I want to move to amsterdam from the US...what do I need to do?

Question

I live in Florida, USA right now, and have a BA in history...I am looking for a job in amsterdam...does anyone know any sites that have jobs for foreigners in amsterdam...also if you moved from the US to amsterdam what did you need to do as far as paperwork, etc?

Answer 1

In short - unless you hold a EU passport (or have a relationship with a Dutch/EU national) then in principle there are only a couple of 'routes' in to getting a working visa which is what you will need to move here and work. You can read more about them all on the Dutch Immigration site here in English http://www.ind.nl/EN/verblijfwijzer/verb...

(a) being self-employed

(b) as a 'au pair'

(c) As a highly skilled migrant

(d) Self employed

(d) When aa company sponsors you with a job offer

Basically to get a working visa for the latter you must have a job offer and it is catch 22 as companies do not want to take the time, money or effort to bring someone from outside the EU unless they hold specialist knowledge/experience that they cannot find within the EU.  I am afraid a BA in history would not fulfil this in principle as BA degrees are commonplace in Europe, and even graduates in subjects as history, environmental science, literature etc struggle to get jobs

You will see for many job advertisments that they specifiy that applications can only be accepted from people eligible (EU or already holding a working visa) to work already.  A summary of the IND info is also found here in a brochure http://www.ind.nl/en/Images/4012_tcm6-59...

You could also look at International companies which have branches in your country and also the Netherlands with a view to a transfer (based on knowledge/experience) as this is a viable route in, otherwise I think you will have a difficult task

That should be your main concentration before you think about job hunting (as they will all ask you about the residence status)etc.

A nice site with good info, & easy to read for people lookng to move to NL is http://www.justlanded.com/english/Nether... It's really practical info about how to get things done

For sites with jobs in English, you can see some links here I posted for another answer (save writing it again :0)) http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

Best of luck