If you are an expat IT expert and would like to freelance in the Netherlands, this article may be useful for you.
Why freelance?
There are many reasons to think about becoming a freelancer including:
- Aiming at a higher income
- More freedom in choosing assignments
- Not being limited to the company’s policies in terms of holidays allowance, bonus arrangement, etc.
- To focus on your entrepreneurship
- Variety at work (by working at various clients)
- To have more than a business
For many people higher-income, freedom and being independent of the management system is the most reason that they freelance.
Who can freelance in the Netherlands?
Theoretically, everybody can freelance in the Netherlands, however, there is a small hurdle for expats that may avoid them for some years to freelance and that is “resident permit”. If you are new in the Netherlands and you do not have EU/ERR citizenship you need a sponsor to give you a contract, and based on the contract you get your resident permit extended. By running your own business and freelancing you cannot get a resident permit! Here is more information on entrepreneurship as a freelancer for foreigners.
Is freelancing possible next to my current job?
If you have a job and you do not have a resident permit issue, you can become a freelancer. You can run your business next to your daily job.
How freelancers find their assignments?
As a freelancer, you probably want to find an assignment at a client to do nice projects and get paid for. This is the most common way of freelancing in the Netherlands. Freelancers usually find their assignments through https://www.freelance.nl/ website.
You want to stay home and do part-time freelance?
Some people want to freelance in weekends and evenings remotely. Therefore, they are looking for some part-time remote jobs.
Unfortunately, there are not many opportunities for remote freelancing in the Netherlands as far as I know. I have come across very few possibilities to remotely work for a foreign company. I have never worked for such companies and I’m afraid that they are not always trustworthy in their payments and work conditions.
The only thing that I would recommend as a part-time freelancer is Fiverr. You may want to offer your expertise as a service to people worldwide. For example, if you a web designer you can offer your service on Fiverr. This platform brings demands and requests together for a wide range of expertise (e.g., logo design, web design, programming, education, etc.). So, you can find your clients across the globe through their services.
The downside of Fiverr is their lower rates. People usually work for lower hourly rates and you barely can compete with them if you choose high rates. Fiverr solved this issue with the Fiverr Pro program. If you are a premium/senior person with high-quality services, you may want to consider Fiverr Pro, for a higher payment rate and better quality work.
What procedure do you need to follow to become a freelancer?
You obviously need to register yourself as a freelancer (or in Dutch eenmanszaak or simply ZZP’er) at Dutch chambers of commerce (or KvK). To register you need to:
- Fill this form.
- Make an appointment with KvK. You can do it immediately after filling the form in the previous step.
- You need to go to your appointment in the KvK office and register your company (freelance company) in person.
- You need to bring your ID card and the whole process would cost 50 EUR.
Tax, VAT and other declaration
Tax laws are quite complex here in the Netherlands. You need to do the VAT declaration every 3 months and the revenue tax every year. There are some benefits for the starters and many other roles that require mostly to hire an accountant to do the job for you.
There are some companies like Blue Umbrella focusing on Expats. Their websites, forms and etc. are in English. You may choose these service providers over a local accountant.
Am I the right person to do the freelancing?
Full time freelancing involves risks. The risks concern unemployment between assignments. You may do, for example, 4 months and assignment, then you are two months job-less and then 6 month a new assignment. I believe this risk in many situations is bearable because you are paid enough to have enough savings to survive. I personally, in this time, focus on my entrepreneurship, content creation, my own learning path and etc. Therefore to answer this question, I would say you need to be able to accept a certain amount of risks if you want to be a full-time freelancer.
What jobs are hot in IT to freelance and how much I would get hourly?
Technical hand-on jobs are quite popular in the Netherlands. Any programming, and especially platform and infra-related jobs are widely outsourced to freelancers. For example, Python / Java/ C# programmers, DevOps engineers, Data Engineers, Data Scientists, Back-end and Fron-end Engineers, Cloud Engineers, Software Engineer, etc. are highly demanded.
If you undertake a lead role you can have an hourly rate between 100-160 EUR (VAT exclusive) and if you undertake an engineering role you can ask for 70-100 EUR per hour (VAT exclusive).
Would DataBee help me to get up and running in my freelance career?
Yes! DataBee Expat Career Coaching can help you at all levels of your journey, from registering your company, finding assignments, helping you to choose your hourly rates, looking at your CV, interview preparation, and etc.
You can drop an email to info@databee.nl for further inquiry.