Before we start talking about working as a student, I would like to point out that it's also possible to come to the Netherlands for just work. There are a bunch of options you can try and you can find everything about that in this link: https://www.netherlandsworldwide.nl/theme/work-in-the-netherlands

I can imagine that as a student, you want to work, primarily to cover the living cost or the stupidly high rent price here or just to earn some extra cash to burn. Whatever your reason is, Holland can offer you a bunch of opportunities to work while pursuing your studies here.

Before going into the opportunities for part-time work you can choose as a student, I would like to state the fact that we have very limited knowledge about skilled work or coming to the Netherlands to work, as this website is based on student life.

For students

In Eindhoven, English-speaking jobs are easy to find, You can just take a stroll around the center or any marketplace and you might see multiple hiring posters. Even if they don't advertise their job spots, you can try applying through the store websites. There are also job-hunting websites you can scour, such as Indeed, which you can access through this link:

https://nl.indeed.com/?from=gnav-homepage

The most common and convenient options for you would be restaurants, multinational fast food chains (KFC, McDonald's), Europe-based food chains (Chidoz), supermarkets (Jumbo, Albert Heijn), and retail stores. Other than store jobs, you can also work as a food or grocery delivery person from Thuisbezorgd, UberEats, Flink, and many more. If you are not one for consistent shifts, you can work as a freelancer from agencies like Workpool and Garcon.

By the way, working Ukrainians under Temporary protection have no hour restrictions and have valid working insurance (but it is recommended to ask the insurance company about your insurance number before starting work and check the validity of insurance from your employer for the type of work you will be doing).

Well now, I am going to divide this into 2 parts: one for Non-EU students and the other for EU, as there is 1 very essential and different rule for non-Europeans that affects a lot of things

Non-EU

The main thing differentiating EU and non-EU students' opportunities is the work permit, called TMV here. As soon as you collect your residence permit, you will see a message on the back stating that you can't work without an additional document ‘TMV’, so let's look into what this is.

TMV is required for non-European students to work part-time in the Netherlands. There are 2 types of permits. One allows you 16 hours of work per week during your academic year and the second one allows you to work full-time over the summer break.

Your employer is the one who applies for the work permit, which can take up to five weeks to arrive.

EU

If you are willing to work part-time and you are fluent in English, finding a job should not be hard for you. This is especially true if you are finding a job in Eindhoven, where a language barrier barely exists and the majority of the population speak English. Most probably, you don't need to acquire knowledge of the Dutch language from your side.

Useful Tip #1

Firstly, whatever you are reading here, make sure to confirm it with somebody in person, because even the same permit can differ from situation to situation. So, the best option will be to go to the university and ask them about your work possibilities. As long as they were responsible for making your residence permit, they should also be able to tell you more about work permits. Also, make sure to clarify all doubts with your employee and read your contract carefully (saying from experience).

Most of the jobs in the Netherlands are hourly paid and with temporary contracts. The minimum wage for an 18 year old worker is 997.50 euros per month, and this will increase as you grow older, increasing up to the age of 21.

Useful Tip #2

If you are worried about managing your study with your work, most employers offer different types of contracts such as a zero-hour or twelve-hour contract, which basically bind you to work a certain set of hours per week. You can still work more if you are allowed (ask your employer for confirmation), but if you want some flexibility with the work, you need to make sure you have some time for school as well then look for an employer offering a zero-hour contract or ask for one. With a zero-hour contract you are not bound to work every week but you can just plan whenever you are ready.

HORECA (Hotel/restaurants/catering)

If you wish to work in catering for example as a waiter, kitchen help, or bartender, there are a lot of options. You can realistically ask any restaurant/bar if they are hiring or not. The only response to expect other than yes or no for non-Europeans will be about the work permit. Some employers might not be ready to go through the effort of applying for your work permit or waiting up to five weeks for just a part-time employee, so keep that in mind.

Usually, these types of jobs have decent pay, and depending on the strictness of the owner, the work environment should be on the scale of fair to enjoyable. This should be considered a good option even for non-Europeans because you can negotiate with the owner about your work permit situation.

RIDER

Well, this is one of the jobs with high demand for employees right now. If you apply around winter, most probably they will let you in. For example with companies such as Thuisbezorgd, it doesn't matter if you are European or not. They will happily apply for your work permit. The pay is lesser compared to other jobs. Well, the salary is comparatively low but you can still earn a bit more than just your hourly rate with PA allowance and tips, but it's still not a high-paying job. Therefore, if you wanna earn as much money as possible, then this might not be the best option but rather a safe and reliable one. You will get the number of hours you want almost every week. It takes a special talent to get fired from Uber Eats or Thuisbezorgd.

FREELANCER

This is something to consider for students looking for the highest hourly rates, but to understand why, let's check the scene and options for freelancing in Eindhoven. There are multiple agencies that you can reach out to and get enrolled as a freelancer. You need a self-employed work permit but the agency will help you with the process and they will let you know all the prerequisites for being a freelancer before you start.

Being a freelancer is flexible and highly rewarding. You would have a single few hours shift at a random restaurant or shop. If required, they will brief you about the work before the start of the shift and expect you to give your best at the job. They will have the luxury to fill in feedback about you after every job and do keep in mind that negative feedback can affect your future in similar jobs.

These jobs usually pay around 16 to 20 euros (excl. taxes).

Side note for non-Europeans: If you are hired by an employer, you are only allowed to work for a maximum of 16 hours per week. However, if you are a freelancer you do not have any limit on that as long as you file your taxes.

As a freelancer, you are expected to file BTW taxes every quarter. Your agency should help you with that.

If they don't, here's a doc file that should help you: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-wxrFGcu9OiH35zSboCsvi4zNU_dvm8PSIJVSfhJfNo/edit

WORK AT YOUR UNIVERSITY

Most of the universities allow students to work for them. Once in a while, they will organize a “job market” where everyone can give their CV and wait for a reply. It is a cool opportunity because you are technically working at the same place where you study and the salaries are quite good. The only problem is that in most cases, the number of hours that you are working is small, so if you want to work to cover your living expenses it is not going to be enough. However, you already will work on your CV in advance, which is a good skill to have for the future.

Important note!!!:

As it goes, the Netherlands has its own rules of taxes, and if you want to work here, most likely you will need to deal with taxes. As such, there are plenty of tax calculators for the Netherlands that you can use to calculate the amount of taxes you might pay depending on your salary, such as this one linked here:

https://thetax.nl/?income=60000&startFrom=Year&selectedYear=2023&older=false&allowance=false&socialSecurity=true&hoursAmount=40&ruling=false

Useful Tip

These are my personal recommendations on how to get a job at university. First of all, they are not looking for the best person, they are looking for a person who will be able to learn fast and be friendly to other students with whom he/she is working with. So, do what you like to do, and don't be afraid to show your strengths or curiosity at the university. Sometimes, an enthusiastic person is better than a professional, so remember that. Also, in this case, the community can help you a lot. Get to know as many people as you can, be friendly, and maybe in the future they will help you to find your future job.

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