Expats

General Information

Apartments

Foreign employees can stay at the company campus. Depending on a new employee's family situation, Guerrilla will pay for two months stay at the company campus, or lease an apartment for a period of two months on behalf of the expatriate.

 

Applying for a Work Permit

Expatriates outside the EU will need a residency and a work permit. Guerrilla will assist during the application of (1) a temporary permit for three months (MVV) and (2) the residency and work permit.

Once the application for the temporary permit (MVV) is approved, the expatriate can travel to The Netherlands. The approval process usually takes about six weeks. In the first few days after arrival the employee should contact the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) to apply for a residence and work permit, and to get a sticker placed in his or her Passport.

 

The sticker has several purposes. The first one is to prove that the expatriate is legally in the Netherlands, awaiting a decision on the application for a residence permit. The second one is to get a so-called 'labor market notice'. This states that the MVV allows the foreign employee to work immediately after receiving the sticker, while awaiting a decision. Getting a social security number (sofi-nummer) and a bank account in The Netherlands is only possible once you have this sticker.

 

Taxes and the 30 Percent Ruling

The Netherlands has a 30 percent tax-free ruling, which is a blessing for many expatriates. The purpose of this regulation is to attract highly skilled professionals from foreign countries with skills and experience that remain scarce in the Dutch labor market. According to the 30 percent ruling, an employer may provide a tax-free allowance of 30 percent of the total salary of an employee. To obtain the 30 percent ruling, a request has to be made to the competent tax authorities and several conditions have to be fulfilled to prove the expatriate's desirable knowledge and experience.

 

Health Insurance

In the Netherlands, health insurance is an obligation for all citizens. Guerrilla has a beneficial collective health insurance plan for both the employee and his or her family.

 

More Info

If you have any questions, please contact us at gamesjobs@guerrilla-games.com.

 

Testimonials

Blake Politeski Originally from Canada With the company since 2008 Level Designer

I’ve been at Guerrilla for about a year and a half now, originally coming from Canada. Before this I worked at a pretty large company, but at some point I wanted to have something more personal - to not feel like a cog in a wheel anymore. Guerrilla is great for that, as it has the stability and financial backing of a large corporation (Sony), but it’s also very hands-off while providing us with a lot of creative freedom.

 

As for Amsterdam, this city’s pretty amazing. It doesn’t have a lot of the problems of bigger cities - there’s little pollution, no getting stuck in traffic jams, low crime, and so on. Because it’s a world-class city, it also has everything you could want in terms of music venues, events and celebrations.

 

Since I’ve been here, the company has improved even further in many areas, and it was just as much fun to start working here as it was watching Guerrilla turn into a true AAA company. Between working on something I love and living in a phenomenal city, life here is like a permanent vacation - low stress, lots of fun activities, and lots of vacation time and benefits that you’re actually encouraged to take. What more could you ask for?”

 

 

Susie Green Originally from Scotland With the company since 2008 Senior FX Artist

“I arrived in Amsterdam with the intention of helping out for a few months. A year and a half later I am still here, now a fulltime Guerrilla employee. It's pretty easy to see why: In London I risked my life every day to cycle five miles though the city, now it takes me a relaxing ten minutes down cobbled streets and alongside leafy canals. Dodging tourists is more fun than dangerous. On my way home I can walk into one of the two music venues that I pass to take in a world-famous band (everyone plays here), and still be home in time for dinner. Half an hour cycling takes me right out of Amsterdam and along winding paths through fields of cows and windmills.

 

The Dutch are unpretentious and fun, and they will take delight in introducing you to some of their stranger customs, such as eating salty liquorice, receiving rude personal poetry from Sinterklaas (their Father Christmas) and the day the entire country sells all their oldest possessions to each other on the streets while drunk and dressed in orange.”

 

 

James Mason Originally from England With the company since 2004 Senior Environment Artist

"I've been working at Guerrilla for 5 years now. Before this I lived and worked mostly in London. Having accepted the job, before I knew it I was in Amsterdam riding trams, dodging bikes and crazy taxi drivers - plus working on Killzone. Slowly I got to know all the folks here and even pick up a few Dutch phrases and habits. One of them involves putting 'Chocolate sprinkles' on buttered bread for lunch... And here I was thinking they were only for the tops of cakes and ice cream!

 

One of the best things about working at Guerrilla is the people, who come from all over the world. In the pub after a hard days work I've heard many a great story and shared a drink with so many interesting folk who I could never have dreamed of meeting.

 

Outside of work, I've managed to build up a great group of friends with whom I've had many adventures in Amsterdam. They've even helped me to set up a Indie Disco club night which I hold every month. During the years I've been here, I've seen the company grow and with more and more talented artists, designers and programmers joining all the time, it makes me feel very lucky to be part of such a great team."

 

Vaggelis Livaditis Originally from Greece With the company since 2005 Senior Level Designer

"My name is Vaggelis, I am Greek and I'm a Senior Level Designer here at Guerrilla.

 

Living in Amsterdam, through lazy summer days in Vondelpark and careful biking over snowy bridges, let me first of all tell you a few things about the city I love: It's just small enough to bike around, but full of life, diversity and character. It feels like the centre of the world (look at the concert list!), but costs less than living in Athens. Its a full experience by itself, a mind expanding place, a full party town, but you never see violence or hostility. Just a lot of lovely blondes...

 

Talking about the Dutch, I would descibe them as free minded, efficient, and direct people. The directness part might be a bit shocking in the beggining for people from more 'diplomatic' cultures, but soon one gets totally into it, as few things feel better than saying exactly what you have in mind.

 

And what about the company you may ask? Guerrilla is fast becoming one of the top developers of the world, with great talent amongst its ranks, great financial stability (Sony) and top technology to boast about. With its flagship titles around the corner, its easy to see that its at a stage where its high ambitions are at hand's reach."

 

Guerrilla is based in the heart of cosmopolitan Amsterdam, which is a great place to live, work and play. The studio hires expatriates from all over the world and already employs staff from many different countries. Guerrilla maintains a company campus, which is just around the corner from the studio.