indig0

Hi everyone,

Recently my partner and I decided to move from London to Amsterdam.
We are both freelancers and could continue working remotely, though might look for an office-based job.
We're planning to go for a few days and explore the city and look for a suitable neighbourhood.

Did anyone who made a similar move can offer any insights or perhaps points to consider that we have not considered yet?

Many thanks!
Eli.

Red_Wine_Fairy

Welcome.

You'd be tax resident here, and so would need to look into the freelancer structure here for your business. The Kamer van Koophandel is the Chamber of Commerce where all businesses are registered, and they do have information in English into the types of freelancing. There are several classes of freelancing, but be warned that if the consider that you are a concealed employee (eg. working for one company only for more than a certain number of days/weeks) then there are tax consequences for that employer (or client as you might class him).

If you're planning to get an office based job, I hope you speak another language other than English. Native English speakers are ten-a-penny and there is a huge pool of trailing spouses to take the rare admin opportunities, many of whom speak at least conversational Dutch. You might drop lucky, or you might not, but if your experience is required here (Pharma? IT?), or if you speak fluent French/German/Chinese etc, your prospects greatly increase. In any case, it's time to start learning Dutch.

You'll find lots of information in the Netherlands wiki at the top of the forum, but if you have any more specific questions, feel free to ask. Just don't ask about Brexit, because all I can say is if you move here now, you are unlikely to have the five years residence required for a Permanent Residence Permit by the time all treaties on freedom to live/work here are concluded, and as such there could be significant changes to the current conditions.

indig0

Thanks red wine fairy.
That's a good start, I will do some more readying and come back with questions.
Cheers!

indig0

Hi again,

I do have a follow up question, as we're starting to look at costs:
What would be some rough costs of utility bills i.e. refuse collection / council tax / gas / electricity / water / internet?
Also I understand that the standard health insurance costs around €100 per month.

Much obliged!
Eli.

Red_Wine_Fairy

Your health insurance will average out at around 100 euros for basic. It will be cheaper if you are willing to give up certain rights (such as: you can only be treated at the hospitals contracted with your insurer, or you're happy to wait (!) and have your medication delivered by post rather than picking it up at a pharmacy), and it will be more expensive if you buy a top up premium, such as if you know you are likely to need physio, psych, maternity, etc. Like most insurance, you get what you pay for Dental is the most expensive add on - only you will know if it's worth taking because treatment can be expensive (but toothache is excruciating) - but you can choose your reimbursement levels, from 500 per annum to 1250 per annum, with monthly costs in proportion. I had the minimum cover, then needed an implant so raised it to maximum cover for one year to meet costs for implantology, then dropped it again the next year (you can only change insurers/policies in Nov/Dec). Know that unlike US style insurance, Dutch basic insurance guarantees that any procedure deemed necessary by a medical professional is covered without question - you just need a verwijzing (referral) from your GP or dentist. My advice is that unless you're 18-25 and never had a day's illness in your life, don't go for the cheapest policy you can find!

Utilities will depend entirely on the location, size and age of the property you choose to live in. I could tell you rough figures for a 4-5 bedroom house in the suburbs, which is likely to be way over the top compare to a city centre in a one-bed apartment. Refuse/rubbish is covered in gemeente (council) tax, which is generally half of what you pay in the UK (I pay around 450 here, was 900+ in the UK). The reason for this is that funding for many services (education, etc) is taken from general rather than local taxation. We pay around 220 per month for utilities (G/W/E) and around 55 for internet/TV/phone, although in an apartment I'm sure it will be lower than that for the former, depending of course on how often you use appliances and the energy rating of those.

indig0

This is very helpful, sends me off to research on health insurance.
I do have another question, if you will be so kind:
In terms of tax, do we have to register with Dutch tax office and pay taxes on top of what we pay in UK? We will probably need to speak to a tax advisor but any useful information you might have would be much appreciated!

Red_Wine_Fairy

If you're resident here, you pay tax here (not to the UK). I believe there is currently a tax treaty to avoid double taxation. Something different happens here - government departments are generally linked. So when you register as a resident with the Town Hall/Gemeente (a legal requirement within 5 days of signing a rental contract), various other authorities are informed, suach as the SVB who will initiate your Dutch state pension, and most importantly, the taxman (Belastingdienst); so you don't have to register separately, it's automatic. You'll know because you get your tax number (BSN) when you register.

For comparison of health insurance, there are sites like Independer.nl or ZorgWijzer.nl; use google translate (or similar) and use a wizard to guide you through choices you feel are important to you. As I said, be really wary of the limitations of some of the budget policies, including a whopping increase in the excess up from the regular €375 pa to €850 own risk.

indig0

Thank you once again!

This really starts to clear things up as I was puzzled how to open a bank account / rent an apartment / register for BSN without being stuck in a catch-22 limbo, whereby each item depends on the other...

In terms of banking - ABN AMRO seems to be a reasonable choice for expats, offering services in English (i.e. would feel more comfortable signing paperwork in a language I understand). Any thoughts on that?

Red_Wine_Fairy

There's good and bad stories with all the banks. ABN, Rabo or ING. ABN is the most expat friendly insofar as they have webpages in English, but there's not much between them. I'm with Rabo (joint) and ING (mine), and the Dutch has never really been a problem - you learn the terms for making payments very quickly anyway.

indig0

Fair enough.
Many thanks again, might come back later