Australian-born UK citizen. Wife has employment

[gfish]

Hi all,

My wife and I are Australian; I have an Australian and UK passport, my wife only has an Australian passport. We are planning to relocate to the Netherlands in June 2013.

My wife has been awarded a research grant and she will work at a University. They have agreed to employ her for a 2 year (minimum). She will be paid, however, by the Australian Government.

Given that I have a UK passport, is my wife entitled to work in the Netherlands, or is she required to apply for a working Visa? I hope to secure employment when I arrive in the Netherlands.

I would very much appreciate any advice/ information. It would be ideal if she did not require a working Visa, however, this might be unavoidable.

Thanks kindly, in advance.

 

[Hvr]

Welcome gfish.

Have you asked the university who she currently works for? Surely they would know the requirements for a working visa?

 

[gfish]

Hey Hvr. Thanks for the welcome.

I have been given the task (by my wife) of researching this for her.


I did find the following on the British Embassy In The Hague website:
"1. Do I need a work permit?
As an EU national you have the right to work in the Netherlands without a work permit. You have the same rights as Dutch nationals with regard to pay, working conditions, social security and trade union membership. Families and immediate dependants are entitled to join you and have similar rights."

If I am reading this correctly, she may not need a working Visa....

 

[Sprucegoose]

Welcome gfish.

Have you asked the university who she currently works for? Surely they would know the requirements for a working visa?

Or indeed if the Aust Gov are paying her are they not her employer?

 

[kelvedon]

I did find the following on the British Embassy In The Hague website:
"1. Do I need a work permit?
As an EU national you have the right to work in the Netherlands without a work permit. You have the same rights as Dutch nationals with regard to pay, working conditions, social security and trade union membership. Families and immediate dependants are entitled to join you and have similar rights."

If I am reading this correctly, she may not need a working Visa....

My understanding is that you, as an EU citizen would not need a visa, but your australian wife would require a work visa, for which she would be entitled, either as your wife, or through sponsorship from the university..... But I'm not an immigration lawyer.

 

[whatmeworry]

Generally Uni's sort the visa stuff out for overseas employees. She will probably need some sort of visa, whether it be a working or spousal visa.

 

[ozscot]

I was born in Britain and also have an Australian passport. My wife is Australian. Some time back we relocated to Edinburgh for a few years and my wife required a spouse visa to reside in the UK. This also let her work. As we'd been married > 7 years this was easy to obtain, though typically bureaucratic via the UK embassy in Aus.

 

[richie9x]

I do know some countries have partner/spouse Visas. For example a foreigner (not NZ) married to an Australian (or NZer) they would normally need a partner visa to stay in Australia. I would guess the Netherlands would have something similar.

Although in the OPs case I would expect the university to provide visa.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Contact the Dutch Embassy would be the best bet

 

[Flashback]

I was born in Britain and also have an Australian passport. My wife is Australian. Some time back we relocated to Edinburgh for a few years and my wife required a spouse visa to reside in the UK. This also let her work. As we'd been married > 7 years this was easy to obtain, though typically bureaucratic via the UK embassy in Aus.

This would be the case for UK (if you have a british passport and your wife does not have any EU passport) however when exercising EU treaty rights (which is what would be the case here as the OP does not have a Dutch passport) it's slightly different. I'd look up Netherlands EU treaty rights and see what you can find there.