April 2, 2020: Message from the Netherlands Consulate General in Toronto in response to COVID-19

Dear entrepreneurs,

Greetings from the Netherlands Consulate General in Toronto, hopefully you and your loved ones are all well and healthy.

COVID-19 has impacted our daily lives. Work, school, social contacts, sports: almost everything has changed or stopped, and we do not know how long this will last.

At the moment this crisis started, the Consulate was busy organizing all sorts of incoming missions, visits and activities, amongst others the celebration of the anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands 75 years ago.

It will not come as a surprise that all these events have been postponed or cancelled.

Three week ago we decided to close the Consulate General for the public, but our whole team is working from home and if necessary we are in the office at 1 Dundas Street West. Our staff has been busy with some consular cases and emergencies, but fortunately the KLM continues to fly from Toronto (albeit much less frequent) so Dutch citizens and tourists could and can still return to the Netherlands if they want to.


QUESTIONS? NEED HELP?

We can imagine that also for you it currently is not “business as usual”.

We would be happy to hear from you how your companies are coping with the current situation and if there is anything the Consulate could/should do.

Do you need information on:

  • Consular matters for yourself, your family and/or your employees?
  • How travel restrictions impact companies?
  • Etc.

Please  Let us know!

 

FINANCIAL SUPPORT & DOING BUSINESS

Because of the Corona crisis, the Netherlands Government has extended some of its financial instruments to support Dutch companies doing business abroad. For more information, please read the following press releases (in Dutch) and/or contact the relevant authorities/organisations directly:

For Canadian support to local companies, we could get you in touch with Toronto Global and/or other relevant contacts within our network.

The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RvO) has set up a dedicated site (in Dutch) focusing on the consequences of COVID-19 for doing business in/with Canada:

Please be informed that we remain available for your queries and/or questions via tor-ea@minbuza.nl, or you could give us a direct call (Anne – 416 206 1470; Jorn – 416 206 1471).

For urgent questions and/or emergencies you can reach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 24 hours per day via +31 247 247 247.

 

TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

We would advise that you keep a good eye on the COVID-19 site of the Canadian authorities for the most recent state of affairs, travel advice, border restrictions etc.:

As you will probably know travel to Canada is currently (and at least until June 30) being restricted for all foreign nationals coming from any country. These restrictions prohibit foreign nationals, including U.S. nationals, from entering Canada for non-essential travel. Exemptions to the prohibition exist for certain groups of foreign nationals, for example, temporary foreign workers, some students, and persons delivering urgent medical supplies as long as they do not exhibit symptoms of COVID-19.

Our own Ministry also has a site which contains Q&A regarding the applicable travel advise for Canada: the https://www.nederlandwereldwijd.nl/documenten/vragen-en-antwoorden/reisadvies-canada (only in Dutch though).


Lastly, we can only wish everybody strength and good health in these difficult times.

Stay safe, and take good care of yourself and the people around you.

 

Best regards, tot snel!

 

Anne Le Guellec             Jorn Leeksma

Consul General               Deputy Consul General


Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
1 Dundas Street West, Suite 2106 | Toronto, ON | M5G 1Z3 | Canada


https://www.netherlandsworldwide.nl/countries/canada
https://www.nederlandwereldwijd.nl/landen/canada

Holland House Canada

Working together to advance the prosperity for businesses and professionals with Dutch interests


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