Survey: Internationals feeling at home in The Netherlands

| ACCESS

ACCESS is part of ICAP, the International Community Advisory Panel, which produces a variety of surveys from the international community. The most recent survey titled ‘Internationals feeling at home in the Netherlands’ generates a lot of insight into what life is like for internationals in the Netherlands.

Feeling at home

The Feeling at Home survey (3,838 respondents) gives a strong glimpse into what life is like in the Netherlands for internationals.

What makes internationals feel at home?

  • 70% said having friendly neighbours is an important part of feeling at home in the Netherlands

  • 67% said knowing where to go for help with problems was essential to feeling at home 

  • 61% said speaking Dutch

  • 60% said having Dutch friends. 

Issues 

  • Discrimination was an issue, with only one third said they had not experienced any discrimination during their time in the Netherlands

  • 18% said they often experienced discrimination

  • Almost one half (48%) occasionally experienced discrimination 

How keen are internationals to get to know their new country?

  • Over four in five have had a weekend away somewhere else in the Netherlands

  • 72% have taken Dutch lessons

  • 53% have a Museum Jaarkaart

How at home do internationals feel?

  • Just over a quarter of respondents said they did not feel at home in the Netherlands

  • 44% felt fairly or very settled

  • 60% said they have no plans to leave.

You can read a summary of the results by following this link