Nonprofit Newcomer
Open Embassy
Netherlands-wide
A free non-government helpdesk for newcomers in the Netherlands, covering work, housing, healthcare, education and language, with replies in English, Dutch, Ukrainian or Arabic.
From the Flux Forward organisation register · Not edited on this site How we check thisHide
Organisation records are published from the Flux Forward organisation register and shown here exactly as that register holds them. We do not research, write or edit them on this site, and a listing is not an endorsement or a sign that an organisation can help with your situation. Check the organisation's own website before acting.
Questions arrive through everyday channels rather than a form, and the reply comes the next working day with a pointer to the organisation that can actually handle the matter.
About
OpenEmbassy runs a helpdesk for newcomers alongside research and advice on integration policy. It began in 2015 as an online helpdesk where newcomers could put questions to people in the Netherlands. Newcomers send questions about education, language, work, care, housing and daily life through WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook or email, and the team, helped by volunteers, replies the next working day. Its own pages state plainly that it is not an embassy or a government body, that it cannot issue visas or documents, and that it cannot help people move to the Netherlands. It says it looks for answers and ideas together with the person asking, and for questions about rights it points to services such as the Juridisch Loket and the Rechtswinkel Migranten. Alongside the helpdesk it publishes a themed list of other services covering language, education, rights, housing, healthcare, leisure and work. Its terms name the undertaking as OpenEmbassy BV, a private limited company at Kattenburg 5 in Amsterdam, Chamber of Commerce number 67531938.
What they offer
- Helpdesk answering newcomers' questions by WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook and email
- Themed list of other organisations for newcomers, covering language, education, rights, housing, care, leisure and work
- Action research and monitoring and evaluation of integration policy, contracted by organisations
- Training, workshops, lectures and masterclasses for professionals and policymakers
Good to know
- It states it is not an embassy or a government institution, cannot issue visas or documents, and cannot help with moving to the Netherlands.
- It gives information and signposting rather than legal advice, and directs questions about rights to free legal advice services.
- The research, training and advice work is contracted by organisations rather than by individuals.
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This entry describes an independent organisation. How to in NL is not affiliated with them, listing is not an endorsement, and it does not mean they can help with your particular situation. Check the details on their own website before acting.