Anywr Netherlands has been assisting international employees for over 30 years. More people than ever before are choosing to make The Netherlands their new home. And we mean waaaay more people. The market is really flooded! This is causing big challenges around housing, schooling and registrations. Do you have relocating employees to the Netherlands? In this article you will find 6 tips to make sure your employee’s relocation runs as smoothly as possible.
Tip 1. Start early; immigration procedure
If your new employee holds a non EU nationality an immigration procedure is required. Your employee relocating to the Netherlands will have to obtain documents in his/her home country. Moreover in many cases the employee will need an entry visa (MVV), that he/she can obtain at the Dutch embassy. Depending on the country the process of getting the right documentation and the MVV might take several months. We can advise on this per country, if we are your immigration service provider we will advice on feasible timelines.
Tip 2. Start early; schooling assistance
Do you have relocating employees to the Netherlands with children? We can actively advice on the schooling for your relocating employee’s children. In an extensive meeting our educational expert will advice on what’s possible.
Many international schools have waiting lists for most grades. In some cases it might be wise to let the employee start in the Netherlands whereas the kids stay at school in their origin country. An alternative in this situation might be to postpone the relocation until there is availability.
Children that will go to a local school often need to attend a switch class in the first months/year. Due to the big influx and personnel shortages in many locations there are not enough switch classes at the moment. Our educational expert will guide your employee. Together we will find a solution that works for all parties involved.
Tip 3. Start early; housing
Please do inform us on the expected relocation at least 4 weeks ahead of the intended arrival date. This enables our housing team (or a real estate agent) to perform a good search. We will propose up to 10 suitable houses (location, start date, budget, main requirements). It might well be that your employee will not find a home in one go, in this situation we will assist with finding new options.
Tip 4. Have a flexible approach
Reading the above you probably already understand that a flexible approach towards timelines, costs for temporary accommodation, other solutions will benefit the relocation’s progress. Your relocating employees to the Netherlands will feel more comfortable if the pressure of for instance the time in temporary accommodation is not too high. On the other hand, giving too much time can lead to longer search periods, the balance is important.
Tip 5. Offer a salary that makes renting a property possible
In general landlords expect salary levels of 3,5 times the rental amount per month. So, if the rental amount is € 1.650 (the current absolute minimal amount in Amsterdam), the income should be on at least € 5.775. If your salary levels are lower your employee will not be able to rent an apartment legally in Amsterdam. Cities like The Hague, Utrecht and Rotterdam are somewhat cheaper but it’s a matter of time before the prices there have gone to the same level. Sending a person to the Netherlands without the possibility to rent a house is probably not your intention, in these cases we advise you to look at other countries.
Tip 6. Registration/BSN
Registration in the Netherlands is mandatory if your employee has the intention to stay here for more than 4 months. For non EU citizens registration is always required. After the registration your employee will receive a BSN, a requirement for your personnel administration. There are waiting lists for registration, depending on location this might take several weeks or even months (Amsterdam). If your employee registers at one of the Expatcentres in the Netherlands the BSN is issued directly after the registration. If the registration is at a local town hall issuing the BS might take several weeks.
Sometimes, if your company is located in another city it might help if your employees can register on the company’s address. In other situations we advise to use a temporary accommodation in another location, just for the sake of an early registration.
Other tips
If you have questions, or are looking for further advice, a good relocation provider, please do contact us at company@anywr-group.com. We are gladly of help!
