However, in order to move to the Netherlands, you should take into account the Dutch bureaucracy and requirements for foreigners.
As is the case with all other countries, immigration to the Netherlands begins for each foreigner with a single procedure – obtaining a residence permit. Those who have moved will be able to apply for permanent residence only in the future. The following categories of people will be able to obtain a residence permit:
- Spouses of Dutch citizens. However, their relationship may not have official registration, and same-sex couples are accepted.
- People who work in the country in accordance with an official contract.
- Young people who have received a diploma from an educational institution in this country, which previously stayed in the country on a student visa.
- Immigrant entrepreneurs, whose companies have been successfully operating in the Netherlands for a year. Moreover, their profit during the month must exceed 1000 Euros.
- Refugee immigrants whose status has been officially confirmed.
All of the above-mentioned categories of people, after passing a certain procedure, will be able to obtain a residence permit, and then permanent residence, which in the future will give the right to relocate to the Netherlands as its resident forever. At the same time, it will be possible to live there all year round, and simply go to rest on its land.
The procedure for obtaining a residence permit in the Netherlands
The primary source of all useful information about the relocation is the IND (Netherlands Migration Board) website. Depending on your situation, look at the sections: Work, Study, Family.
If the purpose of staying in the territory of the state is the desire to settle in it, then after arriving in this country, a person must complete the registration procedure at his place of residence within 8 days. When applying, you should have the following package of documents with you – standard forms, in which all the necessary data will be entered, a photograph, a foreign passport. If a person who is in an official family relationship with a Dutch citizen wishes to obtain a residence permit, then a document will also need to be provided to confirm this fact.
After passing all the procedures described above, a special sticker will be pasted into the passport, which gives the right to foreigners to reside legally in the Netherlands for six months. This is exactly how much time it will take to process the documentation. The very first residence permit is issued for a period of one year. To obtain such a permit, immigrants will need to pay about several hundred Euros. In this case, the residence permit can be extended several times. The main thing is to know exactly the day of the end of its validity.
Immigration to the Netherlands through marriage
Marriage may not have official status. In addition, it is not necessary to permanently reside in the country in this case. It will be necessary to be in place at the time of submitting an application for citizenship. But not everything is as simple as it seems at first sight. The authorities will check the validity of long-term close relationships. They take the form of numerous surveys, tests, comparisons of information, the study of all the details, even small ones. In the case of an unregistered marriage, there is one important nuance: when partners break up after receiving permanent residence, the citizen will be obliged to leave the country.
A residence permit for work
It is available to anyone who comes to Netherland to earn money. Moreover, a work visa to this state is issued to some specialists and seasonal workers under a simplified scheme. But each specific case is examined on an individual basis when the level of education, language proficiency, professionalism, and the demand for a particular specialty are taken into account.
A residence permit is issued in this case only if there is a specific employer who wants to recruit a person. The minimum wage level must be:
- For those who are under 30 years old – 35,000 Euros per year;
- Employees who are older than 30 – 48,000 Euros per year.
Immigration to the Netherlands is also possible if you open your own business there. The main thing here is to have enough funds for the implementation of it and experience, which is recorded in an official document (diploma or extract). Sufficient stable income will be considered 1000 Euros per month for a year. In this case, it will be possible to obtain a residence permit after this period.
You can also buy real estate in this country for doing business, at the same time making a profitable investment. It falls under state protection (the law on foreign investment and private property of foreigners) and allows you to get a European multi visa.
Studying in Netherland as a step towards relocation
This way of moving to the Netherlands will be very interesting for young people. If you do not have the opportunity to get a job, but you are young, full of interest in studying, and are confident that you can study at a Dutch educational institution with success, then it is worth testing your strength.
This state offers many different programs for training, including very nontrivial ones: bioinformatics, hydrology, religious studies. As already mentioned, there are many foreign tourists in the country, and you will get the opportunity to meet a wide variety of people, broaden your horizons, and establish connections for the future.
Education in the country is mainly conducted in English, which means that it is worth learning it in advance. To enter a Dutch higher education institution, you must pass one of the international exams:
- IELTS – 6 points or more;
- TOEFL – 80 points or more.
In addition, you should prepare documents such as a foreign passport; secondary education document; motivation letter; summary; recommendations. As for tuition fees, for example, in the prestigious Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, a year for non-residents of EU countries will cost from about 10 thousand Euros, they can be divided into parts and paid gradually. There are scholarships for talented students that can cover part of the education or even the whole. It all depends on the educational institution and the specific applicant – you can clarify the details if you set a goal and study the information on the websites of the institutions.
Immigration to the Netherlands as a refugee
To live in this state as a refugee is a popular and demanding method. But the authorities are quite attentive to this category. This becomes possible if there is a danger of losing life, health, or there is some kind of ethnic or sexual harassment. The latter issue is likely to resonate with immigration officials because of its loyalty to sexual minorities. Another point for a positive answer will be the problem of criminal prosecution.
If the motive is religious or political, then the process of obtaining a residence permit and permanent residence may take 6 months or even two years. And all this time you will have to live in a special camp.
In order to obtain this status, you must ask for asylum upon arrival at the airport at the border control. A person dealing with these issues will be invited to listen to the reasons. But if the situation improves in the country from which the immigrant arrived, the return will follow. This status gives them permission to live in the country and study.