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Without our Partners ACCESS would not be able to do the work it does. Thanks to their support and belief in our Mission & Vision we are able to serve the international community in the Netherlands. Should you approach one of our Partners for further support, do let them know “ACCESS sent me”. And, we thank all our Partners, Trainers, Counsellors and Volunteers of course, for helping us help the international community in the Netherlands.

Registered partnership and children: what happens when your family crosses a border?

Annemieke Robbers

Date published: 2026/07/08

Dutch parental authority may be clear in The Netherlands, but international families should check how it is recognised abroad This article is a companion to “What expat couples in The Netherlands often only discover too late”. It focuses on one specific situation: a family in The Netherlands where the parents have entered into a registered [...]

What expat couples in The Netherlands only often discover too late

Annemieke Robbers

Date published: 2026/07/08

Legal choices that seem simple at the time can become complicated when life becomes international. Most clients do not come to a family lawyer because they made careless decisions. They come because earlier decisions, which seemed sensible at the time, have unexpected consequences once a relationship, a child or a move abroad becomes legally complicated. [...]

The Best of Both Worlds: Global Learning with a Local Heart in Amersfoort

Amersfoort International School

Date published: 2026/07/04

At Amersfoort International School (AIS), children don’t just learn about the world — they experience it every day. As an IB World School in the heart of the Netherlands, AIS offers a programme that is both internationally minded and closely connected to the local Dutch community for children aged 4–12. Sharing a building with Basisschool [...]

How the Netherlands Became My Home

Nataliya Volosovych

Date published: 2026/06/24

I stood in the bay window of an empty ‘fully furnished’ apartment in Hillegersberg, Rotterdam, and looked out at a lake shaded by old pine trees. It was August 2010 and Rotterdam, wishing to make a favourable first impression, had arranged itself beautifully. The water was still, the trees dignified, and the apartment behind me [...]

Winford Bilingual Primary School - Offering a Soft Landing for International Families

Winford Bilingual Primary School

Date published: 2026/05/10

At Winford Bilingual, your journey in the Netherlands begins with warmth, understanding, and a true sense of belonging. We offer a bilingual Dutch/English curriculum, small class sizes, and personalised attention to help students thrive academically and socially. Our teachers are experienced in supporting newcomers and are trained to identify individual needs, ensuring that each child [...]

Reinventing Yourself Abroad

Ana Denis

Date published: 2026/05/20

I never truly felt I belonged in Russia. Although my parents had never been abroad, my mom’s favourite actress was Marilyn Monroe — I know many of her movies by heart. My father could watch Benny Hill or National Geographic for hours, and I’d sit with him, fascinated by the world. And when I was [...]

Can your employer refuse to pay your bonus? A recent Dutch Court decision explained

Roos van Zaltbommel

Date published: 2026/04/29

Employment contracts or bonus schemes often state that it is up to the employer to decide whether an employee is entitled to a bonus. This is commonly referred to as a discretionary power. In practice, entitlement to a bonus can give rise to disputes. The key questions that may arise are: how far does this [...]

What Death Teaches About Living Abroad

Deborah Valentine

Date published: 2026/04/22

Grief, distance, and what no relocation package prepares you for. There are many ways to learn about the country you’ve moved to and now live in. You learn it through its food, traffic, humour, the way strangers make — or avoid — eye contact on public transport. You learn it slowly, in small daily doses, [...]

You Are Not Alone: English Language Cancer Support in the Netherlands

Cancer Support Netherlands

Date published: 2026/04/08

Being diagnosed with cancer can turn life upside down. For those living in the Netherlands who are far from their familiar support networks, whether international students, migrants, immigrants, refugees, or binational families - the experience can feel even more isolating. Navigating treatment in a different language while trying to make sense of emotional and practical [...]

Finding Mental Health Abroad

Hee Baek

Date published: 2026/03/25

Like many internationals I grew up in different countries, with different languages and systems. I learned early to adapt, and understood the disorientation of finding care in a place that doesn’t quite know you, or vice versa. Finding care was never simple, especially when it came to counselling. As a long-term patient, this was important [...]

Different routes to divorce in the Netherlands

Gina van der Zanden

Date published: 2026/03/04

Under Dutch law, a divorce petition must always be filed with the court by a lawyer. This requirement applies irrespective of whether the divorce is pursued through a joint petition, mediation or a unilateral request. As a result, legal representation is mandatory in every Dutch divorce procedure. Unlike some other jurisdictions, consent of the other [...]

Finding Myself Through Cultures

Sarai Velez Ramirez

Date published: 2026/02/18

Belonging is usually defined as being part of something — a group, a category, a collective you’re meant to fit into. But what happens when you don’t fully belong to any group? When shared nationality doesn’t create closeness, when language doesn’t guarantee familiarity, or when cultural stereotypes don’t hold you? As a Mexican who lived [...]