The gold mine
What we know, and where we got it.
The rules that decide how you live here are public, and almost impossible to find when you actually need them. These are the ones worth knowing, each with the official source it came from, so you can check us.
127 answers, 11 subjects. Free, no account.
Visas and permits
12 answers
- The startup permit: an easier on-ramp than the self-employed permit (no points system)
- US founders (and Japanese nationals) get a self-employment permit with only 4,500 eur and no points test
- A partner/family permit can come with FULL, unrestricted work rights
- Married to a Dutch national? Naturalise after 3 years and skip the permanent-permit prerequisite
- EU Blue Card buys EU-wide mobility; the national knowledge-migrant permit does not
- Permanent residence: ask for the EU long-term resident permit, it is a free upgrade
- The master sequence: study, then orientation year, then knowledge migrant at the reduced rate, then permanent
- Change of purpose: switch permits without ever leaving the country
- Eight nationalities skip the entry visa and apply after arriving
- The orientation year (zoekjaar): a full year of open labour-market access with NO work permit
- The reduced salary criterion: it makes you drastically cheaper to sponsor
- How much you are allowed to work on a student residence permit
The orientation year
2 answers
Work and money
32 answers
- The legal minimum wage per hour if you are 15
- Minimum wage at 17: EUR 5.92 per hour
- Minimum wage at 20: EUR 11.99 per hour
- Minimum wage at 15: EUR 4.50 per hour
- Minimum wage at 19: EUR 8.99 per hour
- Minimum wage at 18: EUR 7.50 per hour
- The legal minimum wage per hour if you are 20
- The legal minimum wage per hour if you are 16
- The legal minimum wage per hour if you are 21 or older
- The legal minimum wage per hour if you are 18
- The legal minimum wage per hour if you are 17
- The legal minimum wage per hour if you are 19
- Minimum wage at 16: EUR 5.17 per hour
- Earn under 20,000 eur and charge no VAT at all
- 8% holiday pay (vakantiegeld) on top of your wage, by law
- Your minimum hourly wage is a legal right: 14.99 eur/hour from 1 July 2026
- You are owed severance from your very first working day
- Flexwork platforms and temp agencies for fast, legal cash - but know ZZP vs employee
- Get a BSN free via RNI - the key that unlocks working, banking and tax
- Register a KvK and legally freelance for about 85 eur
- Students: 16 hours/week all year OR full-time all summer, and internships are permit-free
- The 12.7% profit exemption with NO hours requirement (the underrated one)
- The starter tax deductions: up to 3,323 eur off your taxable profit
- Every time you are called in, you get paid at least three hours
- How many paid holiday days you are legally owed
- When your temporary contract turns into a permanent one by law
- Your employer owes you a month's pay for telling you too late
- Your employer keeps paying you when you are sick
- After a year on call, your employer must offer you fixed hours
- How long a probation period is allowed to be
- You get 8 percent holiday money on top of your salary
- You can refuse a shift you were told about too late
Your CV and applying
13 answers
- Name a gap yourself in one line, rather than letting them wonder
- A motivation letter is usually expected, especially early in your career
- Write your CV in the language the vacancy is written in
- Two A4 pages maximum, and one page is fine
- Only mention nationality when it actually matters
- Leave out marital status, and you can leave out your date of birth
- A photo is optional, and leaving it off is normal
- Never put your BSN on your CV
- The order a Dutch employer expects
- One generic CV sent everywhere is the most common mistake
- Your fast food or retail job is worth more on paper than you think
- Get your foreign diploma evaluated, it is the mistake that costs internationals most
- You do not have to print your references on the CV
Salary thresholds
5 answers
Tax and allowances
15 answers
- Huurtoeslag: from 2026 there is no maximum rent to be allowed to apply
- Zorgtoeslag: monthly cash toward your health insurance most low/mid earners qualify for and never claim
- You can backdate a missed toeslag a whole year (the deadline just got longer)
- Kindgebonden budget can arrive automatically, but check it actually did
- Working parents get up to 96% of registered childcare cost back
- The M-form: the arrival-year tax refund most newcomers skip
- The 30% ruling: 2026 is the last year at the full 30% before it drops to 27%
- Get your mortgage-interest refund paid MONTHLY instead of waiting a year
- Your first ~59k eur of savings is untaxed
- Deduct medical costs your insurer did not reimburse
- The tax deadline is 1 May, but you can push it to 1 September for free
- DigiD is the master key that unlocks every allowance and refund
- How much savings you can have and still get healthcare allowance
- How much you can earn and still get healthcare allowance
- The tax return for the year you moved here is a different form
Housing
14 answers
- Report a bad or overcharging landlord to the city - free
- Register for social housing at 18 even if you do not need it - the clock is the asset
- That 'temporary' contract is probably permanent now
- Deposit is capped at 2 months and must be back within 14 days
- Get your starting rent legally cut in your first 6 months
- Your annual rent increase is capped - and you can object
- The points system can permanently cap your rent - and the landlord must now hand you the count
- Fight service costs - the landlord must prove them and most tenants win
- The agency fee you paid is probably illegal - reclaim it
- A bad energy label legally lowers your rent
- International students get a reserved priority lane for rooms
- Your deposit cannot be more than two months rent
- You do not pay the agency fee when the agent works for the landlord
- You have six months to challenge the rent you agreed to
Study and diplomas
13 answers
- Finish your HAVO/VWO/VMBO from home, one subject at a time, no school required
- Make your foreign degree count - and get the evaluation FREE if you are integrating
- Missing ONE subject for your dream study? Pass just that subject, keep your diploma
- Adults can get a real HAVO/VWO diploma at a funded school - free if you are under 18
- Get into HBO or university with NO diploma at all, once you turn 21
- Myth: the STAP-budget training subsidy
- EU newcomer with a side job? A few hours a week can unlock the FULL Dutch student grant + free transport
- Too old for a student grant? Borrow up to ~13,470 eur/year to study anyway
- The stacking ladder: mbo-4 into hbo, hbo first year into university, or stop at a 2-year Associate degree
- Turn years of work experience into diploma exemptions with an EVC certificate
- Status holder? The gemeente must arrange AND pay your whole Dutch-integration course
- One Dutch-language diploma (NT2 II) permanently unlocks Dutch universities and skilled jobs
- The supplementary grant is a GIFT, not a loan - and far more families qualify than people think
Healthcare
13 answers
- Het Juridisch Loket: free, government-funded legal advice, and a discount ticket to a subsidised lawyer
- Gemeentepolis: the low-income insurance where the town co-pays your own-risk
- Register at the gemeente within 5 days - the BSN is your entire Dutch identity, and a no-registration clause is worthless
- Register with a GP on day one - practices are full and you cannot skip the GP
- The city pass: free museums, cheap swimming, kids' activities
- Cannot pay your premium? Zorgverzekeringslijn keeps you insured and stops the 120% spiral
- Free Dutch at the library: Taalhuis and Taalcafe, no fee, no membership
- Bijzondere bijstand: the gemeente pays your unexpected necessary bills
- Individuele inkomenstoeslag: a yearly cash top-up for the long-term low-income
- Dental care is NOT covered from age 18 - budget for it or take an add-on
- Your EHIC / home-country card does NOT let you live here uninsured
- The 4-month insurance clock, and the trap that forces a 120% premium if you are late
- Your GP, midwife and district nurse are 100% free - never skip the doctor over a bill
Words you will meet
6 answers
Things people get wrong
2 answers
Or just ask, in your own language.
MAS reads your IND letter, tells you whether an employer can legally sponsor you, and finds jobs and internships that will actually take you. Free, and it works without an account.