Solvès was founded in 2017 as international recruitment agency. We specialize in relocation of Software Engineers to the Netherlands.
When we start relocation process, a connection is made that will last forever. And that’s exactly what thrives us and gives us energy. Relocation is not easy and definitely a lot of work, but we are here to make it easier for you.
But how does it work exactly?
Please go through the steps below to read every bit about the process.
Congratulations, you’re hired! 🙂
When the recruitment process is done and we’ve signed the employment contract, we can start planning to turn your life upside down 😉
When you are a resident of a country which is part of the European Union, we don’t need to apply for a work permit for you and you basically only need to give notice at your current company.
When we do need to apply for a work permit, we will send you a few forms to fill out and send everything in to Immigrations (IND). They usually have a processing time of 2 – 4 weeks.
After we receive message from the IND that your work permit request has been approved, we need to schedule an appointment at the embassy in your home country. This appointment is not like an interview that you can pass or fail, the main purpose for this appointment is to have your temporary Visa (90 days) printed in your passport.
Why only 90 days everybody always asks? Do I only has a permit for 3 months?
No, don’t worry 🙂
It only means you have 90 days to travel to the Netherlands. When you have arrived here, you need to pick up your actual permit at one of the IND branches and this one is valid for the same period as your employment contract.
You need to bring an original birth certificate with you the Netherlands. But then we’re not quite there yet, because this one needs to be officially legislated by an apostille seal. And afterwards, you also need to have this translated to English.
If you are married, same exact thing with your marriage certificate. And your partner also needs to get this birth certificate.
Do you have kids? Great! But you need to follow the same process for their birth certificates.
Are you in a permanent relationship, but not officially married? No problem. But then no marriage certificate off course. In this case you need to fill out a bunch of additional documents from the IND in which you basically provide proof of your relationship.
But next to this, you also need to get certificates that state that the both of you are not officially married. And these also need to be in your native language, with apostille seal and also translated to English.
Everybody who googles about relocation to the Netherlands will quickly find articles about our big housing problem over here. Luckily for you, you are being relocated by Solvès 🙂
We have a strong network in the housing market, especially in the south (Limburg area). We have been relocating expats to the most beautiful part of the Netherlands for almost a decade and we always manage to have something before someone landed here.
Approximately 5 weeks before your arrival date, we start the house search. We try to view the places for you ourselves, or at least arrange a digital viewing via our contacts. And off course we will check the rental contract for you to make sure everything is okay.
Once you’ve arrived and settled into your new home, one of the first things on the list is registering with the local municipality (the gemeente). This is what officially makes you a resident, and it’s also how you receive your BSN (burgerservicenummer) — the number you’ll need for pretty much everything here, from opening a bank account to getting health insurance, signing your work contract’s payroll details, and setting up your DigiD.
It sounds like a lot of paperwork, and honestly, it is 😉 But you won’t be figuring it out alone. We’ll help you book the appointment at the gemeente, make sure you know exactly which documents to bring (yes, more of those apostilled certificates), and answer any questions along the way so this step feels like a formality, not a hurdle.
Most people get this sorted within their first couple of weeks in the Netherlands — and once your BSN is active, the rest of settling in starts moving a lot faster.
