The history of the relocation of the programmer Olya Kulikova

We continue a special series of materials about the relocation of programmers from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia to other countries. Developers tell how to find a job abroad, move and adapt locally. Our second heroine is Olga Kulikova from Kyiv. In 2020, she moved to the Netherlands, the city of Haarlem. I am a musician by profession - I graduated from the Kyiv Conservatory as a choir conductor. I managed to work as a conductor, salesman, accountant, stewardess on the bus. Six years ago, when I was on maternity leave, I decided that I needed to change the field: I did not like working as a sales manager. At that time, programmer friends appeared in the environment, and I got involved in this area, went to courses ( Olya also studied at CodeGym - ed. ), I studied for a year and started working as a Java developer.

Job offer

For more than three years I have been working for the Dutch company Paazl: through the Kyiv company, they hired employees to work on their projects, including me. Even before the coronavirus story began, about two years ago, I went on a business trip to the Netherlands. Then my colleagues for the first time suggested, seemingly as a joke, and then more and more seriously, to move to work in the Netherlands. I replied that it was interesting to try, but I need to consult with my family, since I have a small child, and this is not an easy decision. For about six months, my family and I thought, and then we decided that we needed to come to the Netherlands for a month, live and decide what to do next. And so they did: during the summer holidays, we went for the whole of June. What attracted me the most was that in the Netherlands almost everyone speaks English, from children to pensioners. We felt freedom in terms of communication. After that, I informed the employer that we wanted and were ready to move. I was offered a relocation because I had been working for this company for three years. I am still listed in the company as a middle-level specialist. The Netherlands has its own gradation by levels, which determines what rights and obligations developers have. That is, such that one signor was paid 2.5 thousand euros, and another - 5 thousand euros, cannot be. There is a certain scale with a minimum and a maximum. My contract says that I am a middle specialist, but at 95% of the scale, that is, when I get the missing 5%, I will become a senior. Personally, I don't care what they call me. But I understand that I have room to grow both in terms of level and finances. It suits me: I am far from the “ceiling”. I was offered a relocation because I had been working for this company for three years. I am still listed in the company as a middle-level specialist. The Netherlands has its own gradation by levels, which determines what rights and obligations developers have. That is, such that one signor was paid 2.5 thousand euros, and another - 5 thousand euros, cannot be. There is a certain scale with a minimum and a maximum. My contract says that I am a middle specialist, but at 95% of the scale, that is, when I get the missing 5%, I will become a senior. Personally, I don't care what they call me. But I understand that I have room to grow both in terms of level and finances. It suits me: I am far from the “ceiling”. I was offered a relocation because I had been working for this company for three years. I am still listed in the company as a middle-level specialist. The Netherlands has its own gradation by levels, which determines what rights and obligations developers have. That is, such that one signor was paid 2.5 thousand euros, and another - 5 thousand euros, cannot be. There is a certain scale with a minimum and a maximum. My contract says that I am a middle specialist, but at 95% of the scale, that is, when I get the missing 5%, I will become a senior. Personally, I don't care what they call me. But I understand that I have room to grow both in terms of level and finances. It suits me: I am far from the “ceiling”. The Netherlands has its own gradation by levels, which determines what rights and obligations developers have. That is, such that one signor was paid 2.5 thousand euros, and another - 5 thousand euros, cannot be. There is a certain scale with a minimum and a maximum. My contract says that I am a middle specialist, but at 95% of the scale, that is, when I get the missing 5%, I will become a senior. Personally, I don't care what they call me. But I understand that I have room to grow both in terms of level and finances. It suits me: I am far from the “ceiling”. The Netherlands has its own gradation by levels, which determines what rights and obligations developers have. That is, such that one signor was paid 2.5 thousand euros, and another - 5 thousand euros, cannot be. There is a certain scale with a minimum and a maximum. My contract says that I am a middle specialist, but at 95% of the scale, that is, when I get the missing 5%, I will become a senior. Personally, I don't care what they call me. But I understand that I have room to grow both in terms of level and finances. It suits me: I am far from the “ceiling”. but at 95% of the scale, that is, when I get the missing 5%, I will become a signor. Personally, I don't care what they call me. But I understand that I have room to grow both in terms of level and finances. It suits me: I am far from the “ceiling”. but at 95% of the scale, that is, when I get the missing 5%, I will become a signor. Personally, I don't care what they call me. But I understand that I have room to grow both in terms of level and finances. It suits me: I am far from the “ceiling”.

Documentation

The collection of documents was delayed for a whole year. I was the first migrant my employer wanted to hire, so the company had to get a license to hire foreign nationals. It took half a year, our preparation lasted another half a year. After obtaining a license, we applied for a residence permit and a visa. There are two options for submitting documents: either the person himself, through the embassy in Kyiv, submits a package of documents for a residence permit, or the employer does it for him. We had the second option. They asked me for passports, birth certificates, marriage certificates. I sent scanned documents to the employer, and he submitted them to the migration service. The employer was sent confirmation that the residence permit was approved. This confirmation was sent to the Ukrainian embassy. The embassy gave us a visa, needed to enter the Netherlands. On the spot, we have already received a residence permit. This document is most often given for a year, then it must be renewed. The term of the residence permit also depends on how long the contract between the employee and the employer is. I was offered an indefinite contract based on the fact that I have been working for them for three years. Therefore, my whole family was given a residence permit for 5 years at once: this is the maximum period for a temporary residence permit. In the future, I have the right to apply for a permanent residence permit, extend a temporary one, or think about applying for citizenship. About the diploma. Abroad, many companies ask for a diploma, so it must be translated and notarized so that it is an official document. I have not quite a standard case, since I do not have a technical background, and when they hired me back in Kyiv, they turned a blind eye to it. I was lucky that I was not asked for a diploma when I was hired in Ukraine, and due to the fact that I am an experienced worker, a diploma was no longer required in the Netherlands.

moving

We moved to the Netherlands in September 2020, managed to slip between lockdowns. The idea of ​​moving came true two years after the proposal was announced. We were preparing for the fact that we need 10-15 thousand euros per person in order to feel confident at first. This money is needed, because it may take a month for the employer to complete the registration, open a bank account, receive an individual tax number. While a person is registered, the salary remains on the account and accumulates, but it cannot be withdrawn. Accordingly, they needed money for living and to pay the rent and a security deposit in the amount of 1-2 months of living. We rented an apartment that allowed us to buy almost nothing. It had all the filling: bed linen, dishes, appliances and furniture. But mostly they rent half-filled apartments or completely empty. The rent cost us 1400 euros per month. Thanks to this apartment, we spent minimal money: we paid a deposit only one month in advance and did not buy furniture. We also completed the paperwork fairly quickly. It took about 6 thousand euros for everything about everything. We live in Haarlem - it's not a very big city, but very cozy and very expensive. It is located between Amsterdam and the sea: 15 minutes from the sea by bus, 20 minutes from Amsterdam by train. I wanted to be closer to Amsterdam, where my company's office is located. We really like Haarlem, but we understand that if we take housing on a mortgage, then Haarlem will not shine for us. paid only one month's deposit in advance and didn't buy any furniture. We also completed the paperwork fairly quickly. It took about 6 thousand euros for everything about everything. We live in Haarlem - it's not a very big city, but very cozy and very expensive. It is located between Amsterdam and the sea: 15 minutes from the sea by bus, 20 minutes from Amsterdam by train. I wanted to be closer to Amsterdam, where my company's office is located. We really like Haarlem, but we understand that if we take housing on a mortgage, then Haarlem will not shine for us. paid only one month's deposit in advance and didn't buy any furniture. We also completed the paperwork fairly quickly. It took about 6 thousand euros for everything about everything. We live in Haarlem - it's not a very big city, but very cozy and very expensive. It is located between Amsterdam and the sea: 15 minutes from the sea by bus, 20 minutes from Amsterdam by train. I wanted to be closer to Amsterdam, where my company's office is located. We really like Haarlem, but we understand that if we take housing on a mortgage, then Haarlem will not shine for us. I wanted to be closer to Amsterdam, where my company's office is located. We really like Haarlem, but we understand that if we take housing on a mortgage, then Haarlem will not shine for us. I wanted to be closer to Amsterdam, where my company's office is located. We really like Haarlem, but we understand that if we take housing on a mortgage, then Haarlem will not shine for us.

Family

At the time of the move, the daughter was already going to a Kyiv school. While we were doing the paperwork, she finished the second grade. I learned everything I could about local schools, learned that national schools are free and international schools are very expensive. We did not pull international and we had to consider a free school in which education is given entirely in Dutch. None of us, of course, speaks Dutch. But in the Netherlands, everything is thought out: there are special classes in which during the first year the child is taught Dutch, so that after that he is ready to move to a regular school in a class according to his age. I studied where these classes were located and based on this I decided which city in the Netherlands we would move to. I also wrote letters to schools in advance so that we would be given prior consent that they were ready to take our child. Secondary education in the Netherlands is free: from pencils to workbooks, everything is provided by the school. We made a single contribution of 30 euros, which will be spent on excursions. My husband is also an IT specialist, a front-end developer. In Ukraine, he worked remotely for an American company and, having moved here, continued to work for it.

Language

In the Netherlands, people easily switch to English. My husband goes to the store more often than me. He was used to the fact that at the checkout they usually ask two questions in Dutch: “Do I need a check? And do you need coupons? He stopped asking again in English and answered in Dutch usually “no”. But one day, after the second question at the checkout, a third followed, and it was an ambush. He had to ask to be translated.

Medicine

In the Netherlands, all medicine is insured. Residents pay a minimum of 110 euros per month of insurance, which can be extended if desired to include a physiotherapist and dentist. According to insurance, on the first visit, a person goes to a family doctor - only he can give a referral to a narrow specialist. Many are dissatisfied with the work of these doctors. They all have one answer: either it will go away on its own, or take paracetamol. But if you get to narrow specialists, the work is at the highest level.

Salary and taxes

My salary in the Netherlands has become more, but given that up to 30% goes to taxes, in fact it turned out to be a little more than I received in Ukraine. We didn’t come here for money: the most important thing was to try to live in a different environment and with other people, to give the child an education and security. This is what I was looking for for myself and for my family. As a "smart immigrant" I receive a salary of 4,500 euros - 30% of which goes to taxes. But there is another 30% ruling, which is a tax credit created to (financially) make it easier for an expat to move to the Netherlands. That is, 30% of my salary is tax-free. In my case, it is about 700 euros, which is very good. There is also a child allowance, it depends on how old he is. We receive about 200 euros. There are many things here for which you initially pay, but then you file a declaration and ask, to get your part back, and they do. For example, on a mortgage you pay a broker, a notary, but some of these payments are then returned.

Work culture

I felt a huge difference in communication between managers and subordinates, comparing the Netherlands and Ukraine. People take different positions, but everyone is equal. No pressure on subordinates. There is also a moment of balance between work and personal life. The Dutch constantly emphasize at work rallies: first family and leisure, and then work and business. Our leaders want employees to remember this at all times. The process here is structured like this: if you need to leave work, then you can go to solve your own affairs. You can always not work for half a day, but work out next week. Nobody needs sacrifice here. There is never a question of whether or not they will give vacation or sick leave. Companies can pay a salary to someone who is on sick leave for two years, that's the law. This happened in our company too. There is trust in employees. I work remotely and no one controls me: the main thing is that I do my job. I feel free, no one is pushing me. People in the Netherlands are generally more open and hospitable. If you give way on the sidewalk, they will definitely thank you and ask how you are doing. Living in such an environment, you yourself become better. I'm trying to find something that might upset me, but I can't find it.

Leisure

We moved in September 2020, by that time all cafes and restaurants were closed, museums a little later. We just managed to go to the Rotterdam Zoo. Now we have a complete lockdown: only supermarkets and pharmacies are open. So we walk and ride bikes. There is something to see - beautiful architecture. Several times we went to the sea. We have huge plans to travel around the Netherlands. In the future, after quarantine, we will have the whole of Europe in front of us, we want to visit many places.