Emigration Expo 2025: “We seek nature, climate, lifestyle”

Sometimes a seed is sown – sometimes a new resident of Norrbotten is secured. Interest in a new life in the north was great when Norrbotten returned to the Emigration Expo in the Netherlands for the third time.
– Now we have decided, we are moving, we are changing our lives, we are leaving! said Natalia Correira, one of 14 visitors to the fair.

Hundreds of thousands of Dutch people want to leave their country. And quite a few do – just over 500 a day. They are pressured by expensive housing, traffic jams, fierce competition for jobs and constant stress. They long for nature, peace, quiet and more time for their family. Norrbotten can offer that – and is in great need of people to move in. That is why we have gone with a large delegation to the Emigration Expo for the third year in a row.

Under the common name Arctic Sweden, the Norrbotten Region, eleven of the county's municipalities, the Employment Service Eures, the County Administrative Board Nära Mat and Luleå University of Technology collaborate on the immigration of Dutch people and others from the EU/EEA.

“Started practicing Swedish”

Thousands of people came to the Arctic Sweden booth to share their dreams and hopes, ask questions and sometimes even try out their beginner's Swedish.

– This year they are even more interested in moving here. I met some of them last year and now they have started training in Swedish and are very good at Swedish. I think that makes a very big difference, says Monica Barck Flygare, Competent Pilot at Luleå Municipality.

Monica Barck Flygare has attended the fair in Houten all three years and sees a development among visitors to Arctic Sweden.

This year, more trade fair visitors were well-informed and clear about what they wanted. Arctic Sweden was visited by several people who came to ask detailed questions. Some had already made up their minds.

– We have had many visitors to our stand who have been seriously interested, so we are very satisfied. Even those who were here last year who we perhaps planted a seed with. Now we have three families on their way to Överkalix, said Sofi Wiippa Lahti, project manager for the Move on up project that has succeeded in increasing the municipality's population.

Crowded seminars

In connection with the fair, Arctic Sweden held two packed seminars. Five Dutch people who had already moved shared their stories about their new lives and shared tips.

– By pure chance we ended up in Arjeplog and fell in love. Now we have a beautiful house by a lake. In the Netherlands we had a completely different life with important careers, stressful lives, hectic schedules. We said we wanted to create a life we ​​didn't have to take a vacation from. And we have achieved that because now we have a nice life with a lot of freedom, said Janneke de Haan, who runs her own business and works as a receptionist.

Janneke de Haan moved to Arjeplog with her husband Maarten in 2022 and they are now established with seasonal work and their own company in the hospitality industry. 

The stories from the Dutch who had established themselves in Övertorneå, Arjeplog, Luleå and Boden made an impression.

– We are looking for nature, the climate, the lifestyle. Not to stress all the time like you have to in the Netherlands. We just went to the seminar and now we are almost convinced to move there, said Larissa, who visited the fair with her husband Tristan.

Valuable support from EURES

Tristan and Larissa were one of several couples who sought contact with Kirsi Paloniemi Lundqvist from EURES Sweden Arbetsförmedlingen. She can tell you about the support you can get if you are looking for work in another country within the EU/EEA, for example for language studies, interview trips and relocation. But she also has very good knowledge of the Norrbotten labour market.

Among the fair visitors that Kirsi continues to work with after the fair are two doctors, nurses, teachers, a veterinary assistant, a geologist, an engineer, a truck driver, a welder, an installation technician, a couple in the railway industry, logisticians, traffic planners and mechanics.

Kirsi Paloniemi Lundqvist from EURES Sweden Arbetsförmedlingen tells fair visitors about sharing her knowledge about the labor market in Norrbotten. Here with Tristan and Larissa.

“These two doctors were fluent in Swedish, they even knew a little Finnish. They listened to Finnmix on Fridays, and one of them has worked in Sweden,” says Kirsi.
She believes that the others also have a fairly good chance of getting work in Norrbotten.

– They fit perfectly into what is happening here in Norrbotten, but sometimes it takes a little time. Not everyone is prepared to move here and now, but maybe they will consider next year.

Targeted investment in food expertise

For this year's fair, we have made an extra effort to show the possibilities of farming and working with food production. Many Dutch people have experience from the food sector and could help Norrbotten become more self-sufficient. Niklas Koserius, strategist in financing and project support at Region Norrbotten, talked about the possibilities at the seminars and met several interested parties.

Niklas Koserius (center) attended the Emigration Expo for the first time. On the left is the Dutchman Cornelis Uittenbogaard, who is a community planner in Övertorneå.

– Already at the seminar, people were really interested. In an hour, I've talked to at least six or seven people who have come forward. I've had quite long discussions, they ask for details and seem excited. So it's been really fun, a lot of interest, he said.

The TV celebrity's life in Arjeplog

Another person who made an impression at the seminar was Guido van den Berg, a TV celebrity in the Netherlands. He was on a popular dating show whose title roughly translates to “a winter full of love.” In the show, Guido dates visiting women in his home environment in Arjeplog.

“It's clean, it's safe, it's open, within certain limits you can do whatever you want. It's a beautiful place,” said Guido, also talking about how he, who works as a teacher, can often hold classes outdoors.

Guido van den Berg and moderator Ella Jonsson during one of the packed seminars.

The booth was staffed by just under ten Dutch people who had already moved to Norrbotten and were therefore able to answer questions in their own language. As ambassadors, they also showed that the dream can be realized. Hendrik van der Ween, who moved just seven months ago and works as an English teacher at a high school in Boden, was one of them.

– It's good to be here and tell people from the Netherlands about Norrbotten. It's been great fun talking to so many people. Norrbotten is really nice and I'd like to tell you about it, he said in Swedish that has become quite good in a short time.

Hendrik's wife Wiepie works at Stegra today and was also at Houten. She told us how she had said no to northern Sweden, but became curious after meeting Arctic Sweden at the fair two years ago.

Petra Selberg, project manager for Emigration Expo at Region Norrbotten, was very satisfied.

– It's great that there is a great interest in Arctic Sweden, as evidenced by both the crowd at the stand and the packed seminars. Everyone in the delegation showed incredibly great commitment and ambassadorship for our county, she said.

“Long-term work”

Now comes the work of taking advantage of the new contacts, so that the interest will land in a move to the county. Approximately 250 trade fair participants are considered serious candidates for a move.
Things need to fall into place with jobs, housing and practical matters. Both the EURES Sweden Employment Service and the municipalities' relocation guides can help with this.

– As a region, we also have some challenges to work with. It's about strengthening the business sector's receiving capacity and getting more housing. It's a long-term effort that we should be able to achieve success in with joint efforts, says Petra Selberg.

Text: Sara Stylbäck Vesa
Photos: Nino Pels