Ask anyone who has moved to the Netherlands what surprised them, and the answer is rarely the weather or the bikes. It is how much happens in the first week. Moving to the Netherlands is easy on paper for a European, but the Dutch system runs on one chain of steps, and the chain starts in a town hall with a deadline of five days.
What do you need to do first when moving to the Netherlands?
One thing: register with your municipality (the gemeente). If you will live in the country for more than four months, you must register in the Personal Records Database (Basisregistratie Personen, BRP) within five days of arriving. Your partner and children come with you. Registration is free.
That visit gives you your BSN (burgerservicenummer, the citizen service number), and with it you can do almost everything else: get a DigiD, sign up for health insurance, receive your salary and file taxes. Our article on the BSN number in the Netherlands goes through it in detail.
Do EU citizens need a permit to live in the Netherlands?
No. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens do not need a residence permit; your passport or ID card is enough. What changes after three months is the reason for your stay. The IND (the immigration service) expects you to be working, self-employed, studying, job-hunting, or to have enough income to live on. The reference point for people without work is the Dutch minimum wage including holiday pay.
If you work, the IND treats it as genuine work when you earn at least 50% of the applicable social assistance benefit or work at least 40% of a normal full week. Job seekers should register with the UWV (the public employment service) during the first six months. The details are in residence in the Netherlands for EU citizens.
British citizens are in a different position since Brexit. If that is you, read moving to the Netherlands from the UK before you do anything else.
How should you plan the first weeks?
Think of it as four blocks, in this order.
- Before you leave. Book your registration appointment (many municipalities work by appointment and the five days are short). Take your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) for unplanned care in the first weeks. Collect your ID, and civil-status papers if the municipality asks for them, since a foreign birth or marriage certificate may need an apostille or a translation. Ask your own municipality what it needs.
- Week one. Register at the municipality, receive your BSN, then apply for a DigiD. The activation code comes by post and is valid for 21 days, so make sure you are at the address.
- Weeks one to four. Take out basic health insurance. The law gives you four months, but the insurance is not retroactive: sign up now.
- First months. Open a bank account if you have not yet, give your account number to the tax office for refunds, check whether you qualify for the toeslagen (allowances for healthcare, rent and childcare), and register your child at a school.
If you are unsure which step comes first in your situation (a partner who is not an EU citizen, a job that starts before you have an address, a car you want to bring), this is where Moovy can lay out the order for you in plain English and point to the official page for each step.
Why does the Dutch housing market matter so much to your move?
Because your address is the key to everything. You register at your permanent address, or at a correspondence address if you do not have one yet. And the homes themselves are scarce: in 2026 the government puts the statistical housing shortage at about 384,000 homes, or 4.6% of the housing stock (Volkshuisvesting Nederland). Plan for a longer search than you expect, and read renting in the Netherlands before you pay anyone a cent.
Some employers help with housing or run a welcome service. The larger cities also have official expat centres, which can register you and handle the immigration side in one visit when your employer is registered with them. These are public services; be wary of commercial websites that use the word "Expatcenter" and charge a fee.
What health cover do you need when you arrive?
Basic Dutch health insurance is compulsory for anyone who lives or works in the country, even if you are still insured elsewhere. You must have it within four months of arrival. Children under 18 are covered with no premium for the basic package. The premiums are set by each insurer, plus an income-related contribution that your employer pays, and there is a compulsory annual deductible (eigen risico) of €385 for adults in 2026.
If your income is low, you may be entitled to the zorgtoeslag (healthcare allowance), which you request from the tax administration. The full picture is in health insurance in the Netherlands.
What does it cost, and which deadlines are strict?
| Step | Deadline | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Register in the BRP | 5 days after arrival (if staying more than 4 months) | Free |
| BSN | Given at registration | Free |
| DigiD activation | 21 days after the code is sent | Free |
| Basic health insurance | Within 4 months | Premium set by the insurer |
| Car on foreign plates | Not allowed once you should be registered | Registration fees by RDW |
Source for the deadlines: Government.nl, IND and DigiD pages listed above. Nothing else on this list has a hard legal date, but waiting makes the rest harder.
What does a move to the Netherlands checklist look like in practice?
Keep it short and keep it in order. First, an address, even a temporary one, because the town hall will not register you without one. Second, your ID and the civil-status documents your municipality lists on its website. Third, the registration appointment, booked as early as the calendar allows. Fourth, health insurance on the day your BSN arrives. Fifth, DigiD, which opens the tax office, the allowances and most online public services.
Everything else can follow in its own time: the bank, the school, the car, the language course. But those five items are the spine of the move, and each one depends on the one before it. A late registration delays the BSN, a late BSN delays the DigiD and the insurance, and so on down the line. That is why experienced newcomers treat the first week as a project and the next three as admin.
One practical habit helps more than any tip: keep a folder, paper and digital, with your registration extract, your BSN letter, your insurance policy and your lease. Banks, employers, schools and the tax office will all ask for a copy of one of them in the coming months.
What are the classic traps?
- Missing the five days. Appointments can be rare in busy cities, so book before you come.
- Assuming your foreign insurance counts. The Dutch rule applies "even if you have insurance from another country", with narrow exceptions such as a posting from your home country.
- Arriving without an address. You can register at a correspondence address, but the municipality will still want to see how you live.
- Not reading Dutch letters. The tax office, the municipality and the school send letters in Dutch, and the deadlines run whether or not you understood them. A translator app is a start, and a colleague is better.
- Driving on foreign plates. Once you are registered, or should have been, your car must be Dutch-registered, so ask the RDW (the vehicle authority) before you bring one.
What if you earn your living abroad or work for yourself?
If a Dutch employer recruits you from abroad for a specialist job, ask early about the 30% ruling (a special tax regime), because it must be agreed with your employer and not every move qualifies. If you plan to be self-employed, you register with the Chamber of Commerce (KVK) after you have your BSN and DigiD.
Which Dutch words will you hear in the first week?
Gemeente (municipality), afspraak (appointment), BSN (citizen service number), zorgverzekering (health insurance), toeslagen (allowances), huurcontract (rental contract), belastingdienst (tax administration). You do not need to speak Dutch to register, but you will see these words on every form and letter. Our piece on daily life in the Netherlands covers language and habits.