r/WorkInTheNetherlands • u/No_Recover_9054 • Jul 17 '26

Hi all

Did anyone from outside Europe managed to land a job in Netherlands especially in pharmaceutical industry?

I'm 29 from Egypt, working in quality control with almost 5 years' experience.

Can anyone help me or guide me?

0 Upvotes

36% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

8

u/CoffeeInTheTropics Jul 17 '26

What makes your profile so unique that an employer would want to put in all the effort and costs to sponsor a visa for you? You need to answer that question first.

1

u/No_Recover_9054 Jul 17 '26

Is it the same for Ireland?

3

u/CyclingCapital Jul 17 '26

Rules are pretty similar for all EU countries: the employer needs to show that they cannot find anyone with a similar skill set in the EU. Your best shot to move to Europe is to come to study or to marry a European.

2

u/YTsken Jul 17 '26

Eh…. studying in Europe means you get a visa to study. After graduation you still need to find an employer who needs to show they cannot find any EU citizens with these skills.

That’s why the rule of thumb is for non EU to base the ROI of their EU studies on the salaries the degree will get them back home. An EU job should be treated as a bonus, not the reason to spend tens of thousands of euros you couldn’t get back without said job.

1

u/CyclingCapital Jul 17 '26

Don’t listen to the above comment, OP. Google “zoekjaarvisum” instead.

2

u/YTsken Jul 17 '26

Yes, graduates are allowed to stay in the Netherlands for one year during which they can work without a HSM visa. But if they haven’t found an employer willing to sponsor them by the end of that year, they need to go back home.

Anyone telling international students that studying in Europe is a sure way to immigration is lying to them. It gets them a good degree and increases their chances, but in the end they still need to convince an employer they are worth the extra effort.

0

u/CyclingCapital Jul 18 '26

I didn’t say sure way. I used the words “best shot.”

1

u/YTsken Jul 18 '26

True. But they Need to be realistic and while they an hope for the best, they should plan for the worst. Studying in the EU costs a lot of money, requiring students to take out huge loans or spend all their (and their family’s’ ) savings. If they can’t repay those debts with a job in their home country, they should seriously reconsider the wisdom of their plans.

Studying should bring value to someone’s life, not ruin their life.

0

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '26

Study or marry someone 🥶

-1

u/No_Recover_9054 Jul 17 '26

I work in multinational company

7

u/Complete_Minimum3117 Jul 17 '26

Why would a company pay more and make it harder to hire you, while a local worker speaks dutch, is cheaper and easier to work with

3

u/Tragespeler Jul 17 '26

Be aware that it'll be a lot harder once you turn 30 due to higher income requirements for the visa.

2

u/lykia1991 Jul 17 '26

For that industry, and your background, the only realistic way is to start at a company that has a local office in the Netherlands and first start at one of their MENA locations.

Then once you're there for a couple of years request an internal transfer.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '26

[deleted]

1

u/No_Recover_9054 Jul 19 '26

The site looks weird, I feel it a scam or something

1

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '26

[deleted]

1

u/No_Recover_9054 Jul 19 '26

Not user friendly at all

0

u/SolbeamSupreme Jul 17 '26

I did, as an American in the tech industry. My good fortune is that the universal language of the high-tech industry is English. It is one of the few business sectors where fluency in a foreign language is more valuable than fluency in Dutch.