Moving to the Netherlands: a checklist for the first months

The first months in the Netherlands come with a short list of official steps, and two of them have hard deadlines: registering with your municipality and taking out health insurance. Most other things, from a bank account to DigiD, depend on the citizen service number (BSN) that registration gives you. This checklist puts the steps in order, with each rule linked to the government page it comes from.

The steps and their deadlines

The table lists each step with the rule that applies. The official ones link to their source; the practical ones link to our more detailed guides.

Visas and residence permits are not covered here. They depend on your nationality and situation, so check them with the official immigration service before you move.

Registering with your municipality within five days

If you will stay for more than four months, you need to register with the municipality where you are going to live within 5 days of arriving. Registration gives you a BSN, which you use in all dealings with the government and to get healthcare.

For a stay of no more than four months you cannot register with the municipality, but you can be registered as a non-resident. Everyone in that register also gets a BSN, and there are 19 municipalities with a desk where you can do it.

Health insurance within four months

Everyone who lives in the Netherlands must have health insurance with a Dutch insurer. You have 4 months after arriving to take it out, and the policy must cover you from the day you arrived.

Waiting longer has two costs. If you take out insurance after four months you are not insured retroactively, so you pay premiums only from the start date and care in the gap is not covered, and waiting too long can lead to a fine. Registering with a family doctor is not required, but the government advises it.

DigiD, a bank account, a phone and internet

DigiD is the digital identity you use with government bodies such as the tax office. To apply for DigiD you need a BSN, a registration address with a Dutch municipality and a mobile phone, and the letter with the activation code arrives within 3 business days.

A bank account, a SIM card and home internet have no official deadline, but each has its own rules. Our guides cover opening a bank account before you have a BSN, which bank card works where, mobile networks and SIM cards and home internet at your address.

Driving on a foreign licence

A licence from outside the EU and EFTA can be used for the first 185 days after you relocate. After that you need a Dutch licence, even if your exchange application is still being processed. An EU or EFTA car licence can be used for 15 years from its date of issue, and can always be exchanged while it is valid.

Whether a non-EU licence can be exchanged depends on the country and on your situation. If you work here as a highly skilled migrant under the expat scheme, you can exchange a licence from any country. A car you bring along may only use foreign plates for a short period before it needs a Dutch registration.

Local taxes once you have a home

Municipalities send their own tax bill. In Eindhoven, as an example, all households pay a waste disposal levy, and whoever owns or uses a property on 1 January also pays property tax for that year.

Property tax is based on the WOZ value, the official value of your home. How that value is set, how to look it up and when you can object is in our WOZ value guide. For choosing a city in the first place, see moving to the Netherlands and our city pages.