One-stop shop for foreign employees in Brabant  

Foreign employees can now pick up their residence permit and register with their city of residence in just one visit to the new Expat Center Brabant in the Kennedy Business Center in Eindhoven, opened on February 25th, by Eldermen Van Merriënboer (Eindhoven) and Möller (Tilburg). With the first residence permit distributed to a foreign Philips employee, the Center’s test phase has begun. The pilot is an initiative of the Province of Noord-Brabant, Brabant Development Agency (BOM), the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), Brainport Development and the five cities of Eindhoven, Tilburg, ’s-Hertogenbosch, Breda en Helmond. This one-stop shop will make it even more attractive to live and work in Brabant: a positive boost for the region’s hospitality and new business climate.

One-stop shop
With this initiative, the said parties are meeting the requirements of international companies and their employees for simplified procedures for working in the Netherlands. Since finding and retaining high-calibre employees is of great importance for companies, a high level of hospitality must be extended to such employees and their families. The Expat Center Brabant will fulfil an important function. A working method has been developed whereby the employer can initiate the procedure for a residence permit four weeks before the arrival of the employee – initially knowledge migrants and scientists. When the employee arrives in Brabant, his or her visit to the Expat Center in Eindhoven is already planned. There, the procedures enabling the employee to work can be concluded in one go – residence permit, city registration and social security number can be obtained within the hour. Moreover, even residents of Tilburg, as well as smaller cities in the vicinity of Eindhoven and Tilburg, will be able to register at this central location in Eindhoven.

Information services
The start-up of the Expat Center Brabant coincides with the launch of the English-language website, www.expatcenterbrabant.com. The website makes it easier for expats and their families to find their feet in the Brabant region. It combines all the useful municipal information with tips on those important topics requiring fast action, such as real estate, child care, health care, education, finance, taxation, insurance, etc. Apart from this virtual desk and the centrally located Expat Center in Eindhoven, a physical local service desk has opened its doors in Tilburg as well. More service desks will be established in the course of 2010.