Expatcenter Newsletter: December 2009

Happy holiday season from Expatcenter

We are pleased to present this year's final newsletter with updates on the Expatcenter’s services. The Expatcenter team would like to thank you for your cooperation in 2009 and wish you a happy holiday season!

Holiday office hours

The Expatcenter will be closed on:
December 24th and December 25th
December 31st and December 1st

Regional co-operation in 2010

In our previous newsletter we announced the upcoming cooperation with the municipality of Haarlemmermeer. We are pleased to announce that the municipality of Almere will also be joining the Expatcenter. As of 1 February 2010 we will be able to offer all the advantages of the Expatcenter procedure to highly skilled migrants, and their family members, from both regions.

Indian Expat Society launches

The Indian Expat Society (IES), a new organisation representing the growing Indian community in the Amsterdam area, was inaugurated on 10 December 2009 in the recently restored Cristofori building in Amsterdam. The State Secretary for Justice and the Mayors of Amsterdam and Amstelveen were amongst the guest speakers at the event. Amsterdam in business, the official foreign investment agency of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, is part of the board of the IES and co-organised the Indian Expat Society event (read more).

Amstelveen website

English information for residents of Amstelveen can currently be found on the City of Amstelveen's website.

Change in use of the Address Registration Form

The Expatcenter can provide a form for employers to complete in order to give permission for the temporarily registration at a company's address. In the past, employers were also required to include a copy of legitimate ID, however this is no longer necessary; a company stamp and employer's signature is sufficient.

Please note that the option of registering employees at the employer's address is only a temporary measure, valid for a maximum of three months. After this time, the highly skilled migrant is obliged to register his/her real address with the municipality. Please read how to register a change of address. We kindly request you to inform your employees about this necessity.

IND fee changes

Last November Ms. Albayrak, State Secretary for Justice, raised the application fees for highly skilled migrants. To read more about these measures please see the IND's November Newsletter. Please make sure that you use the correct application form with the new fee for highly skilled migrants requiring a provisional residence permit.

Informational Meetings: workshop suggestions

Since our opening in June 2008, the Expatcenter has organized several informational meetings for HR managers of international companies in the Amsterdam area. We will subsequently be organising two more of these events next year in April and October, in order to provide updates on our services and offer workshops on topics of interest. If you have a suggestion for a workshop or would like more information, please contact Sietske van Tuin.

Expat Welcome Event 2010: invitations

In June of 2009, the Expat Welcome Event, a senior level cultural and business exchange for expatriates, took place for the first time in Amsterdam. The event was hosted by the Mayor and organised by a number of business players in the Amsterdam area, including the Expatcenter. The second edition of this event will take place next summer in Amsterdam. If you would like invitations for the Senior Management expats within your company or more information about this event, please contact Merel van der Putten-Anten.