Half of EMA expats chose Amsterdam as home

Of the 514 European Medicines Agency (EMA) employees who moved to the Netherlands so far, half decided to live in Amsterdam. 256 of these expats now call Amsterdam home, and 258 opted to live elsewhere in the country, according to figures released by the municipality of Amsterdam.

The EMA moved its offices from London to Amsterdam in March due to the approaching Brexit. It is currently located in temporary offices at Sloterdijk station, and will move int a brand new head office on the Zuidas at a later date.

The Hague is the second most popular Dutch municipality among EMA expats, with 70 employees now living there. Haarlem is now home to 35 EMA expats, Leiden to 20 and Amstelveen to 19. Utrecht attracted 10 EMA expats. Rotterdam only attracted one.

Most of the EMA expats' children are attending international schools. Only 26 were registered for local education at a nearby primary school. Of the 623 children who came with EMA expats, 121 are registered at the European School The Hague. European School in Bergen is second most popular with 90 registrations from 10 expats who moved to the town. International schools in Amsterdam are less popular. The AICS attracted 22 pupils, the British School 15 and the International School Amsterdam 5.

It is expected that a total of 772 EMA employees will move to the Netherlands, with or without a family. 192 expats are currently working on their relocation to the Netherlands, according to the municipality. When or whether the other 66 will relocate, is not yet clear.