You got a Netherlands job offer. Now what?
While you bask in the joy of getting the big offer to move from the States to the Netherlands, here are a few things you can start on immediately that will help make things easier down the road.
Passport: Is it up to date? Make sure the expiration date is AT LEAST six months away, preferably longer. Why you need it: Many, many reasons.
Birth certificate: Do you have an original (not photocopy)? That’s a great start! You will need an apostille stamp for the birth certificates of everyone in your family who’s making the move. See notes about apostille stamps below. Why you need it: Immigration paperwork.
Marriage certificate (if applicable): You’ll need an apostille for this one, too. See below. Why you need it: Immigration paperwork.
Paystubs: Even if you are moving to the Netherlands with the same employer, there may be some hiccups in accessing your paystubs, especially if your Netherlands role is with a subsidiary or different department. Make sure you leave the States with your three most recent ones. Why you need it: Confirming income for renting an apartment.
Pet records (if applicable): Find the documentation of their microchip, and their vaccination history. Why you need it: If you’re moving with a pet, you may need to use a different vet for the international paperwork (more on that later), so you’ll want to have everything in hand. Plus, when you arrive, you’ll want it for establishing with a new vet and finding a pet-sitter.
Social security card: You know. Why you need it: Immigration paperwork.
COVID vaccination records: If you have a CDC card, that’s a great start. But it’s not sufficient proof for the Netherlands government agencies, because it’s so easy to forge. Other things you can use: print-outs from your doctor’s office or county/state department of health. (And, in my case, a picture on my phone that I took when I got my first shot.) Why you need it: To enter the national COVID vaccine database and get your certificate on the CoronaCheck app (more on that later).
Credit card: Figure out if any of your credit cards do NOT charge foreign transaction fees. If they all do, try before you leave to get one that doesn’t. Why you need it: It will take a while to get your bank card (more on that later), and many places do not take cash.
Google Voice: As far as we can tell, this is the most feasible way to keep your U.S. phone number while moving on to a Netherlands number. It must be set up before you leave the U.S. airspace — you can’t do it from another country. Why you need it: Without a Netherlands number, there are accounts and services you can’t access, but you’ll want to keep that U.S. number to manage two-factor authentication to sign in to your U.S. based accounts (and so your friends and family can easily call you!). We didn’t enable Google Voice before we left, so I can’t advise on the process, but I can confirm we have much regret that we didn’t figure it out sooner.
About apostille stamps
The apostille stamp is verification that the document in hand was truly signed by someone who is authorized to guarantee its validity. Think of it this way: If you were working at the immigration office in your home state, and a person showed up from Brazil with their birth certificate, how would you know it’s legit? The apostille system is internationally agreed-upon, so that receiving countries know they can trust your documentation.
Depending on what documents you have and where you live, the process may take a few weeks, so you should get started right when you get your offer. We were told the apostille stamp wouldn’t be required until we landed and registered with immigration authorities, but your mileage may vary. To make sure this process doesn’t hold up your visa, get started as soon as you can.
As far as I can tell, here is how it works. DISCLAIMER: PLEASE TALK TO YOUR IMMIGRATION LAWYER TO CONFIRM HOW IT WILL WORK FOR YOU.
The document (birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc.) must be original (not a photocopy) and unabridged (not an abstract).
The apostille stamp can only be executed by the secretary of state in the state that the document was issued in. That means: For birth certificates, deal only with folks from the state you were born in; for marriage certificates, deal with the folks in the state where you got married. None of this has anything to do with where you live now. This is why this process can take a while.
The document you start with must be issued recently enough that the clerk/official who “signed” it (I know their signatures are just printed on there, but stick with me here) has their signature on record with the secretary of state’s office in that state. There is no way to know if it’s recent enough until you try. My husband’s birth certificate was issued more than 15 years before we emigrated, and it worked fine. The only way to guarantee it that you’re safe is to get a fresh one (signed by the current clerk/official) by going in person or requesting it through the mail.
Once you have your original, you must route it to the secretary of state’s office for that state to receive the stamp. Every state does it differently, especially during COVID times. Some let you walk in and get the stamp; others allow only mail-in service. In some states, you can pay a third-party company to manage it for you. You will have to pay $$$ along the way — for new originals, for mailing, for service fees, etc. In some cases, you may be able to pay to expedite some parts of this process.
What you end up with is your original document back to you, with a page stapled or sealed on top saying this doc passes the test. It is clearly stated on the cover page that if you separate it from the original document, the apostille stamp is void and you’ll be starting over. So keep those puppies together.
Once we had them in hand, we were able to scan them in to send to our immigration lawyer, and then we had to show them to the immigration authorities once we were here.