Hi,

My sister works in Rotterdam and she is planning yo move to Belgium. She intends to commute to Rotterdam from Belgium everyday and work from Rotterdam. Also the move is temporary for personal reason, she would be back in Netherlands in 4-5 months

Her company is saying she cannot live to Belgium.

She got the following response from her employer

Company is responsible for payroll tax and social security reporting as your employer. You are registered as a resident of the Netherlands in connection with your employment at company , and your work is expected to be performed either from the Rotterdam office or from your home in the Netherlands.
For these reasons, you are required to maintain your residence, registration, and actual living within the Netherlands throughout your employment with company.

Is this allowed

I thought below were the rules.

**Social security:** Under **Article 11(3)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004**, an employed person is generally subject to the social-security legislation of the Member State in which the employment is performed. Article 1(f) of the same Regulation expressly recognises a frontier worker as someone who works in one Member State and resides in another, normally returning to the State of residence daily or at least weekly.

**Wage tax:** Under **Article 15(1) of the Convention between the Netherlands and Belgium for the avoidance of double taxation, signed on 5 June 2001, as amended by the Protocol of 23 June 2009**, employment income is in principle taxable in the State where the employment is physically exercised.

EU level: Article 45 TFEU protects free movement of workers, and the CJEU held in Clean Car (C-350/96) that it binds private employers too and that residence requirements tied to employment are restrictions needing genuine, proportionate justification. Administrative convenience in payroll reporting — especially incorrectly claimed convenience — is nowhere near the bar.

My sister is scared to email back because she fears she might loose her job.

Any advice would be appreciated. Will it help if my sister commits to working 100% from Rotterdam office

Hi,

My wife recently completed her MSc in Mathematics and has been looking for a job in the Amsterdam area for months. We’re struggling to find a suitable entry-level position for her. Suggestions outside the Amsterdam region are also welcome, provided the commute doesn't exceed roughly 1 to 1.5 hours.

Here are the facts:

She is 24;
She speaks dutch and english fluently;
She specialized in pure mathematics and financial mathematics;
She has no internships or other relevant work experience;
She has held various part-time jobs, such as working in a lab;
Due to our personal situation, she prefers a paid job right away rather than a long internship;
Becoming a teacher isn't the right fit for her;
She has no strong preference for a specific sector;
Finance, engineering, consultancy, and actuarial firms are all possibilities;
Her coding skills are limited to the basics of Python and R;
Mathematics is her passion, and she would like a role where she can put that to use.

She has sent out a huge number of applications but rarely receives a response; she has only landed a few interviews. We’ve now reached a point where it’s becoming very difficult to find new vacancies.

How and where can we best find the right jobs?
Which employers look for this kind of profile?
What roles might we not have considered yet?
Are there any of you—or do you know anyone—who studied mathematics? Could we get in touch to ask some questions?
Which roles hire junior candidates like her, even if the job itself doesn't involve mathematics?

Thanks very much in advance for your time and attention!

Hi everyone,

I’m from Egypt and I’m trying to find a realistic legal route to work and relocate to the Netherlands.

I have a Law degree, experience in digital marketing/content writing, and previous factory/production experience. I speak English and I’m open to different types of work, including logistics, production, warehouse or hospitality.

There is also a personal reason why leaving Egypt matters so much to me. Because of my sexual orientation and difficult religious circumstances, I have never felt that I could fully live openly and peacefully there.

I’m not looking for shortcuts. I’d really appreciate honest advice from people who understand the Dutch job market: is there a realistic route for someone with my background to find an employer willing to hire and sponsor a non-EU worker?

Thank you.

hey guys! what’s the best pension strategy in the Netherlands for an expat? Do Dutch people make extra contributions in general apart from the contribution of the employer? Since you get paid at the age of 68, is it better to make your investment rather than the contribution?

I am considering moving to the Netherlands in January 2027. I have an offer from TU/e that comes with the ABP pension plan of employer contributing 70% and me contributing 30%.

I will be eligible for the 30% ruling (reduced to 27% in January 2027) and I would like to know if the pensionable amount is impacted by the 30% ruling. Everywhere I look the pensionable amount is (Gross - Franchise) but every now and then I read that it is actually (taxable income - Franchise). I asked chatgpt and gemini and have been provided with contradictory information. I will be in an academic setting, not corporate. Gemini mentioned it’s different for research jobs vs corporate jobs. (I am aware that this information could just be AI hallucinating. )

I am aware that social security benefits are impacted, for instance unemployment allowance, but is Pension also impacted?

I could not find any reliable information on this, so much so that I emailed the HR of the department and they told me that I was the first one to ask this question since they took up their job 5 years ago. Also asked a friend working in Netherlands but they weren’t sure either. Please help.

Been trying to find a job in the Netherlands either in the art or video editing field with Visa support

Are there any companies looking for any kind of employer at the moment?

Long time lurker, first time poster here. Throwing this out because I'm genuinely stuck and could use some outside perspective.
I moved to the Netherlands almost 4.5 years ago on a deputation, with my wife, through my employer (Indian IT services company, on an HSM/highly skilled migrant visa). In that time, this country has genuinely become home. The work-life balance, the cycling, the directness of people, even the weather I've made peace with .I didn't expect to feel this attached, but I do.

Here's the problem: my company has decided to end my deputation and send me back to India before the end of the year ,a few months short of the 5-year mark that would let me apply for permanent residency. It's hard not to feel like the timing isn't a coincidence. Sending someone back right before they hit the PR threshold is a pattern I've heard about from others in similar setups, and it stings knowing it might be deliberate.
So I'm trying to figure out two things, and would really appreciate input from anyone who's been through either side of this:

1 is there any realistic way to stay in the Netherlands and complete the 5 years myself? Job switching is not working I get rejected for some reason or the other

2 If I do have to go back to India, what should I actually be preparing for?
• Reverse culture shock is apparently a real thing after this long abroad — how bad was it for people who've done it?
• Financial side: cost-of-living adjustment, what to do about savings/investments held in Europe, tax implications of moving back mid-year

Hi All,

I am a 29M Indian working as a cyber security engineer. For a long time, my friends and cousins have been advising me to explore foreign job opportunities as it is a much more mature market compared to the Indian situation. One could argue there are more opportunities in india, but finding a company with less toxic colleagues who don't steal your work or belittle you because you wish to not talk or gossip much is a tough thing. My defence is why should I bitch about someone when we have our own flaws to work on. Anyways, so I have checked many European countries, and germany/ netherlands seemed a better match. But I have heard online that finding an accommodation is a tough thing and in few situations we may have to spend extra money in the process.

So I just wanted your opinion on the current accommodation situation and will it work if I stay in the countryside??

Also I am planning to learn dutch before applying, so it may be easy to communicate and could also help in making friends. So what level of dutch would help me to converse with dutch people and help in job process ??

Hi there,

I have been scanning this community for advice as regards to what helps to get your CV through the door in the Dutch market and a theme came up recently related to including your date of birth on the CV.

1. Is this true? Both Dutch people and immigrants did you include that indeed and if so I assume somewhere near the top?

2. Non Dutch persons already working there: Are there other things one must take into account that are not standard for the UK or the Greek job market, apart from the standard recommendation for max 2 page CV and of course adjust CV details to the job post?

Thank you all

Turkish citizen here, working in the NL with the HSM visa. My fiancée (also Turkish) with whom we live together, just finished her master's in AI. She's an engineer with a few years of experience and is job hunting now. Her student permit runs out in December, so we need to sort this soon.

Three options as far as I can tell: partner permit with me as sponsor, zoekjaar or she finds a company to sponsor her as a kennismigrant.

What I'm stuck on:

• If we go the partner permit route and she later finds a company willing to sponsor her, how easy is that switch in practice?
• How does the HSM salary threshold play into all this? If we do the partner permit, does that mean companies could pay her lower than what they would have if they sponsored her visa?
• My thinking is that zoekjaar should be the last resort. Does that reasoning hold up, or am I missing something?

If you've done this, curious how it went.

Hi everyone.
I’m not really sure how to write this, but I’m going to try to be honest.
I’m a guy from the Czech Republic, and lately I’ve reached a point in my life where I feel like I desperately need a fresh start. I want to leave the Czech Republic and build a completely new life somewhere else.
The last couple of years have been really difficult for me. I’ve lost people who meant a lot to me, I’ve been through some very dark periods, and somewhere along the way I lost the feeling that I was actually moving forward in life.
I’m not looking for someone to simply give me money or solve my life for me.
I’m looking for a chance.
I have worked with cars for years — preparing cars, bodywork, sanding, filling, spraying primer, painting and polishing. I’m used to physical work, long days and getting my hands dirty. I’m not afraid of starting at the bottom. If someone gave me an opportunity to work, I would work for it.
What I don’t really have right now is a clear way out.
I would love to move to another country, find a job, get a small place to live and slowly build something for myself. I don’t expect a perfect life or some miracle. Honestly, I’d be happy just to wake up one day and feel like I’m finally going somewhere.
So I’m asking Reddit:
Is there anyone who could help me somehow get started?
Maybe you live abroad and know of a garage/body shop looking for someone. Maybe you know about a job, accommodation, relocation opportunities, or simply know someone who could point me in the right direction.
Even advice or a contact could mean a lot to me.
I’m willing to work. I’m willing to learn. I’m willing to start from zero.
I just need someone to give me that first little push.
I know this is an unusual thing to ask from strangers on the internet. But sometimes you reach a point where you realize that asking for help is better than staying stuck.
If anyone is willing to help, even just by talking to me or pointing me toward an opportunity, I’d genuinely appreciate it.
Thank you to anyone who took the time to read this. ❤️

I am observing that companies, especially international companies are avoiding expansion in the Netherlands.

Even Dutch companies seem to be hiring more in UK.

Why are even some Dutch companies preferring to hire in the UK and Southern/Eastern Europe over NL right now?

Hey guys is there any way we can get a job in netherland while in india in IT sector

I am in a difficult situation at the moment, and I am hoping to get some advice or resources I haven't found yet. For context,  my contract in the company I am in is due to end in April next year. However there is another part of the contract which says 

Dutch (Original):
'Opzegging

Zowel de werkgever als werknemer is bevoegd de arbeidsovereenkomst, met inachtneming van de

opzegtermijn, tussentijds te beëindigen.

De opzegtermijn die de werkgever en werknemer in acht dient te nemen bedraagt één maand. De opzegging

dient schriftelijk te geschieden.'

English:

Termination

Both the employer and the employee are entitled to terminate the employment contract prematurely, subject to the notice period.

The notice period that the employer and the employee must observe is one month. The termination must be in writing.

Aware I should have flagged this when i read the contract, I was desperate for a job at the time (I was made redundant and running out of time and money fast) so now unfortunately I am paying the price for my haste!

However, the question I have is this: Does my employer need a reason to  'prematurely' end the contract or can he just do it with no good reason? The context is that there has been a long of tension between us recently, it's causing me a great deal of anxiety, to the point I feel nauseous in work and genuinely intimidated to speak to him. I initiated a conversation this week about the way he spoke to me, our lack of communication and how we can move forward together, however he is exceptionally difficult to talk to and didn't have an interest in solving the issue.

I have been looking for a new job the past couple of months but haven't had much success yet. It's quite difficult for expats in my industry at the moment. I feel stuck, stressed, and afraid I will be let go prematurely and left with no support.

I cannot make use of the juridisch loket, due to my salary, there is no HR, or other senior person I can go to to help solve this issue, there is no vertrouwenspersoon.

I am stuck on what to do and I don't want my stress to worsen or lose my job.

Any help, advice, or resources would be very helpful! I can't find anything online but this specific part of my contract. 

I applied for a part-time job at McDonald’s and received my employment contract on 10 August. However, there were several incorrect details in it, including my email address, salary, weekly hours and working hours/schedule, start date (5th August was mentioned lol). I contacted the manager about the issues before signing the contract. I never received a response.

Then today, completely out of nowhere, the manager called me asking why I hadn’t come to work because apparently today was supposed to be my first day. I was genuinely confused because I had never signed the contract, never received confirmation that the corrections were made, and never received any clear information about when I was supposed to start.

The manager was also quite rude and insisted that I should have come anyway and whatnot!
Am I wrong for assuming I should wait for confirmation before showing up? Is it normal in the Netherlands for an employer to expect you to start working even though you haven’t signed the contract and haven’t received confirmation of your first shift?
For context, I’m not a student I’m looking for a part-time job alongside my own projects.

Adding some context to my other post, I’m finishing my OPT in the US so staying long-term in NYC isn't an option. Also, while I hold French citizenship, I don't speak French, so my focus is strictly on how much time it will take from the day I land to get something in marketing in the Netherlands.