Look inside
The plan for England, from the inside
These are all 37 steps of the England journey, exactly as they appear in your personal plan — with the lead time and the costs next to them. Not a brochure: this is the file that feeds the platform. Pick another country below if you're heading elsewhere.
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Every country has its own steps, its own order and its own clocks. Switch as often as you like.
- Steps
- 37
- Phases
- 5
- Official sources
- 65
- Only for your situation
- 4
Phase 1
6 steps
Orientation
Since Brexit England is a real emigration country: no move without a visa, and no visa without a job. This phase decides whether the route exists for you — before you put time and money into it.
- 1.1
Understand the route: first the job, then the visa
- Lead time
- reading step
- Costs
- none
3 official sources
- 1.2
Check your occupation and the salary threshold
- Lead time
- 1-2 hours of searching
- Costs
- none
2 official sources
- 1.3
Know the language requirement: B2, and you have to prove it
- Lead time
- reading step
- Costs
- none
1 official source
- 1.4
Get a picture of what it's going to cost
- Lead time
- 1-2 hours with the calculator
- Costs
- none
- 1.5
Take the decision together
- Lead time
- no fixed one; take your time
- Costs
- none
1 official source
- 1.6
Choose your target date
- Lead time
- five minutes, below
- Costs
- none
Phase 2
7 steps
Job and visa
Everything in this phase hangs on one thing: an employer who wants to and is allowed to sponsor you. After that the visa is mainly a matter of supplying everything complete and in the right order.
- 2.1
Find a job with a licensed sponsor
- Lead time
- weeks to months — this is the real work
- Costs
- none
1 official source
- 2.2
Book and pass your language test (SELT) at B2
- Lead time
- 2-6 weeks from booking to result
- Costs
- about € 305 for IELTS for UKVI in the Netherlands (test provider's rate)
1 official source
- 2.3
Receive your Certificate of Sponsorship
- Lead time
- days, as soon as the employer signs
- Costs
- none for you; the employer pays the sponsorship costs
1 official source
- 2.4
Collect your documents and proof of funds
- Lead time
- 1-2 weeks
- Costs
- none, unless you have to have documents translated
2 official sources
- 2.5
Lodge and pay: fees plus IHS
- Lead time
- the application itself is an evening's work
- Costs
- £819 (up to 3 years) or £1,618 (longer), plus IHS £1,035 p.p. per year
2 official sources
- 2.6
The decision: three weeks, faster is possible
- Lead time
- usually 3 weeks from the Netherlands
- Costs
- none; priority £500, super priority £1,000 (optional)
2 official sources
- 2.7
Activate your eVisa and get to know the share code
- Lead time
- an hour, right after approval
- Costs
- none
2 official sources
Phase 3
11 steps
Closing the Netherlands
For the Dutch authorities this is an ordinary emigration — but the UK is no longer an EU country, and you feel that precisely with healthcare and child benefit. Fortunately one treaty route still exists.
- 3.1
Arrange your healthcare: know which system you fall under
- Lead time
- start 3 months before departure
- Costs
- none; the treaty contribution replaces your Dutch premium
3 official sources
- 3.2
AOW and pension: what continues and what stops
- Lead time
- an afternoon of research; registering is possible up to 1 year after departure
- Costs
- voluntary AOW continuation: 17.9% of your income (min € 569, max € 5,693 a year, 2026)
3 official sources
- 3.3
The tax wind-up: M return and the treaty
- Lead time
- the return follows after the emigration year; the preparation now
- Costs
- none
3 official sources
- 3.4
Child benefit and allowances: stop them, don't let them run
- Lead time
- an hour
- Costs
- none
2 official sources
- 3.5
Deregister with the municipality — with international proof
- Lead time
- 15 minutes at the counter or online
- Costs
- none
1 official source
- 3.6
DigiD, banking and your vote: keep the lines with the Netherlands
- Lead time
- an evening
- Costs
- none
2 official sources
- 3.7
Collect your documents, with an apostille where needed
- Lead time
- 1-2 weeks
- Costs
- apostille € 27 per document; translation about € 40-85 per document
3 official sources
- 3.8
Partner comes along without a job of their own
- Lead time
- an evening together, then a few things to arrange
- Costs
- none — the consequences are in the article
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 3.9
Living partly in the Netherlands: the eight-month rule
- Lead time
- one decision, before you commit to anything else
- Costs
- none
4 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 3.10
The house in the Netherlands: sell, rent out or keep
- Lead time
- one conversation with the mortgage lender and one with a tax adviser
- Costs
- advisory hours; when renting out possibly an interest surcharge from the bank
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 3.11
Children staying in the Netherlands: DUO, healthcare and the house
- Lead time
- an evening, and after that one report a year
- Costs
- none
1 official source
Only if this applies to you
Phase 4
5 steps
The move
England is close by, but since Brexit there's a customs border in between. One form decides whether your household contents come across tax-free — and that form has to be there before the lorry drives.
- 4.1
Apply for the ToR exemption before the move
- Lead time
- application an evening; allow amply for the processing
- Costs
- none — the exemption itself is free
2 official sources
- 4.2
Book the mover and plan the crossing
- Lead time
- book 4-8 weeks ahead
- Costs
- about € 3,000-6,000 for a family move (estimate)
1 official source
- 4.3
Decide about the car — and count first
- Lead time
- an evening of counting, after that depending on your choice
- Costs
- bringing it: NOVA free, registration £55, possibly IVA £100
3 official sources
- 4.4
The pet: passport, jabs and an approved route
- Lead time
- at least 3 weeks' lead time (rabies waiting period)
- Costs
- vet costs about € 100-250; crossing from £24 (LeShuttle) or free in the car (Stena)
2 official sources
- 4.5
The travel day: everything the counter wants to see, within reach
- Lead time
- an hour of preparation
- Costs
- none
Phase 5
8 steps
Arrival in England
England has no municipal counter and no registration duty. Instead you arrange separate things at separate authorities — and the order saves weeks.
- 5.1
Find a home: the share code is your entry ticket
- Lead time
- weeks; start from the Netherlands
- Costs
- deposit at most 5 weeks' rent, plus the first month
2 official sources
- 5.2
Open a bank account
- Lead time
- days to 2 weeks
- Costs
- none
1 official source
- 5.3
Apply for your National Insurance Number
- Lead time
- up to 4 weeks after identity check
- Costs
- none
1 official source
- 5.4
Register with a GP
- Lead time
- a quarter of an hour online, per family member
- Costs
- none — GP care is free; prescriptions £9.90 per item
1 official source
- 5.5
Report to the council: council tax and the rest
- Lead time
- an hour, as soon as you have a home
- Costs
- council tax per home; living alone 25% discount
2 official sources
- 5.6
The car: NOVA within 14 days, then DVLA
- Lead time
- NOVA right away; plates within weeks
- Costs
- registration £55; vehicle tax about £200 a year; MOT max £54.85
2 official sources
- 5.7
Your driving licence: driving on is allowed, exchanging is smart
- Lead time
- exchanging about 3 weeks
- Costs
- £43 (D1 form via the post office)
2 official sources
- 5.8
School for the children: via the council
- Lead time
- weeks; start as soon as the address is known
- Costs
- state schools are free
2 official sources
4 of these steps aren't always there. They appear only when your answers call them up — a pet, a car, children staying behind. That's the difference between a plan and a checklist in which you have to work out yourself what applies.
Look inside
This is what one step of your plan looks like
Not a brochure but the real thing: this is one of the steps of the England journey, exactly as it appears in your personal step-by-step plan — with the deadlines, the counters and the sources.
Step 4.1 of your plan
Apply for the ToR exemption before the move
- Lead time
- application an evening; allow amply for the processing
- Costs
- none — the exemption itself is free
This is the step almost nobody knows about, and it's worth thousands of euros. Since Brexit your household contents are formally an import: without exemption you pay import duties plus VAT on the value of everything that goes into the lorry. The Transfer of Residence exemption (ToR) removes that — if you arrange it in time. You apply for it online at HMRC, with an inventory list (grouping is allowed, a photo of a handwritten list counts), a proof of address on both sides and your passport page. After approval you get a unique reference number (URN), and that number is what your mover needs at customs.
The conditions: you lived at least twelve months outside the UK, the goods have been in your possession and use for at least six months, you import them within twelve months of settling — and you may not sell or transfer them in the first year after import. Alcohol and tobacco fall outside it.
Where you arrange it
What this step rests on
This is step 4.1 of 37. The other 36 are ready for you — each with the same sources, the same counters and a planning that watches your dates.
And what you don't see here
This page shows the content. What a page can't show is the work the platform does for you afterwards:
- The clocks that start running the moment you begin, and a nudge at the moment something is asked of you — not earlier.
- Your documents in one place, with their expiry dates watched, so nothing lapses while you wait for something else.
- The ticking off, together with your partner on the same journey.
- The steps that drop out or appear based on your answers, so your plan holds only what really applies to you.
Ready to start on England?
All 37 steps, set to your situation and with the deadlines watched. € 399 once, no subscription.
The departure guide
Five mails, and you see your whole journey
Not ready to start yet? Then we'll send you the departure guide for England: five mails in a week and a half, with the order, the pitfalls and the real costs. After that one question about where your plans stand, and beyond that only a short update when something in England really changes — at most one a month, no newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
Ready to begin?
Thirty-six journeys are fully ready — Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Canada, Panama, United States, Suriname, China, Dubai, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Turkey, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand: your step-by-step plan, your documents and your costs in one place, with the timing watched. Pay once, and it's yours.