|
In the eyes of students the Netherlands is a country with a multi-national culture and they have experience that the tolerance of the Dutch is still the main key for all foreigners who would like to explore this small country.
The national language is Dutch. However, English is spoken by almost everyone. In addition, many Dutch people speak German and French.
STUDYING IN THE NETHERLANDS
 In the Netherlands there are two main types of universities: universities of applied sciences known in Dutch as hogescholen and universities training students for the independent practice of science.
At universities of applied sciences Bachelor programmes are given for four years and classic universities offer a three year Bachelor programmes which consequently can be preceded with a Master programme taking another 1- 2 years depending of the study field.
Students are stimulated to be active in class; they are free to pose questions and enter into an argument with the teacher. Both teachers and students are very casually dressed at lectures or classes. In the summer you often see students or even teachers wearing shorts at school. It is also very common for the teachers to sit on the desk while giving their lectures.
The Dutch government is attempting to make Dutch higher education as accessible as possible to students from other countries. The Dutch government is even cooperative in a financial sense. Higher education is heavily financed in the Netherlands, which means that tuition fees can be kept relatively low, especially compared with countries like the United Kingdom and the United States.
WORKING IN THE NETHERLANDS
EU/EEA nationals have the right to live and work in the Netherlands without a work permit. If you wish to work in the Netherlands you will need a Burger Service Nummer, or sofi-nummer. A sofi-nummer is a personal tax and social security number, and every taxpayer in the Netherlands must have one. Before you can request a sofi-nummer, you first need to have registered with city hall and, if you are not an EU national, have received your residence permit. To request a number you must make an appointment with the Tax Office.
Working hours
Dutch law restricts the numbers of hours you may work in the Netherlands. You must make a choice between (Full-time) seasonal work in the months of June, July and August; or part-time work throughout the year, but no more than 10 hours a week. You cannot do both.
Insurance
From the moment you start a part-time job, you will have to take out a basic healthcare insurance, even if you are an EU citizen and are covered by and EU health insurance card. Consider this before starting a job, as the cost of taking basic healthcare insurance might be more expensive than the earnings you receive from your job. In such a case you would merely be working to pay your basic healthcare insurance.
Due to the added cost of having to take the basic healthcare insurance it may be more worthwhile to work full-time during the months of June, July and August instead of part-time throughout the year, as you will then only have to take the basic healthcare insurance for those three months and retain the cheaper student insurance for the remainder of the year.
If you intend to take a part-time job on and off, make sure that you choose an insurance company that allows you to easily switch between private insurance for international students and basic healthcare insurance.
For more information look here:
Welcome to Holland.
Living, working and studying in Holland
Education in the Netherlands
Working in the Netherlands
|
