Answering Some Questions About Obtaining a DAFT visa

Hi everyone,

Lately I've received some good questions that I would like to answer for all readers! The process to obtaining your DAFT visa can be a little convoluted but it doesn't have to be- I completed the whole process without a lawyer. I think that living outside of the Netherlands and applying can be trickier and can definitely be harder but it's not impossible. So, below, I've answered some of the most recent questions; if you have some of your own, please feel free to ask me in the comments below.

Did you use a lawyer or service to help you apply? 

No I did not! The DAFT treaty application paperwork provided by the IND provides the steps needed to take in order to have a completed application, so I just followed those steps exactly. A lawyer would have just cut through the waiting times for me at the government buildings and would have eased my anxiety about not being granted my visa. 

Do you know if by being granted the DAFT visa if you can only live in the Netherlands?  Or can you live and work in any EU country?

The DAFT visa is the residence permit and the work visa all rolled into one. So my freelance business is based in the Netherlands but I can do work for other businesses/ clients in other countries just like a normal business. I invoice all of my clients with my company name that is here in The Netherlands. Since my residence permit is for The Netherlands, I cannot live in another country unless I get a residence permit for there too. 

Did you move over there first?

I did! I lived in London and once my visa was done for the UK I moved directly to here and moved in with my partner who was already living here. 

I'm finding that apartments are quite $$$$ and it looks like most people have a roommate?  Is that the case?  What part of the city do you live in?

YES. Housing is expensive and very hard to come by. Everyone I know has a roommate (or a family). We looked at maybe 7 apartments that were either closet sized or we were not selected for (they had other interested parties) and almost gave up our search. We found a beautiful 1 bedroom apartment in Haarlem 15 mins by train from Amsterdam for a reasonable price and I think we got lucky. Be prepared for the housing struggle. 


More questions are welcomed!

-April