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Netherlands — services for living and doing business

Highly Skilled Migrant and the DAFT visa for founders

Population:
~17.8m
Capital:
Amsterdam
Currency:
Euro (EUR)
Time zone:
UTC+1/+2
Passport by naturalisation:
from 5 years
Languages:
Dutch; English widely spoken
Netherlands on the map

Services in Netherlands

0 services from vetted local experts. Pick a category — every option is inside.

Prices are indicative — the expert quotes the final figure.

About the country

The Netherlands is a convenient way into the EU for specialists and founders: the Highly Skilled Migrant programme for employed professionals and DAFT (the Dutch American Friendship Treaty) - residence for US citizens through registering a business. English is spoken everywhere and the infrastructure is developed.

Worth knowing

  • !High taxes
  • !A severe housing shortage and high prices
  • !DAFT is open only to US citizens

Netherlands: scores by area

7.4/ 10 — average scorecompare with all →

An expert estimate to get you oriented — we'll go through the details on the consultation.

Taxes (how favourable)4/10
Cost of living3/10
Safety8/10
Passport strength10/10
Infrastructure10/10
Business prospects8/10
Investment appeal7/10
Healthcare9/10
Environment8/10

Common questions

How can I move to Netherlands?
The catalogue covers these routes: высококвалифицированный мигрант (Kennismigrant / Highly skilled migrant), голубая карта ЕС (Europese blauwe kaart / European Blue Card), год ориентации для выпускников (Zoekjaar / Orientation year). The reference section describes 10 relocation programmes in total, with official conditions and links to government sources. Which route fits depends on whether you have a job, a business, property or relatives in the country - we'll go through it on a free consultation and pick the one that works.
After how many years can I get citizenship by naturalisation in Netherlands?
The standard naturalisation route in Netherlands takes from 5 years of legal residence (residence permit → permanent residence → passport). This is a 2026 guide - the exact term depends on the route, and we'll confirm it on a consultation.

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