Job Discussion Forums

[mandie_044]

I am planning on moving to the Netherlands in Nov and have applied for the working holiday program. I am taking a TESOL course right now, although not sure if I will teach English yet. It is really not made clear if the Working Holiday actually includes a working permit (as I know they are usually job specific and must be issued by a prospective employer)? I'm wondering if there is anyone else out there that has travelled to Europe on the Canadian working holiday, and how their experiences were with finding a job? Any info would be greatly appreciated...thanks!

[chiquitita]

Hey

I'm in NL at the moment on a working holiday visa. I'm from Aus but the working holiday rules are all pretty much the same, regardless of what country you're from. On the Dutch paperwork there is just a category for working holiday visas and it's not country-specific.

You won't need to get any extra work permit. When you get here you will have to go to your local 'gemeente' = city hall to register. If the Embassy tells you that you have to go to the foreign police, take it with a grain of salt as they don't deal with working holiday visas anymore.

When you go to the gemeente they will give you some paperwork and make an appointment for you. This is so you can go back and get registered. I had to wait about 3 weeks to get the first available appointment and in this time most companies didn't even bother with me because I had no right to work. So, if you know where you are going to be living, try and make the appointment before you arrive...I don't know if this is possible? At some city halls you don't need an appointment (apparently) but I don't know which ones?

Once you have given all your stuff to them, they put another sticker in your passport and then you can make an appointment with the tax office to get your So-Fi number (a tax number). Until you have this number you can't legally work. I had to wait about a week for an appointment.

After you get the number, you can work!

There are jobs around and there are teaching jobs around. Do you speak Dutch? A lot of jobs require that. There are quite a few call centre jobs for English speakers, but if you speak other languages it will be a huge advantage.

PM me if you want more info.

C