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Destination  Netherlands

The first 30 days in the Netherlands – BRP registration, BSN, DigiD and health insurance in order

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

You have an address, a folder of documents and a list of Dutch abbreviations. In the Netherlands almost everything runs through one number, the BSN, and the order in which you do things decides how soon you get it. Here is the first month, step by step, with the 2026 figures.

Woman in a yellow coat pulling a red suitcase in front of a tram in Amsterdam
Photo: castenoid/Adobe Stock

Three things changed just before you arrived. Since 12 October 2025 the border runs the EU Entry/Exit System, registering non-EU short-stay travellers with photo and fingerprints instead of a passport stamp. Since January 2026 a non-EU national staying under four months can register for a BSN only at the RNI desks in Breda or Venlo (part 3). And on 1 July 2026 the minimum wage rose to €14.99 an hour.

Almost everything hangs on the BSN (burgerservicenummer – citizen service number). You get it by registering in the BRP (Basisregistratie Personen – the population register) at your gemeente (municipality); without it you cannot be paid, open a bank account, take out health insurance or claim toeslagen (benefits).

Before you travel: documents, the 90-day line and a booking

Live or work here for more than 90 days and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' NetherlandsWorldwide checklist counts you as emigrating. A non-Dutch passport or ID card must be valid for at least three months after arrival. Certificates and diplomas often need legalisation or an apostille – not documents from another EU country – and a translation unless in Dutch, English, French or German.

Registration is a national duty, but access is municipal: Amsterdam takes walk-ins; Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven require an appointment; and NetherlandsWorldwide warns that municipal waiting times are currently longer than usual. Book before you leave. ETIAS, the coming travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors, is not yet operating.

The first 30 days in the Netherlands: the checklist in order

StepWhatDeadline or timing
1Right to stay: EU passport, or a permit for non-EU nationals (part 2)Before you travel
2BRP registration at the gemeente, in person, family includedWithin 5 days of arrival, if staying over 4 months
3Non-EU: collect the residence documentAppointment within 2 weeks
4Non-EU: TB test at the GGD, unless exemptWithin 3 months
5DigiDOnce the BSN is in the BRP
6Basisverzekering (basic health insurance)Within 4 months of arrival, or of the permit taking effect
7Dutch bank account; BSN to your employerOnce you have the BSN
8Children: SVB letter on child benefit; schoolLetter within 3 to 6 weeks
9Huisarts (GP); non-EU, non-temporary: DUO letter on inburgering (civic integration)Once insured; 3 years for inburgering

Source: NetherlandsWorldwide (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Rijksoverheid, the IND and DigiD, read 24 September 2026.

Week one: BRP registration and your BSN

The rule is national: stay more than four months and you register within five days of arrival, in person, with everyone who moved with you. Bring a valid identity document, proof of occupancy – rental contract, purchase contract or the main occupant's written permission – and your certificates. Non-EU nationals must be lawfully resident first, in practice a permit or a pending application, and identity checks can need extra investigation.

The BSN follows within a few weeks, depending on the municipality: Rotterdam usually processes a registration within four weeks, Utrecht says up to four weeks. If the earliest slot is beyond the five days, take it and ask to be registered from the day you booked – late registration can be fined. Without a home, a correspondence address is possible if the gemeente agrees, with the main occupant's written permission, though it can reduce that person's benefits.

Weeks one to two: the IND, the residence document and the TB test

For non-EU citizens the IND (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst – the immigration service) brochure sets three clocks: an appointment within two weeks to collect your residence document, a TB test at the GGD within three months if required, and health insurance within four months. The IND aims to have the document ready two weeks after your biometrics. If it is not ready and you hold an MVV, you get a free residence endorsement sticker stating whether you may work; a highly skilled migrant with an MVV may start work at once.

The TB test has exemptions – listed nationalities, existing permit holders, children of 11 or younger, anyone tested here within six months. Expat centres in the five cities combine registration and IND services for highly skilled migrants (part 3).

Weeks two to four: DigiD, basisverzekering and the bank

DigiD is your login to MijnOverheid, the Belastingdienst (Tax Administration), insurers and municipalities. Apply online with your BSN, BRP address and a mobile phone; the activation code arrives by post within three business days, five at most, and you activate within 21 days or apply again.

Health insurance is national and compulsory: everyone who lives or works here takes out the basisverzekering, and insurers must accept everyone at the same premium whatever their age or health. EU citizens have four months from arrival, non-EU nationals four months from the day the permit takes effect, with cover and premium running from that date. Insure later and nothing is backdated, and the CAK can fine you. While a permit application is pending you cannot insure, even with an MVV. Children under 18 are free.

Health insurance in 2026Amount or rule
Average basic premiumAbout €157 a month, €1,884 a year
Eigen risico (compulsory excess)€385 a year per adult; GP, maternity and district nursing exempt
Zorgtoeslag (healthcare benefit)Up to €129 a month single, €246 with a partner; income limits €40,857 and €51,142
CAK fine if uninsured€529.74, three months after the CAK letter; after two fines the CAK insures you and withholds the premium for 12 months
Planned for 2027 (Budget Day, 15 September 2026)Excess €400, average premium about €169 – proposals; insurers publish premiums by 12 November

Source: Rijksoverheid, Dienst Toeslagen and the CAK, read 24 September 2026.

If you pay tax here, a bank needs your BSN on an identity document; if your passport lacks it, the gemeente issues an extract with the number. You need a Dutch account for a phone plan; part 4 covers the basic payment account.

Work, tax and children in the first month

Your employer needs the BSN to pay you. The minimum wage is €14.99 an hour gross from 1 July 2026 for anyone 21 or over (€14.71 from 1 January 2026). Recruited from abroad? Ask about the 30% ruling: in 2026 the salary threshold is €48,013 (€36,497 under 30 with a master's degree), the tax-free allowance is capped at €78,600, and the Belastingdienst decides within eight weeks on a request filed with your employer – within four months of your first working day to count from day one. The rate falls to 27% from 1 January 2027, with transition rules for people who used it before 2024; the 2027 thresholds are indexed and not final (part 7).

Register a child under 18 and the SVB (Sociale Verzekeringsbank) usually writes within three to six weeks about kinderbijslag (child benefit). School is compulsory from five, children may start at four, and the school needs the child's BSN or asks DUO for a temporary education number. A non-EU national on a non-temporary permit gets a DUO letter about inburgering and has three years; EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, and people here temporarily for work or study, are exempt. A huisarts is not compulsory but advisable; your insurer can help you find one. Emergencies: 112; police without urgency: 0900-8844.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Check your route to residence (part 2); legalise and translate your certificatesBefore you book the move
2Book the gemeente appointment, or plan a walk-in in AmsterdamWeeks before departure
3Register in the BRP with everyone who moved with youWithin 5 days of arrival
4Non-EU: IND appointment, then the TB testWithin 2 weeks; test within 3 months
5Apply for DigiD and activate itWithin 21 days of the letter
6Insure, open a bank account, register with a huisartsWithin 4 months – sooner is better
7Children: SVB and school; at work: the 30% ruling requestFirst weeks; ruling within 4 months of starting

Source: NetherlandsWorldwide (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the IND, Rijksoverheid and the Belastingdienst, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.