[3] South Asians in the Netherlands retain their cultural and religious identities, with many establishing their own communities while also integrating into Dutch society.
The initial South Asian settlers in the Netherlands were Indian traders, small-scale entrepreneurs, and textile industry workers from Punjab who arrived in the 1940s and 1950s.
[4] In the 1970s, Pakistanis migrated followed by smaller groups of Indians and Sri Lankans, including those fleeing Uganda during the Asian expulsion.
[5] Between the 1980s and 2002, Afghan refugees and Sri Lankan Tamils left violence in their native countries and immigrated to the Netherlands.
[15] Up until the independence of Suriname in 1975, all the Indo-Surinamese were formally part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and thus owned a Dutch passport.
After the independence a significant portion of the Indo-Surinamese population migrated to the Netherlands, thereby retaining their Dutch passport.
[citation needed] Indo-Surinamese are also known in both the Netherlands and Suriname by the Dutch term Hindoestanen, derived from the word Hindustani, lit., "someone from Hindustan".
[18] There is a low unemployment rate among Dutch Tamils, because they have shown willingness to accept jobs, that is below their qualifications.
[22][dead link] Afghans in the Netherlands are Dutch citizens and non-citizen residents born in, or with ancestors from, Afghanistan.
[25] The Dutch government settled them in a variety of areas with the policy aim of preventing the formation of large immigrant communities in the cities.
[29] However, by 2007, only 800 had returned; most refugees feel that public safety, women's rights, and educational conditions in Afghanistan are insufficient.
[30] According to a publication by Harry van den Tillaart in 2000, the educational level of Afghan migrants in the country is relatively high.
[33] Afghans form a relatively heterogeneous group both socially and ethnically, with representation of speakers of various languages of Afghanistan and representatives of various political factions in Afghanistan ranging from communists to democrats and Islamic activists; within organisations, most prefer to work with people of a similar background.
[31] Afghans consider having a good job to be important, but since many do not achieve their desired occupation status, they feel frustrated and therefore accept lower qualified work.
Statistics from 2009 show that there is a large number of entrepreneurs, 5.1% of Dutch Afghans, relatively high compared to other minority groups.
[37] Mistrust of Dutch doctors is common, possibly stemming from Afghans migrants' general feeling of social exclusion.
Pakistanis often work in lower-status jobs that they would not have considered in Pakistan, demonstrating a shift in social mobility within the context of migration.
Those with professional credentials from Pakistan find it difficult to secure jobs on par with their education and qualifications.
[39] Two Pakistani political leaders were convicted for threatening to kill anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders.
As of 2010, statistics of the Dutch Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek shows that there are about 1,505 people of Nepalese origin living in the country.
So far, about 2,000 Nepalese students have graduated from different institutions all over the Netherlands in areas like Engineering, Law, Social Sciences and Management.
The Consulate of the Netherlands is the body responsible for helping prospective Nepalese students in contacting an institution that meets their needs.