Moving to the Netherlands, one step at a time

The guides

• Registering at the municipality and getting a BSN

  Anyone moving to the Netherlands — EU/EEA citizens, non-EU nationals with a residence permit, and returning Dutch citizens — who will live here for 4 months or longer, or who needs a citizen service number sooner for work, study or benefits.

  If you will live in the Netherlands for 4 months or longer, you must register in person with the municipality (gemeente) where you live, within 5 days of arrival. Non-EU/EEA nationals normally do this only after their IND residence permit has come through. Bring a valid passport or ID, proof of your Dutch address, and — for a first-ever registration — your birth certificate (legalised and translated if it is not in Dutch, English, French or German). The municipality registers you in the BRP and automatically issues your citizen service number (BSN), the number you need for a bank account, health insurance, payroll, DigiD and most benefits. Staying under 4 months? You do not have to register, but you may register with one of 19 RNI (non-resident) municipalities if you need a BSN sooner.

  4 steps · checked 2026-09-17

• Applying for DigiD

  Anyone with a Dutch citizen service number (BSN) who needs to log in to Dutch government services online — the Tax Administration, benefits, healthcare, your municipality — whether you already live in the Netherlands or are still applying from abroad.

  DigiD is the digital login you use to identify yourself for almost all Dutch government websites — tax returns, benefits, your municipality, healthcare. You need a BSN first. If you're already registered with a Dutch municipality, apply online at digid.nl with your BSN, date of birth, postcode and house number, then pick a username and password; an activation code normally arrives by post within 3 business days (up to a maximum of 5 working days), and you must activate within 21 days or start over. If you're still abroad, you apply the same way but collect your activation code via a video call with Netherlands Worldwide or a DigiD service desk instead of by post; that activation code is valid 21 days. No official source checked states a price, so treat the cost as unconfirmed rather than assuming it's free.

  4 steps · checked 2026-09-17

• Mandatory health insurance and healthcare allowance (zorgtoeslag)

  Anyone coming to live or work in the Netherlands who needs to know whether Dutch health insurance is compulsory for them, how to take it out on time, and whether they can get zorgtoeslag (healthcare allowance) towards the cost.

  If you live or work in the Netherlands, Dutch basic health insurance (basisverzekering) is compulsory, with only limited exceptions. You must take it out within 4 months of becoming liable — for most non-EU/EEA nationals that means within 4 months of your residence permit taking effect — and cover is not backdated if you're late, so a gap means unpaid bills and a risk of being fined. You can't apply for Dutch insurance before a decision has been made on your residence permit. Everyone 18 or older with basic insurance also pays a mandatory annual deductible (eigen risico) before the insurer starts paying — €385, as stated on the government.nl page checked on 2026-09-17 — except GP visits, which are always free. Once you have Dutch insurance, you can apply for zorgtoeslag, a contribution towards your premium and deductible: for 2026 your income must not exceed €40,857 alone or €51,142 with a toeslagpartner, and your assets on 1 January 2026 must not exceed €146,011 alone or €184,633 combined, with a maximum of €129/month (single) or €246/month (with partner) at the lowest incomes, tapering to zero as income rises.

  4 steps · checked 2026-09-17

• The 30% ruling (expat scheme)

  Employees recruited or transferred from abroad to work in the Netherlands with expertise that is scarce on the Dutch labour market, and their employers, who want to know whether they qualify for the tax-free 30% allowance and how to apply.

  The 30% ruling (expat scheme) lets your employer pay up to 30% of your salary tax-free, to cover the extra cost of working outside your home country. For 2026 you generally need a taxable annual salary above €48,013 (above €36,497 if you're under 30 with a qualifying Dutch master's degree) — scientific researchers at a designated research institution and doctors training to become specialists don't have to meet a salary threshold at all. You must have been recruited from abroad and have lived more than 150km (as the crow flies) from the Dutch border for more than 16 of the 24 months before your first working day. You and your employer apply together, within 4 months of your start date, to get the allowance from day one; the Tax Administration decides within 8 weeks. The decision runs for up to 5 years (60 months), shortened by periods you previously worked or lived in the Netherlands. Important: several tax advisers report the percentage steps down to 27% from 1 January 2027 for people using the scheme since 2024 — this guide could not confirm that on belastingdienst.nl itself, so it is flagged as unverified rather than stated as fact. Always check belastingdienst.nl directly before relying on a duration or percentage figure.

  4 steps · checked 2026-09-19

• Opening a bank account

  Anyone moving to the Netherlands who needs a Dutch bank account to receive salary, pay rent, or handle everyday payments.

  You must be able to show proof of identity to open a Dutch bank account — a legal requirement, the same as for medical treatment or applying for benefits. Banks also have their own duty under Dutch anti-money-laundering law (WWFT) to investigate new customers. Beyond that, the exact documents a bank asks for (a BSN, proof of address, a residence permit) and whether you can open an account before you have a BSN are set by each bank individually — no government source checked for this guide states one nationwide checklist, so confirm directly with your chosen bank. If you cannot open a regular account, Dutch/EU law gives legal residents a fallback right to a basisbetaalrekening (basic payment account): it covers card and giro payments, online/mobile banking and paying your mortgage, pension, insurance and tax, but not overdrawing, a credit card or a savings account — and a bank can only refuse it on specific grounds (anti-money-laundering concerns, you already hold an account, no genuine connection to the Netherlands, an account closed in the last 2 years, or a conviction in the last 8 years). Whichever bank you choose, your balance is protected up to €100,000 per person per bank under the Dutch Deposit Guarantee Scheme if the bank fails.

  4 steps · checked 2026-09-19

• Renting a home: contract types, deposit, and huurtoeslag

  Anyone renting a home in the Netherlands who wants to know what kind of contract to expect, what a landlord can legally ask as a deposit, and whether they can get huurtoeslag (rent allowance).

  Since 1 July 2024, an indefinite rental contract is the norm again: landlords may only offer a temporary contract in specific situations (for example students renting temporarily in another municipality, people displaced by renovation, or a 'second chance' tenancy), and those temporary contracts always have an end date and last a maximum of 2 years. A landlord may ask a deposit (waarborgsom) of at most 2 months' base rent for contracts signed from 1 July 2023 onward (3 months for older contracts), and must repay it within 14 days after your tenancy ends. For huurtoeslag (rent allowance): your home must be self-contained (its own lockable front door, kitchen and toilet, and — since 1 March 2024 — washing facilities with a shower or bath), your rent for 2026 must generally not exceed €932.93 (or €498.20 if you're under 21) though from 2026 you can sometimes still get some allowance above that ceiling, and your assets on 1 January 2026 must not exceed €38,479 alone or €76,958 combined with a toeslagpartner.

  4 steps · checked 2026-09-19

• Income tax basics and the annual return

  Anyone who moved to (or will move from) the Netherlands partway through a calendar year, or who otherwise needs to file a Dutch income tax return for the first time.

  If you moved to or from the Netherlands partway through a calendar year, you file an M-form (migration-year return) for that year instead of the regular online return; entrepreneurs filing an M-form must separately request the M annual-report booklet from the Tax Information Line for non-residents. The regular return deadline is the date shown in your own assessment letter — often 1 May — but this guide could not confirm on belastingdienst.nl whether the M-form has that same deadline or a different one, so check your own letter or ask the Tax Administration directly rather than assuming 1 May applies. For 2026, Box 1 (income from work and home) is taxed in three brackets: 35.75% up to €38,883 (made up of 8.10% income tax plus 27.65% national insurance contributions), 37.56% from €38,883 to €78,426, and 49.50% above €78,426 — different, lower rates apply once you reach state pension age. After filing, you're usually informed within 3 months, and the Tax Administration officially has 3 years to issue a final assessment (for example, a 2025 return must be finally assessed by 31 December 2028); a postponement you're granted extends that 3-year window by the same period.

  4 steps · checked 2026-09-19

• Exchanging a foreign driving licence

  Anyone who has moved to the Netherlands with a valid foreign driving licence and wants to know how long they can keep using it, and how to exchange it for a Dutch one.

  How long you can drive on your foreign licence depends on where it's from. A valid EU/EFTA licence keeps working for most categories (AM, A1, A2, A, B, BE) for 15 years from its issue date, or 5 years for professional categories (C1, C, D1, D, C1E, CE, D1E, DE); after that you must exchange it, and you can always exchange a valid EU/EFTA licence in the meantime, even an expired one. A non-EU/EFTA licence works for the first 185 days after you relocate to the Netherlands. To exchange a non-EU/EFTA licence without taking a Dutch driving test, your country must be on RDW's list of designated countries (examples include Great Britain, the USA's and Canada's provinces, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Israel and others — check the full list on rdw.nl), and you must have lived in the country that issued it for 185 days in the year you obtained it. You apply through your municipality, not directly with RDW — only the municipality can submit the exchange application — with a colour passport photo, your foreign licence (translated if it isn't in Latin script), your old Dutch licence if you have one, a CBR Health Declaration Form, and, if you work in the Netherlands and hold a non-EU/EFTA licence, a valid Decision on the Evidence Rule from the Belastingdienst. If everything is in order, you get a letter within 15 working days; the fee itself varies by municipality.

  4 steps · checked 2026-09-19

• Residence permits overview: highly skilled migrant, EU citizens, and partners

  Anyone planning to move to the Netherlands who needs to know which residence route applies to them, and employers or partners sponsoring someone.

  EU, EEA and Swiss citizens don't need a residence permit at all: a valid passport or ID from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland proves lawful residence, they don't need to register with the IND (unless the IND previously ended their Dutch residency), and they're free to work without their employer needing a work permit. Highly skilled migrants (kennismigranten) need an employer-sponsored permit and a minimum gross monthly salary — for the period from 1 July 2026: €5,942 if you're 30 or older, €4,357 if you're under 30, and a reduced €3,122 for recent graduates who meet the specific conditions. For a partner or family member to join you, the Dutch-based sponsor must meet a three-part income test: independent (you pay tax and social security contributions on it — benefits from public funds don't count), sustainable (your contract runs at least another 12 months, or you show 3 years of sufficient average income if it's shorter or flexible), and sufficient (at least the IND's required amount — €2,337 gross per month without holiday allowance for a standard partner sponsor, valid from 1 July 2026). IND updates these euro amounts twice a year, on 1 January and 1 July, so always check ind.nl for the period that applies to your application.

  4 steps · checked 2026-09-19

• Childcare benefit and child benefit

  Parents living or working in the Netherlands with children under 18, who want to know about child benefit (kinderbijslag) from the SVB and childcare benefit (kinderopvangtoeslag) from the Tax Administration.

  If you live or work in the Netherlands and have a child under 18, you can get kinderbijslag (child benefit) from the SVB — a fixed amount per quarter that depends on your child's age, for biological, adopted or foster children; this guide could not verify the exact 2026 euro amounts directly against svb.nl (it blocked automated fetching), so treat any specific figure you see elsewhere as unconfirmed until you check svb.nl yourself. Kinderopvangtoeslag (childcare benefit) is separate and comes from the Tax Administration: for 2026 the maximum hourly rates are €11.23 for daycare, €9.98 for after-school care and €8.49 for a childminder (gastouder) — anything above that you pay yourself. Working parents with a combined income up to about €56,000 in 2026 get the maximum reimbursement percentage of 96%, for up to 230 hours per child per month (2,760 hours a year) in the month you or your partner worked. You must apply for kinderopvangtoeslag within 3 months of becoming eligible — for example, if your child starts childcare on 1 May, you must apply by 31 August at the latest — or you lose the allowance for the months before you applied.

  4 steps · checked 2026-09-19