The story of Leon ‘Because of my job I know a little bit about everything’ Leon is 19 years old and already has a permanent job at the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). He works for the Public Information Centre (in Dutch: …

The story of Lotte ‘It leaves an impression when someone is happy just because you’re listening’ Doing an internship at the IND? Lotte thinks it is educative, challenging and gratifying. As a social legal services student, she was looking for a place …

The story of Thamara ‘Right is right and wrong is wrong: whatever the systems say must be correct’ Thamara is a real administrative jack-of-all-trades who has been getting around the IND for 25 years already. Now, she works as a quality assurance …

The story of Eva ‘In Holland nothing stops me from being who I am’ In Iraq, being gay or transgender is considered a crime. Eva fled to Ukraine – but there she wasn't safe either. In the asylum seekers' center in the Dutch village of Echt, Limburg, she …

The story of Geysa Geysa became a Dutch citizen Geysa Heyer married a German engineer in her country of birth, Brazil, and together with him and their son she moved to the Netherlands 14 years ago. ‘In order to feel at home, it is important to connect …

The story of Manizha ‘I feel at home in the Netherlands’ Manizha Kodirova comes from Tajikistan. She came to the Netherlands for love, where the openness and directness of the people appealed to her. Now she feels so much at home that she has applied for …

The story of Mansour Mansour came to the Netherlands for love Mansour Karboub left his parents' home when he was 12. After many detours, the Moroccan butcher came to the Netherlands in 2004 for love. Today, on Naturalisation Day, he became a Dutch …

The story of Amjad Amjad stayed in an asylum seekers’ centre (AZC). 'On some days it seemed as if the whole world had forgotten me.' He once stayed in an asylum seekers’ centre himself. He now helps companions in misfortune via the Dutch Council for …

The story of Tiaan ‘Never stop chasing your dreams’ Tiaan Burger Fouché (26) is from South Africa and has been working in the Netherlands as an au pair for almost a year. Soon he'll be leaving the Netherlands to start working as an au pair in America. He …

The story of Zelda ‘The Dutch planning culture is rather suffocating’ Zelda Euler is a senior researcher in the field of immunology at Janssen Vaccines and Prevention, a biopharmaceutical company in Leiden. She's doing research on HIV vaccines. Photo of …