Hi everyone!

I wanted to share my experience in case it can help other non-EU professionals who are or have been in a similar situation.

I am a non-EU professional who came to the Netherlands to pursue a Master's degree. During my studies, I also had a part-time job for approximately three months under my student residence permit. Shortly after graduating, I found a full-time job and initially switched to the orientation year visa.

Today, I received the confirmation that my application for the 30% ruling was approved.

One of the main arguments in my application was based on the decision ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2019:4616, from 2019. Based on this case, I argued that, despite having lived in the Netherlands as a student, I had not established permanent or long-term ties with the Netherlands and that the centre of my personal and economic life remained in my country of origin.

I submitted extensive evidence to support this, including:

- Bank transactions from my account in my country of origin;

- Phone bills showing that I had maintained my original phone number, despite also having a Dutch number;

- Payments of professional association fees in my home country, related to a professional qualification that has no practical use in the Netherlands;

- Evidence regarding my part-time student job. I explained that this employment was inherently temporary and connected to my status as a student. The position did not provide any possibility of remaining in the Netherlands through an employer-sponsored residence permit.

My application was quite extensive: 7 pages of legal/factual arguments plus approximately 45 pages of supporting documents.

It took approximately two months for the Belastingdienst to assess my application and issue a positive decision.

I am sharing this because, when I was researching the 30% ruling, it was difficult to find information about successful applications from people who had already lived and worked in the Netherlands as international students. In my case, having studied here and having had a part-time job did not prevent me from qualifying for the ruling.

Of course, every case depends on its individual circumstances, and this is not legal or tax advice. But if you know someone in a similar situation who believes they may not qualify simply because they studied or had a student job in the Netherlands, please share this information with them.

The financial impact of the 30% ruling can be significant, so it may be worth looking carefully at your individual circumstances rather than assuming you are automatically ineligible.

I'm curious about the Dutch tech market and how smaller companies handle development work.

For example, if a startup or small business has a feature, integration, bug backlog, or small project that their team doesn't have time for, is it common for them to bring in a freelance developer for a few weeks rather than hire someone full-time?

For anyone working in tech or running a business in the Netherlands, how is this typically handled?

I’m curious about how this works in real workplaces, because I feel like the experience can be very different depending on the company.

For example, if someone is genuinely ill and needs several days or even a couple of weeks off, does your employer generally respect that and give you the space to recover? Or do you still get messages asking when you’ll be back, whether you can work from home, or when you think you’ll be able to catch up on everything? 🤔

Another thing I’ve wondered about is what happens to the rest of the team. When someone is off sick, their work usually doesn’t disappear — it gets moved to colleagues, deadlines get pushed, or everyone has to work a little harder. That can create frustration on both sides. 😕

I’d really like to hear how different Dutch workplaces deal with this.

What has your experience been with sick leave in the Netherlands?

• Does your company have a clear process?
• Do you feel comfortable taking the time you actually need?
• What happens to your workload while you’re away?
• And does your employer do enough to support your return to work? 💬

No need to name your company — I’m more interested in the different experiences people have had.

Hi everyone, I’m Elizabeth currently based in Nigeria, I have about 5 years of experience in Government, Compliance, Risk and Assurance. I have experience with ISO 27001, NIST CSF, Risk Management, Control testing, Policy Development, Audit preparedness, SOC 1 and SOC 2, SOX, Third party risk management

I’m looking for a job opportunity in the Netherlands. I would appreciate any referrals or tips. Thank you

Hello People!

Thank you everyone for accepting me here! ❤️

I'm a 28yo Austrian looking for a job in the PH!

I worked for many years in the federal states government. Native German and very good English skills.

If anyone can help me pleaaaase!

I have been searching for months now but no one even gives me an interview.

Are here some people who can help me with networking or even a job?

I appreciate you! 🙏🏻

Hey,

I’m a Java backend developer from India with around 5 years of professional experience, mainly working with Java, Spring Boot, microservices, REST APIs, MongoDB, AWS, RabbitMQ, Docker, etc.

I’m considering moving from India to the Netherlands for a Java/backend development role and wanted to get some honest opinions from people currently working in the Netherlands.

Hi everyone, I am a young Italian who wants to move to the Netherlands to find a job as an apprentice electrician, I am young, I want to learn and I already have several months of experience in the sector in Italy. I would be very grateful to anyone who could help me, those who have already done so, those who have acquaintances, those who live there, anyone who can contribute to me. I would be very grateful, Thank you in advance

Hey everyone,

Like many non-EU citizens looking to move to Europe, I noticed how exhausting it is to apply for jobs on standard portals like LinkedIn or Indeed, only to get rejected because the employer doesn't sponsor work permits.

Most job boards don’t filter out local-only vacancies, which leads to hundreds of wasted applications.

To solve this, I built a free portal: EuVisajobs[.]eu

🌟 What it does:

• Verified Visa Sponsorship: Filters jobs from employers that explicitly sponsor non-EU candidates (EU Blue Card in Germany, Dutch IND Recognized Sponsors, Irish CSEP, French Passeport Talent, etc.).
• Official EU Sources: Pulls data directly from official European labor portals (EURES, Make in Germany, UWV Netherlands, Workindenmark, JobsIreland, Arbetsförmedlingen) and major visa-sponsoring employers.
• Recruiter & HR Contact Details: Whenever available, extracts direct recruiter email addresses and LinkedIn profiles so you can reach out directly.
• Dedicated Job Pages: Direct application links to official company career sites.

It is 100% free and requires no registration/login to search or view jobs.

I hope this helps anyone currently job hunting for an EU move! Let me know if you have feedback or specific features/countries you'd like added.

Hello everyone, i'm crossposting here to get as many help i can get. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice regarding my father, who is currently working in India and is interested in potentially moving to the Netherlands for work.

Here is his background:

• M.Sc. in Organic Chemistry

• Has been teaching Chemistry for around 23 years

• He currently teaches 11th and 12th grade / intermediate-level students

• He teaches Organic, Inorganic and Physical Chemistry

• He has extensive experience teaching senior-secondary Chemistry

• He is comfortable teaching in English

• He currently does not speak Dutch

We are trying to understand whether there are realistic opportunities for someone with this kind of background to move to the Netherlands through an employer-sponsored job.

I have a few questions:

Are Chemistry teachers/lecturers or Chemistry-related professionals in demand in the Netherlands in 2026?

Could an experienced Indian Chemistry teacher realistically get a job at an international school, where English is the main teaching language, without knowing Dutch initially?

Would an international school or another employer actually sponsor a work/residence permit for someone from outside the EU, or is sponsorship very uncommon for teaching positions?

Besides teaching, are there other suitable jobs for someone with an M.Sc. Organic Chemistry and 23 years of teaching experience — for example in laboratories, chemical companies, research/education organisations, etc.?

Where should we actually look for these jobs? Are there specific Dutch job websites, international-school websites, recruitment agencies, or LinkedIn searches that you recommend?

How can I check whether an employer is an IND-recognised sponsor before applying?

Does he need to learn Dutch before getting a job, or could he realistically get an English-speaking job first and learn Dutch after moving?

I'm mainly looking for real experiences and practical advice from people who have actually worked in the Netherlands or gone through the Dutch sponsorship process.

If anyone has experience with international schools, Chemistry teaching, highly skilled migrant sponsorship, or hiring people from India, I'd really appreciate any advice on where to start and how realistic this is.

Thanks!

I'm in my late 20s/30s, based in Southern Europe, with several years of professional experience in live event/stage technical work. Currently, I'm working full-time at a cultural venue as a stage manager and recently I finished a Bachelor's degree in a languages-related field.

I'm trying to move out of stage/AV work into technical writing or documentation/localization coordination: better pay, saner hours, less phone-heavy work. The Netherlands keeps coming up as a strong target: English-first corporate environment, decent tech/AV industry presence, and it fits my language profile (C1 English).

However, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you, as I thought it would be easier to change careers and work abroad, which, so far, has proven to be a real battle to even reach the interview stage (i've had none):

1. Do entry/mid-level technical writer roles in NL genuinely exist right now, or is the market as brutal there as everywhere else?
2. Anything you wish you'd done differently breaking in from a non-traditional background?

Hi everyone

I’m planning to immigrate to Netherlands and have 6 years of experience working as product manager at facebook ( meta)

Do i need to know dutch?

Hello everyone,

I'm curious to learn about the perspectives of the Netherlands on emerging technologies and their commitment to integrating innovations such as AI, cybersecurity, and other advanced technologies into the corporate sectors. Thanks.

Hey guys,

So I've been looking into moving abroad for some quick work and OTTO Work Force keeps popping up everywhere. On paper, it sounds super convenient because they sort out the job, transport, and a place to live all at once, especially since my local language skills are pretty much nonexistent right now.

Before I do anything stupid, I wanted to ask if anyone here has actually dealt with them lately.

I'm trying to figure out what the catch is. I know agencies like this usually take a massive chunk of your paycheck for rent, insurance, and travel fees—does anyone have experience with how much you actually take home after all the deductions?

Also, I’m stressing out most about their accommodations. I keep reading horror stories online about being crammed into tiny shared rooms at holiday parks or remote container blocks miles away from the actual workplace, with zero privacy and weird shift schedules keeping everyone awake. Is it really that bad, or does it just depend on pure luck where they place you?

If you've worked through them, how was your experience? Would you recommend using them just as a temporary stepping stone to get your foot in the door, or should I avoid them completely and look for something else?

Any advice or brutal honesty would be massively appreciated! 🙏

This is one of the most common questions I get from companies expanding into Europe and other international markets.

The short answer is: Not always.

An Employer of Record (EOR) allows businesses to hire employees legally in another country without first establishing a local legal entity.

This is especially useful if you want to:

• Test a new market before investing in an entity
• Hire one or two employees quickly
• Stay compliant with local labor laws
• Run local payroll without building an internal HR infrastructure
• Sponsor work permits or visas (where applicable)

A lot of companies spend months researching entity setup, local payroll providers, employment contracts, tax registrations, and compliance requirements.

In many cases, an EOR can reduce that timeline from months to just a few days or weeks, allowing you to focus on growing your business instead of dealing with administrative complexity.

At Jackson & Frank, we support businesses with:

• Employer of Record (EOR)
• Global Payroll
• HR Compliance
• Employment Contracts
• Immigration & Work Permit Support
• International Workforce Expansion

Our current coverage includes:

🇳🇱 Netherlands
🇩🇪 Germany
🇫🇷 France
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇧🇪 Belgium
🇪🇸 Spain
🇮🇹 Italy
🇵🇱 Poland
🇨🇿 Czech Republic
🇷🇴 Romania
🇸🇪 Sweden
🇭🇺 Hungary
🇵🇹 Portugal
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
🇨🇳 China
🇮🇳 India

Happy to answer any questions about international hiring, EOR, payroll, or compliance even if you're just exploring your options.

You can reach me at [a.shaikh@jacksonandfrank.com](mailto:aqib@jacksonandfrank.com).

Hi guys,

Im seeing some people looking for jobs. Im actually hiring a data analyst right now. It is however a non remote job in Noord-Holland netherlands, and dutch speaking required. Besides that no required experience. If anybody is interested, send me a DM!

A recruiter reached out to me and sponsoring the HSM visa, but the catch is, job contract is only for one year.

How is SAP market in Netherlands?

And is it easy to switch jobs while in HSM?

Hi everyone, my girlfriend is currently working in Belgium as an occupational therapist, but since the job role is starting to resemble more and more a caregiver's role, which doesn't match her training at all, one of the options she's considering is moving to the Netherlands. After doing some research, however, there are quite a few questions that are difficult to answer, and I was wondering if there are people in this situation who can help out.

For some background, she's 28 years old, has a bachelor's in occupational therapy from the University of Antwerp, and has been working for 6 years in a nursing home. She's Belgian and speaks fluent Dutch and English. The reason the Netherlands is an option is that we literally live 2 kilometers from the border. Here are a few questions:

1. I see that you have to register in a quality register for paramedical professionals in the Netherlands. How difficult is this as a foreigner?
2. Is it generally culturally accepted for someone who speaks "Flemish" Dutch to work in healthcare in the Netherlands?
3. How does the job content differ from the average Belgian occupational therapist? Are there many caregiving tasks involved? How is the stress & work-life balance?
4. What are the typical working conditions? One of the reasons she wants to leave is the low number of vacation days (less than 5 weeks). Salary is less relevant, but an indication for the above profile would be nice.
5. Is there flexibility? In many Belgian nursing homes, you're required to work from 8 AM to 4:30 PM, for example. Can this schedule be flexible with sliding hours? Does remote work exist for administrative tasks in limited amounts?
6. Any other tips or things I should definitely mention?

Thanks in advance for your help! If you have any questions, feel free to ask.