On 11 January 2010, Celtic announced that Hooiveld had signed a three and a half-year deal with the club, moving for a fee of around £2,000,000. Hooiveld was given the number 16 shirt, vacated by Willo Flood after his transfer to Middlesbrough. He made his debut for Celtic against Hamilton Academical on 30 January 2010. In his following game, against Kilmarnock, Hooiveld went off with a thigh injury, and did not make another appearance for Celtic that season.
The following season, Hooiveld was given the number 6 shirt after Landry N’Guemo returned to AS Nancy. He made his European debut for the Glasgow side in a 3–0 Champions League defeat to Portuguese side Braga on 28 July 2010. He lost his place in the team after giving away a penalty in a 4–0 Europa League defeat to FC Utrecht a month later, before returning as a substitute in the 9–0 win over Aberdeen in November 2010.
