International Welcome Center North - IWCN

International Welcome Center North - IWCN IWCN is a one-stop-shop for international communities in Groningen, Friesland, and Drenthe.

The International Welcome Center North (IWCN) is a one-stop shop for international people living in Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. We offer services in three areas: government formalities (residence permits and municipal registration); information (practical information and referrals to reliable service providers); and events (a chance to start building a social and/or business network during

events). All of this happens at one location, and we are open Monday through Thursday from 9:30 to 16:30.

Groningen is the cycling capital of the Netherlands, but understanding the rules of the road can feel intimidating. This...
03/09/2026

Groningen is the cycling capital of the Netherlands, but understanding the rules of the road can feel intimidating. This free workshop is designed to help you feel more confident on your bike and prepare you to take on the Dutch cycling paths!

During this event we explain and show you the essentials of biking in the Netherlands: Youโ€™ll learn about the Dutch traffic rules and what you need to know as a cyclist, and you get to test out newly learned tips, tricks and information during the practice section.

๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ž๐ญ๐š๐ข๐ฅ๐ฌ
๐Ÿ“† 19 September
๐Ÿ•’ 10:15
๐Ÿ“ Groningen
๐Ÿ”— Sign up via our events page (link in bio)

๐๐ฅ๐ž๐š๐ฌ๐ž ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ž: Bring your own bike to the event so that you can practice!

Don't have a bike yet? Let us know ahead of time! We have a few extra bikes we may be able to let you practice with.

Have you thought about applying for permanent residency in the Netherlands? Or would you like to know more about the pro...
01/09/2026

Have you thought about applying for permanent residency in the Netherlands? Or would you like to know more about the process? Join us for this free and informative workshop hosted by ahladvocaten, experts in immigration law and trusted partners of IWCN.

Perhaps you have been wondering aboutโ€ฆ

๐Ÿ’ญ What different options are there when it comes to obtaining a residence permit or applying for Dutch nationality?

๐Ÿ’ญ What possibilities are there when it comes to family reunification?

๐Ÿ’ญ Can career changes or temporary work abroad impact my residency status?

๐Ÿ’ญ What can I expect from the legal process?

๐Ÿ’ญ Who can support me with my application?

If any of these questions sound familiar, we encourage you to join this session.

๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ž๐ญ๐š๐ข๐ฅ๐ฌ
๐Ÿ“† 17 September
๐Ÿ•’ 15:00
๐Ÿ“ Groningen
๐Ÿ”— Sign up through our events page (link in bio)

Health insurance, car insurance, home contents insurance... There are a lot of insurances that you can sign up for, but ...
28/08/2026

Health insurance, car insurance, home contents insurance... There are a lot of insurances that you can sign up for, but do you know which ones you are required to have by law? If not, let us help with that.

๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž:
๐Ÿ‘‰Health insurance, more specifically basic medical insurance (basisverzekering)
๐Ÿ‘‰Car insurance (if you have one), more specifically third-party liability insurance (wa-verzekering)

๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐ ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž:
๐Ÿ‘‰Personal Liability insurance (aansprakelijkheidsverzekering)
๐Ÿ‘‰Travel insurance (reisverzekering)
๐Ÿ‘‰Home Contents insurance (inboedelverzekering)

Tip: You can compare insurance plans and providers through handy online tools such as Independer, Zorgwijzer, and others.

๐€๐ฅ๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐œ๐ค ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ž๐ซ ๐ฐ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐œ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ž๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐ฉ๐š๐œ๐ค๐š๐ ๐ž!

๐Ÿ“ข ๐–๐žโ€™๐ซ๐ž ๐œ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ง ๐๐ž๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐Ÿ“ขDid you come to the Netherlands because of your part...
25/08/2026

๐Ÿ“ข ๐–๐žโ€™๐ซ๐ž ๐œ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ง ๐๐ž๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐Ÿ“ข

Did you come to the Netherlands because of your partner? Maybe youโ€™re finding it challenging to adjust, build a new life, or find work that matches your experience and education here? No matter the circumstances, one thing is for sure: Youโ€™re not alone on this journey ๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’™

Our International Spouses events offer you a chance to meet others in similar situations and to build connections, friendships, and support systems that make it easier to adjust to your new life here in the North. Our next event is just around the corner, and this time the focus is on building networking skills. Join us on 29 September for an afternoon of connection and networking.

๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ž๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ž๐œ๐ญ?
๐Ÿ—จ๏ธ Shared experiences & tips from spouses who have built their lives here in the North
๐Ÿค Practical networking tips from Kayla Ihrig
๐Ÿ‘‹ Put your new skills into practice by networking with other spouses living in the area

๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐ƒ๐ž๐ญ๐š๐ข๐ฅ๐ฌ:
๐Ÿ“† 29 September
๐Ÿ•’ 16:00
๐Ÿ“ Groningen
๐Ÿ”— Sign-up: https://iwcn.nl/events/international-spouses-networking-290926/

This event is a collaboration between .nl and .

๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ˆ๐–๐‚๐ ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐จ? You might have heard of us thanks to our events or the government formalities we offer, ...
21/08/2026

๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ˆ๐–๐‚๐ ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐จ? You might have heard of us thanks to our events or the government formalities we offer, but did you know we do way more than just that?

If this is the first time you have come across us: Hi, weโ€™re ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ˆ๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ง๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐–๐ž๐ฅ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž ๐‚๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก, your one-stop shop for the practical, knowledge and integration needs in one place ๐Ÿ‘‹

If you already know about us: Did you know that we offer resources and events for internationals beyond just the arrival in the Netherlands? or that weโ€™re actively working with businesses to make the North more international friendly? ๐Ÿค”

To keep things simple, our services can be divided into four categories:
๐Ÿ“„ Government formalities
๐Ÿ—จ๏ธ Practical advice & information
๐ŸŽช Events
๐Ÿค Business support

You can read more about what we do for each category from the slides.

This one is for all the new students and people moving to the North this autumn: Have you got everything covered? Moving...
18/08/2026

This one is for all the new students and people moving to the North this autumn: Have you got everything covered?

Moving to a new country can be a real hassle with everything that needs to be sorted out. Thatโ€™s where a checklist comes in handy! Weโ€™ve divided the essentials into three categories: what you must do asap after arriving, what you should think about the weeks after, and what is important for the long term. You can find the full checklist on our website.

What would be your tip to the new people arriving this autumn?
Let us know in the comments.

Did you know that many visible traces of Groningenโ€™s slavery history can still be found in the city today? Weโ€™re invitin...
13/08/2026

Did you know that many visible traces of Groningenโ€™s slavery history can still be found in the city today? Weโ€™re inviting you, together with Waard, to join this free city tour about the history of slavery and discrimination from past to present.

During the city tour, youโ€™ll visit significant historic landmarks. For example, one of the five head offices of the WIC (West Indian Company) was in Groningen, then called Stad en Lande. Whether youโ€™re a history lover or interested in social inclusion topics, if you are a passionate learner about your city, or just curious about less conventional narratives, youโ€™re welcome to join us! The duration of this 3-kilometer-long tour is 1,5 to 2 hours, starting at 15:00.

๐Ÿ“† 26 August
๐Ÿ•’ 15:00
๐Ÿ“ Groningen
๐Ÿ”— More information: https://iwcn.nl/events/historical-city-tour-groningens-slavery-past-groningen-260826/

What you need to know about rental culture in the Netherlands? We have teamed up with Van der Meulen Makelaars to bring ...
10/08/2026

What you need to know about rental culture in the Netherlands? We have teamed up with Van der Meulen Makelaars to bring answers to common questions about renting and the housing market in the Netherlands.

Beyond contracts and listings, there are many customs and differences when it comes to renting in the Netherlands that can catch newcomers off guard. In this third part of our renting Q&A series, we explore some of the unwritten expectations and cultural differences around renting in the Netherlands.

Van der Meulen Makelaars is a Groningen-based real estate agency specializing in rental properties, temporary housing and house sales, and a trusted IWCN service provider.

โ˜€๏ธ๐“๐‡๐„ ๐‹๐€๐“๐„ ๐’๐”๐Œ๐Œ๐„๐‘ ๐”๐๐ƒ๐€๐“๐„โ˜€๏ธIt's time for your late summer update, and oh do we have some things to share! We're starting ...
08/08/2026

โ˜€๏ธ๐“๐‡๐„ ๐‹๐€๐“๐„ ๐’๐”๐Œ๐Œ๐„๐‘ ๐”๐๐ƒ๐€๐“๐„โ˜€๏ธ

It's time for your late summer update, and oh do we have some things to share! We're starting the month by updating our opening hours, so that we can offer you better service when you visit us here at the IWCN office. We're also picking up right where we left off with our events. Since our events are now free, this month could be a great time to try out new things, like Wings & Roots events for international women or to continue your Dutch language journey with Let's Talk Dutch conversation groups.

We've got our monthly update ready for you, please enjoy!

Want to receive this newsletter in your inbox every month or want to read this month's newsletter? Check it out via the link in our bio.

Mark your calendars: Our Letโ€™s Talk Dutch conversation groups are making a comeback on August 19! As autumn begins its s...
04/08/2026

Mark your calendars: Our Letโ€™s Talk Dutch conversation groups are making a comeback on August 19! As autumn begins its slow approach, itโ€™s a good time to get back to practicing your Dutch with our weekly Letโ€™s Talk Dutch conversation groups. Weโ€™re getting together every Wednesday to practice spoken Dutch and enjoy casual conversations about various topics.

Not confident in your language skills just yet? No worries, if youโ€™re not sure if the B1+ level is right for you, we also offer a Beginner-level conversation group. The beginner group meets every Wednesday before the more advanced (B1+) group.

Event details:
๐Ÿ“† 19 August
๐Ÿ•’ 14:30
๐Ÿ“ Groningen

If you want to attend, make sure to sign up via: https://iwcn.nl/events/lets-talk-dutch-level-b1-groningen-190826/

Adres

Gedempte Zuiderdiep 98
Groningen
9711HL

Openingstijden

Maandag 09:00 - 17:00
Dinsdag 09:00 - 17:00
Woensdag 09:00 - 17:00
Donderdag 09:00 - 17:00

Telefoon

+31503677197

Website

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