Dewaldt Hattingh

Dewaldt arrived in the Netherlands on King’s Day 2026. What a special day to have as a first day. He came to the Netherlands together with his wife Charlene and their son Devin. Are you reading along for Dewaldt’s first experiences?

Dewaldt, why did you emigrate to the Netherlands?
It has always been a dream for my family to come to Europe one day. With safety concerns and rising unemployment in South Africa restricting opportunities in areas such as safe accommodation, secure employment, university access, and so much more, my wife and I made the difficult decision to leave behind our families and everything we knew in order to create a better and more secure future for our son.

He is still roughly 15 years away from having to worry about those things himself, but it remains our responsibility to create the best future we possibly can for him. The Netherlands felt like the right choice. We heard from countless people that the Netherlands is “South Africa that works,” so it felt like a no-brainer.

Can you tell us something how you do like the Netherlands?
We are loving it. When we first arrived, it was a bit of an adjustment and quite emotional, but that didn’t last long. Within two weeks, we already felt at home.

We noticed some very strange things at first, like having to install our own lights and flooring in our home. That is something that would never happen in South Africa, but it seems perfectly normal here. Now that we are settled, we have fallen in love with the country, the people, and just about everything. We do miss some of our favourite South African snacks, but at least stores like Die Spens help fill the void.

One of the biggest differences we noticed is that people here are generally very considerate compared to South Africa. The first time I drove on the highway and someone actually made space for me when I turned on my indicator instead of speeding up was genuinely shocking.

In stores, people respect your personal space and don’t breathe down your neck while waiting in a queue. People will help you get onto a train with a pram without even being asked.

Everyone here is really just very considerate, friendly, and willing to help.

Please tell us something about the projects you are currently working on.
I am currently working on a project in the insurance space. It’s been a great experience so far, and I get to work with like-minded people who have really gone above and beyond to welcome me and help me settle into the team. What also helps is that I have three other South African colleagues who have been assisting me in settling into the country as well.

Did the process of emigration go smoothly?
It went really smoothly. Summit Developers are clearly experts at what they do. We didn’t run into a single issue, and everything happened much faster than we expected. Interestingly, when we went to apply for our visa stickers, our reasons for moving were reaffirmed when we found ourselves caught in the middle of an armed jewellery store robbery with our two-year-old son.

Can you explain to the South Africans who are considering to go overseas how you did experience the support from us?
Summit Developers really persevered. We tried a few times to find the right match, and about a year later they flexed their muscles and delivered what I feel is a match made in heaven. We arrived on Koningsdag, and as we pulled up, Ton was standing there waving the Dutch flag to welcome us, with the famous orange tompouce waiting for us. Matthijs, Ton, and Paulien have been a tremendous help in getting us here and helping us get everything sorted. When you’re emigrating, you spend so much time thinking about and stressing over the big things. What stood out to us was that they remembered the small things too.