Life in a new land: 6 tips for EU workers visiting the Netherlands

1 Bring the correct ID

If you’re an EU citizen, you’re free to enter the Netherlands for work. You don’t need a visa, work permit, or residence permit, but you must have a valid passport or identity card. Before you arrive in the Netherlands, it’s important to check ahead that you have the right documentation. For example, is your ID or passport is still valid? It can take time for your embassy or consulate to resolve any issues. You definitely want to avoid traveling back to your home country to get it resolved!

2 Share ID early – if you can

Some workers for the EU choose to forward copies of their ID to their employer ahead of time. It’s not a requirement, but it does help to speed up the process, and potentially avoids the scenario of arriving here only to return home to renew a document.

3 Prepare for Dutch culture

If you’ve ever moved abroad before, you’ll appreciate the importance of getting to know the culture before you arrive. Doing a bit of research before you arrive can help you acclimatize quicker to small cultural differences. Here at InAxtion, our blog is a great place to discover more about living and working in the Netherlands. Why not try one of these short reads about Dutch culture?

• New to the Netherlands? Here are 5 things you need to know about Dutch culture
• Crazy Dutch People: 10 Strange Facts About The Dutch
• Sinterklaas Is Coming To Town: A Guide For Newcomers To The Netherlands

4 Take out health insurance

To live and work in the Netherlands, you need to take our health insurance or in some cases adjust your own. It’s a mandatory requirement for all inAxtion employees. There are various options for doing this:

• Take out health insurance through your employer
• Take out your own health insurance
• Add European cover to your existing health insurance

As an employment agency, InAxtion offers health insurance, which is conveniently deducted through workers’ pay – so there’s no need to set up a separate payment. Our insurance also means employees do not pay any additional costs. It offers 100% coverage for prescribed medicine. If employees pay for medicine, they can submit a declaration to get it back.

5 Decide on travel arrangements 

Some EU workers choose to drive to the Netherlands, using their own car, whilst working here. For others, that’s either not possible or not preferable. It’s a good idea to make a choice based on cost and travel preferences. One advantage of driving from your home country to the Netherlands is that you can claim for the kilometers traveled. If you travel by plane, the cost of the ticket is refunded over a period of time. Many employees find it more cost-effective to travel by car, and the cost per kilometer is easily refunded through their wages. At InAxtion, we ask our employees how many times they plan to travel to their home country during their employment with us. We account for this cost, and evenly distribute it across the length of time they’re contracted with us.

6 Find a place to stay

The great thing about working for InAxtion in the Netherlands is that we can help you find accommodation whilst you’re living and working here. We see ourselves as your family away from home, so it’s important that we find the right accommodation for you. Again, the choice is yours. We can source a place for you to stay, or you can find your own. Accommodation can also be subsidized. That means, if you wish to pay more for accommodation, you just need to cover the difference.

Why work with InAxtion?

We’re an employment agency specializing in placing engineers and other technical specialists from EU countries into projects in the Netherlands. We help our employees with everything they need to get started, including accommodation, registration, and life in the Netherlands. Interested in working for InAxtion? Explore our current vacancies