basic Dutch bike for around 100 but if you are going to be covering large distances youll want something a bit lighter and with gears. You can also hire bikes from places outside most train stations. The bike routes are brilliant, everywhere and well signposted. To plan some routes check out: http://routeplanner.fietsersbond.nl/ Buying stuff This is the Dutch equivalent of E-Bay. Open it in Google Chrome so itll be translated into dodgy English: http://www.marktplaats.nl/ You can also look at the classifieds in the expat websites which are in English.
Useful websites for Expats: www.iamsterdam.com www.expatica.nl www.newtoholland.nl www.iamexpat.nl
Setting up a Business as a Freelancer 1. You need to have a BSN Number before can start to set up a business (i.e. you need to have registered). 2. Registration with Trade Register is mandatory do this at the Chamber of Commerce (KVK). As the business owner must register in person, you can book an appointment on the KVK website (be ready to use copy and paste to Google Translate!) I went to the KvK in Amsterdam (right next to Central Station), I booked it just a day before and the whole process took just a few minutes because I filled out the registration form online already (its in Dutch so again you will need to use Google Translate and be patient) www.kvk.nl . 3. When you go for your appointment you need to take: a. Proof of ID (Passport) b. Tenancy agreement c. Your Dutch bank account debit card its the only way to pay the 50 registration fee. d. Either the printed registration forms or no need if you did it online. You will receive an 8 digit KVK number (Business registration number) which you must display on all your business communications. You will also receive a BTW (VAT) number. You need to pay your VAT every 3 months and so be sure to charge VAT to the clients. The VAT rate is 6% or 21%, depending on the type of product or service. You dont need to pay VAT if the amount would be less than 1883 and you are a one man band. 4. Should take out Liability insurance (personal and business) Health insurance, Income protection insurance (1 st 2 mandatory, 3 rd one advisable)
5. Once registered as a business most clients will want their freelancers to have a VAR Certificate. The VAR certificate basically provides clarity to the client that in tax terms you are a freelancer and not considered an employee (for which they have to withhold tax, provide employee benefits etc.) More info: www.kvk.nl/english/startingabusiness/