Why living in the Netherlands?

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Whether it's for business purpose or family reasons, the Netherlands is an excellent place to live. As a Dutch Golden Visa holder, you will enjoy the same benefits as the Dutch citizens. The Netherlands is a rich country with a strong economy and a stable government that is merely corruption free. Apart from that, "freedom" is something that's in the blood of the Dutch and they are very welcoming to foreigners. The health care system is one of the best in the world, as well as the education system. See below more advantages of having a Dutch Golden Visa and living in the Netherlands.

Economic

Stable banks: The Netherlands is in top 5 countries with safest and most stable banks in the world.

Political stability: The Dutch government is stable, is in the world's top segment of political rights & in the top 10 regarding rule of law.

Low corruption: Dutch Corruption rates are one of world's the lowest in the world , ranking top 10 and top 8 in several sources.

High income: GDP per capita in the Netherlands is ranked 11th in the world .

Income equality: In a country with a high income equality, the rich and "the poor" can live happily close to each other. The Netherlands is a country with one of the highest income equalities. Did you know that the Prime Minister goes to his meetings by bike? There's no need for heavily armored cars in a country were the poor have no envy on the rich.

Low unemployment: Unemployment rates in the Netherlands is only 3,6% and for those unemployed there's great social security; you therefore will not find beggars and homeless people on the street.

Crime rate: The low employment, social benefits, high GDP, equal distribution of wealth, causes low crime rates. In 2013, 19 prisons in the Netherlands closed because the country didn't have enough criminals to fill them.

Beneficial tax system: Capital gain tax is only 1 . 2% - which is one of the lowest in Europe.

Digital leader: The European Commission’s annual Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) ranks the Netherlands as the European leader in digital connectivity.

Best connected airport: Schiphol Airport is awarded the best connected airport in Europe. This ensures cheap, direct and fast connections to other places in Europe as well as intercontinental. Schiphol Airport has >300 locations accessible with a direct flight.
Trade with the islamic world: The Netherlands was the first European country to sign an official trade partnerships with a non-christian country (Morocco), back in 1610.

Transportation is very important for the Dutch economy: road, water, train & air connects this small country with the rest of Europe.

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) is one of the bussiests airports in Europe, with direct flights to 300+ locations.

Family

High safety: The Netherlands is a safe place to live. Kids can play outside without any concerns, the Netherlands have one of the best road safety records in Europe and in the world and risk of natural disasters is very low.

Air quality: the Netherlands invests heavily in keeping the big cities a healthy place to live; as a result, it's among the countries with the lowest air population in the world.

The best health care: the Netherlands has one of the best health care systems in the world and ranking #2 in Europe. As a result, the Netherlands is in the top 25 of countries with highest life expectancy (>81 years).

High quality of living: Ranking consistently in the world's top 10 countries with highest living standards. Recently, the Netherlands ranked 8th place for highest quality of life in the world.

Excellent school system: Dutch school system ranks #3 in Europe and #8 in the world. The Netherlands offers high quality primary and secondary education as well as world-class university education. As a Dutch Golden Visa holder you also enjoy guaranteed placement in the Dutch education system for your family, and when you hold a permanent residence visa, you are allowed to pay the same tuition fee as the Dutch: which is only ± 2000 euros a year, even for the top Dutch universities.

High quality infrastructure and transportation: With a country the size of the Netherlands, you can reach any place in the country within around 2.5 hours by car or train. When doing so, you enjoy high quality, safe road and a reliable train, bus, metro or tram network. As a result, the Netherlands is consistently ranked within the top 3 of world's best public transit systems and best transportation systems. Don't forget the Netherlands are also famous for our revolutionary bike line system, making this country #1 biking capital of the world.

Wealth: The Netherlands is a rich country, resulting in a GDP per capita ranking #12 in the world. As a result, poverty, as seen in developing countries, does not exist in the Netherlands. Wealth in the country is fairly even distributed, making sure that, being a more wealthy individual, you don't have to fence yourself from lower income classes. Even our King lets his daughter drive to school on their bicycle all by herself, the school, by the way, is a public school.

Happiness: The Dutch people are #4 happiest people in the world. This is thanks to a mix of living in a wealthy country, political freedom, and having the ability to make your own decisions about your life (e.g. with whom you marry and if you want to have children or not). Also, there is good health care for people who are not feeling happy, to treat them for depression and fears.

Multicultural atmosphere: The Netherlands has a multicultural society. As a foreigner (i.e. Arab, Brazilian, Chinese) you definitely won't feel a total outsider or stranger in the country and the Dutch people are welcoming towards the multicultural society. This is enforced by our multilingual capabilities, >90% of the Dutch people speak English, so blending in the society is easy.

Fast and reliable connectivity: high speed 4G internet coverage, fast broadband surfing and downloading speed and a reliable phone network are the norm in the Netherlands. As a result, the Netherlands is ranked first in the EU for connectivity and fourth in the EU for overall digitisation in the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI).

Art scene: The world famous Dutch Masters with paintings from painters like Rembrandt van Rijn, Vincent van Gogh and Johannes Vermeer are still to be viewed in the Netherlands. 12 of the 30 most famous paintings in the world, were painted in the Netherlands; impressive for a country that is that small.

Care about the world: The Dutch care about the planet and humanity, as indicated by the Good Country Index 2018. The index asses if people are worried about what is happening outside of their own country, whether countries work together on environment, culture, peace, sciences and international relations.

Freedom: The Netherlands is a free country where there's clear freedom of speech and freedom of press. This is seen back by being in the top 5 world's countries with most freedom. Next to that, the Netherland is a liberal country, also when it comes to accepting other nationalities. This is in the Dutch DNA and expressed by, for example:
- Ms. Arib, who is muslim and not born in the Netherlands, is the speaker of the House of Representatives.
- Mr. Aboutaleb, who is muslim and not born in the Netherlands, is the mayor of Rotterdam, the Netherlands' 2nd biggest city.
- There are 8 people with Moroccan background in the Dutch parliament and 5 people with Turkish background.

Rotterdam is a city that was bombed in WW2 and rebuild as a city full of modern architecture.

As one of the safest countries in Europe, boys & girls can play outside on the streets or in parks without getting into trouble. Also in the night.

Transport by water is equally important as transportation by road. By building "aquaducts" both the boats and the cars do not have to wait for each other at the bridges.

Tulips originated from Turkey, but has been a Dutch tradition ever since the introduction in Holland.

Others

>90% of the people in the Netherlands speak English; in fact English is not even considered a foreign language anymore.

The Netherlands is considered a pretty, organised, clean and efficient country compared to most developing countries.

The government in the Netherlands is religionless. Religion is separated from the state.

Choose to live in the bigger cities such as Amsterdam or Rotterdam, or choose to live in more quiet area's where there's plenty of space, most of them are within a 30 minute car/train ride from the big cities.

Historically, the Dutch maintain contact with almost all countries over the world. Also the royal family plays an important role in maintaining the connections, see for example the Dutch Royal family on a visit in the United Arab Emirates.

Tne Netherlands is full of parks, big and small. The most famous for it's flowers is park The Keukenhof.

When you think of the Netherlands, you might think of canals and old houses, but there are also many modern districts.

A typical neighborhood in the Netherlands: people like houses attached to each other, with a private garden in the back, and an open private garden in the front. Children can play on the streets: most streets are car-free or car-reduced, with a maximum speed of 15 km/h.

Whether you want a 400-year old canal house, a 100-year old farm house in the country side, an apartment in a modern skyscraper,

or a brand new house in a family neighbourhood: the Netherlands has all housing types available.

This is a typical neighbourhood in the Netherlands: people like houses attached to each other, with a private garden in the back, and an open private garden in the front. Children can play on the streets: most streets are car-free or car-reduced, with a maximum speed of 15 km/h.

Dutch Golden Visa Program

Invest wisely: In the Dutch Golden Visa program you are not spending money, you’re investing it in a potential successful startup / acknowledged VC fund.
Family: Who is included in the visa: your partner (married or officially registered), children under 18 years old, and children until 25 years if they are very dependent on the parents (in case of disability, illness, etc).
Life long: the first visa is for 3 years, after the renewal, the visa is valid for life & transferable to descendants.

Travel without visa requirements: A valid Dutch Golden Visa allows you to stay in all countries in the Schengen (EU) area. Also, travelling to non-Schengen, (non-EU), countries will be easier.

Benefits like a Dutch resident: You will be able to enjoy the same benefits as Dutch citizens and passport holders (except voting).

No cure, no pay: If for some reason the Dutch Golden Visa application is unsuccessful, you will not have to invest your 1.25 million Euros. Furthermore, you do not have to pay the fee to OrangeVisas.

No need to visit: There's no need to visit the Netherlands during the application process.

No need to stay: There is no requirement to live permanently in Netherlands and investors and family are free to leave the country anytime.

Fast procedure: depending on paperwork required, the Dutch Golden visa can be finalised within 6 weeks.

Future for you family: If you or your family wants to make use of the high quality health care system, highly ranked education system, and more, you will be seen as a Dutch citizen when you hold a Dutch Golden Visa.

Safe haven: By having a residence permit for the Netherlands, you can always enter the country at any time: in case there is -unfortunately- trouble in your country (war, political instability, crisis, natural disaster etc), you know that there is a place where you and your family can directly go at any time under any condition.

Some people prefer to live in a renovated farm house.

Environment is important for the Dutch. The government invests hundreds of millions of Euros in "ecoducts", so that animals can cross highways safely.