Relocating to Holland

[alyth]

hi - it looks like my partner will be relocating from Scotland to Holland for a new job - in Venlo. What are the chances of me being able to get any sort of work? I've been searching for hours tonight and it appears that I won't need a working visa as Britain is part of the EU, but I'm wondering whether anyone has experience of relocating with their other half - I'm a secretary and don't speak a word of Dutch but if this all comes through I will be learning as quickly as possible, at least to get a grasp of the basics! I'd appreciate any replies from anyone who's been in the same situation, and I'm trying hard not to panic over this! Kind regards, Alyth

[RobinLondon]

Just as a suggestion, you might want to consider living outside of Venlo. It's pretty small and not all that interesting, in my humble opinion. Eindhoven is less than an hour away. So is Dusseldorf (Germany). In both these much larger cities, you may have better luck finding a job in which your English-language skills are more valued. Perhaps more so in Dusseldorf. In the Netherlands, you may find that most people already speak English, but require Dutch nonetheless. The multinational firms based in Dusseldorf may be more obliging.

Good luck!

[alyth]

fantastic, thanks so much for that info, it's exactly what I'm looking for as I'v never even been to Holland yet so haven't got a clue what are decent areas. I'll look at Eindhoven and my partner's been flying into Dusseldorf so I figured it wasn't that far away. I appreciate your help, as I feel I'm going into this whole thing totally blind! Kind regards, Alyth

[Atmieast]

Hi There,

I am also from UK, relocating to 'somewhere in Netherlands' within about 10 weeks with my husband who is Indian. Recently married and he is in India right now. I had come back to do some work here in order to sponsor his visa, but a job offer has come to him from a global company who want to place him in Netherlands.

I found the www.ind.nl website very confusing! I can't figure out what I need to do or not do in order to prepare to stay there and want to work.

How are you getting on? Any advice?

[Atmieast]

I am also relocating from Scotland... also a secretary! Edinburgh to be precise... where are you based?

[alyth]

hi - I'm in Perthshire. When are you hoping to move to Holland - my partner's got the final interview next week for his job, and our house is on the market, so it's all a bit frantic at the moment! Are you hoping to work in Holland as well?

[Atmieast]

yes, will work eventually. Going to get there and get settled I think before careering headlong into anything. Need to assess the need for Dutch on an every day practical level I feel.

My husband has been headhunted, and they gave him a choice of countries. Let's see if a contract materialises to back up the offer.

There seem to have been few other postings on this site for people who are looking to relocate to holland also... Seems like registering with IND is the only process needed... and that seem optional. Have only spent a day looking online for the info so far though.... have you come up with anything else?

[alyth]

I panicked a bit when I first found out about possibly moving to Holland, but thakfully my partner's got a Dutch friend who's been helping us out. My understanding is that most people speak English, but I guess like anywhere it's always better to speak at least a bit of the language. My understanding so far is that you can go over and work, but you need to get the equivalent of a NI number for medical treatment and stuff like that. I haven't looked into that side of it too much! There's a few websites I found, and recruitment agencies that place people who can't speak Dutch, but I am planning on learning it. I'm like you in that I'll see what it's like if and when we go, but when my partner was there he said literally everyone he met had an excellent command of English, he just felt a bit ignorant in not being able to even say thank you in Dutch! Our bank have sent us stuff which I haven't actually looked at, and I guess your husband's company will help him a lot with relocation. We're like you in that we're just waiting to see what happens!