cyclingnomad7333

Hi All

New member here, so please be gentle.

I am looking to relocate to the Netherlands but would like more information from anyone who has done this, or is in the advanced stages of doing so post Brexit.

I have contacted a Dutch recruitment agency as I was looking to seek employment in NL before moving but to one I contacted said that they only find work for those who have already moved there, despite them designing themselves as an agency for internationals looking to work there. I suggested to them that I would be happy to work remotely whilst still in the UK for an NL company as this would then allow me to establish myself with a Dutch company before making the big move. They replied to say that this was not possible, which surprised me given that remote working has been embraced worldwide since the start of the pandemic.

I am looking for any guidance about the best ways of finding work in NL and an obviously interested in any suggestions of guidance those who have made this move can offer.

Best Regards

scot47

What skills do you have that would make a Dutch employer hire you rather than a citizen ofr the EU ?

See it from the perspective of an employer in NL.

Listen Very Carefully

Basically EU rules are designed to favour employment to a country's nationals then EU nationals or in the case of Brits those who were resident in the EU prior to Jan 2021
Therefore you cannot move to an EU country to look for work as you will need to obtain a visa first and generally you will need paid employment to do so or have another source of income eg pension or be married to an EU national
Basically remote working is taxed etc in the country where you are when you do the work so no EU country is going to "employ" outside their jurisdiction

cyclingnomad7333

Thanks for the replies. So fundamentally Brexit has screwed up any hope of migrating to an EU country. Fabulous. I do not have any special skills which cannot be provided by anyone who is already an NL resident.

Listen Very Carefully

Yep you have summed it up quite neatly. If you cannot get a job offer prior to moving you are going to have to wait till you get a pension ....or train to be a brain surgeon or romance a lovely Dutch person..... whichever is easier!!!!!

scrubbedexpat0105

Screwed up? It's not a bug, it's a feature. Shutting down migration between the UK and mainland Europe isn't a side-effect of Brexit, it was one of the main reasons why people voted for it.

cyclingnomad7333

It's small minded and ridiculous. I didnt vote for it, neither did 48 percent of voters or whatever it was. So yes, Brexit has screwed things up.

EU.flag

Another way is to seek work in UK for Dutch company, or international company with offices in NL.
Then after some time working in UK, you could transfer to NL or apply for NL job internally.

cyclingnomad7333

yep, good idea, thanks

Red_Wine_Fairy

So apart from the useful suggestion above from EU.flag, (think Anglo-Dutch companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever, etc) then I would advise you to steer clear of generic recruitment agents. Without a skillset, you're pretty much screwed, as you say - fluency in other languages may be your only get out card? Or are you young enough to go back and study for a career change? In a country where most kids leave school with fluent Dutch and English (and usually a third language also), the cards for a non-skilled person in business or even the service industry are heavily stacked against them, and admin-type jobs are difficult to find even for Brits (trailing spouse, or married to a Dutchie) who have the right to live and work here already. Marrying a Dutchie is a possibility, or easier, a partnership with an EU national who has the right to move here and to bring their family with them...

But it begs the question why you didn't plan/make this move twelve, six, or even three months ago? Neither Brexit itself, nor the end of the transition period was hardly a big surprise to anyone. All you needed to have done was prove you were resident here the moment the hour hand reached midnight on 1st January 2021.

cyclingnomad7333

thanks for the input. In hindsight I would have done as you have suggested in terms of residency. However until mid Jan I had a steady job in the UK and with a family to support I could not just up sticks and move. Everything changed mid Jan 2021 as my employer made mass redundancies, with myself being one of the affected. So after 15 years of service with the same company I found myself with the chance to make a change of direction in life. Had this happened 12 months ago I would have already been over there! Some things are not to be I guess.

Red_Wine_Fairy

I'm so sorry to hear this, and I hope things pick up for you and your family again soon. It was tough arranging a move with a family before we left the EU, I'd hate to think of how it would be managed now as I'm hearing nightmares from people trying to make the move in both directions and get their household possessions back. Remote working might change the way we all work to some degree, so keep checking Linked In (major recruitment tool) for jobs here in your area - 15 years has got to count for something, and it avoids the Dutch recruitment agencies in many cases. Perhaps working remotely for a Dutch company could one day lead to them applying for a work visa here?

calman014

So what is your field of experience?..You must have done something for 15 years?..

scot47

Did Mr Fargae not tell you ? It is too late now.