The following information may be useful (from http://holland.jobserver.org/):
"Spouses
MVV visa
The spouses of non-EU citizens can join their wife/husband if their
spouse have already obtained a residence permit and their income and
accommodation can support both persons. The spouse application for the
MVV visa will be done as well in the country of origin. Six months is
a common term for an application to finalize. To prove the relation
with the working spouse in the Netherlands, the best way to make the
things clear is for the working spouse to legalize at the Dutch
Embassy in the country of origin the marriage certificate and to
declare the marital status and the spouse name and other relevant
information at the moment of registration at the city hall when
applying for the first residence permit.
Rights of a spouse
The spouse will not have the right to work unless the employer will
apply for a work permit. Only after the working spouse has been
working in Netherlands for three years continuously with a work permit
will both partners get a residence permit with which they can freely
enter the labor market.
The spouse is entitled to a SoFi number and though cannot work, this
entitles the working spouse to have an extra 9000 NLG not taxed every
year until 2001. Beginning with the new tax regulations from 200, this
rule is changed, the spouse will receive directly from the TAX
authorities a netto amount of 277 NLG per month. The amount is taken
from the salary of the working spouse.
A spouse will usually enter a free integration program offered by the
government. Language training and an orientation program with the help
of qualified advisors is offered for free but also put certain demands
on the person who follows this program. One important thing to know is
that while this program is very useful it is also compulsory to
follow, so if you don't agree to do it, there are pressures on you and
the working spouse to follow it!"
Work permits have certain limitations:
-Permits are provided by an employer, and are employer-specific
(meaning they cannot be transferred if you switch to a different
employer).
-Check with your employer to see what the policy regarding spouses is
as far as work permits.
From what I have read, it appears that your wife will not be allowed
to work right away unless she can procure a work permit, which will
have to be through an employer (although the question of 'which'
employer is not certain.) Furthermore, she will have to apply for a
residence visa (something that you would not need, yourself, if you
were simply there for work without your spouse. This is apparently an
exception to the residence visa requirements for single workers
without families arriving from countries like the US).
Useful Sites:
http://www.pwc.com/Extweb/service.nsf/docid/1B140D5B1B2C4141CA256B3E00013B95
http://www.workpermit.com/netherland/employer.htm
You may also wish to post your question on a discussion board, such as:
http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewforum.php?f=13
Best of luck! |
