Week 1: collect your residence document and register with the gemeente for your BSN
Your first legal priority in the country is establishing lawful residence and securing your burgerservicenummer (BSN). If you have applied for a residence permit, the Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst (IND) sends a confirmation letter explaining that you must provide biometrics. You can then make an appointment on the IND biometrics scheduling page to have your digital photo and fingerprints taken at an official IND desk or service point. Remember to bring your valid passport and appointment code. Never wear completely white or light grey clothing to this visit, because the passport photo is shot against a light grey background and will fail.
Within five days of entering the Netherlands, you must register in person with the gemeente (municipality) where you live. This step registers you in the Basisregistratie Personen (BRP), the national Personal Records Database governed by the Personal Records Database Act. If your spouse or children immigrated with you, every family member must attend this registration appointment. You must bring valid proof of identity and a legalised, translated birth certificate.
Once the municipality completes your registration, they issue your BSN on the spot. Without it, you cannot work legally, open most local accounts, or access healthcare.
Exceptions exist for short stays. Anyone remaining in the country for less than four months registers instead as a non-resident in the Registratie Niet-Ingezetenen (RNI) using an address abroad, which still provides a BSN for tax and employment purposes. If you lack a permanent residence upon arrival, the Dutch government BRP registration guide confirms you may register temporarily using a designated correspondence address with an approved host.
Next: apply for a DigiD and set up your government post
Your digital identity account enables secure access to Dutch public agencies, pension funds, educational institutions, and healthcare systems. Once the municipality enters your personal records into the BRP, you can request an account on the official DigiD portal. To complete the online application form, you will need your newly issued BSN, your Dutch registration address, and a mobile phone. Do not use an empty address or a post office box.
DigiD issues are strictly personal. You are never allowed to request a login on behalf of another adult, though parents may handle applications for children aged thirteen and younger. Young people aged 14 and older must complete their own applications.
After submitting the online form, DigiD posts a physical letter containing an activation code to your registered home address. It arrives within three to five business days. The code printed on the paper always starts with the letter 'A', whereas email verification codes begin with an 'E'. When the letter lands in your mailbox, log back into the DigiD site, type your username and password, enter the activation code, and finalize your account. If you encounter SMS delivery problems during login, turn off your mobile voicemail, verify your network connection, or switch to the voice SMS option.
Once activated, DigiD connects you directly to the digital portals of the IND, your municipality, and the Belastingdienst (Tax and Customs Administration).
Health insurance: the deadline and the healthcare benefit
Every person who lives or works in the Netherlands is legally obliged to take out standard statutory health insurance. You must purchase your basisverzekering (standard health insurance) within four months of arriving in the country. This mandatory policy covers essential medical treatment, hospital stays, prescription medications, and consultations with a huisarts (GP).
Review the compulsory health insurance rules to understand your statutory obligations and policy inclusions. Additional coverage for dental work or physiotherapy remains optional. Do not delay purchase.
If you hold a residence permit solely for study, cultural exchange, or a Working Holiday scheme, you do not need Dutch basic health insurance provided your private foreign policy covers care in the Netherlands. The moment you take up paid employment, however, you must switch immediately to a Dutch policy.
Individuals with deep conscientious objections can request an exemption from the Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB). If granted, you no longer carry insurance under the Healthcare Insurance Act (Zorgverzekeringswet) or Long-Term Care Act (Wet langdurige zorg). Instead, the Belastingdienst withholds an equivalent income tax contribution from your salary. The National Healthcare Institute holds those funds in a special medical savings account to reimburse your treatments.
Low-income earners can offset monthly policy costs. You can check your eligibility for zorgtoeslag (healthcare benefit) through the tax portal.
Work and money: the loonheffingskorting, a bank account and the Belastingdienst
Moving your primary residence to the Netherlands fundamentally changes your personal tax status. As detailed on the Belastingdienst immigration checklist, you become a resident taxpayer from your official registration date. That means you pay Dutch income tax, file an annual return, and contribute to national insurance schemes. You are usually covered automatically by the General Old Age Pensions Act (Algemene Ouderdomswet or AOW), the Surviving Dependants Act (Anw), and statutory child benefits unless granted an SVB exemption.
When starting a job, your employer will hand you a model statement asking whether to apply the loonheffingskorting (payroll tax credit). This tax credit reduces the amount of wage tax withheld from your monthly paycheck. You may only claim this credit through one employer at a time. Applying it to multiple jobs simultaneously results in a heavy tax repayment bill at year-end.
To manage employment wages and government disbursements, open a Dutch bank account as soon as your BSN is active. The Belastingdienst requires you to submit this IBAN using the formal form Opgaaf rekeningnummer particulieren so they can deposit tax refunds and monthly benefits directly into your account.
Relocating personal vehicles requires prompt action. You must register foreign cars or motorcycles through the RDW (Netherlands Vehicle Authority) to obtain Dutch registration plates. Most personal household effects enter the country exempt from customs duties.
Inburgering: the letter from DUO and your first steps
Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (DUO) oversees civic integration and formally contacts newcomers who hold an integration duty. You will receive an official notification letter from DUO stating your obligation to integrate under the Civic Integration Act. This letter arrives only after three administrative milestones are fully recorded: you have your BSN, your residence permit is granted, and your local municipality has registered you in the BRP.
It takes up to eight weeks after these three conditions are met for DUO to issue the letter. Check your correspondence status directly on DUO's official inburgeren portal if two months pass without contact.
Most newcomers have three years to complete their integration requirements. Under the current system, your municipality invites you to a brede intake (broad intake interview) and administers a learning ability test (Leerbaarheidstoets or LBT). Together with municipal case managers, you formulate a Persoonlijk Plan Inburgering en Participatie (PIP). This binding document assigns you to one of three learning routes:
- The B1 route, which leads toward regular employment and language mastery at B1 level.
- The Onderwijsroute (education route), intended mainly for younger adults preparing for vocational or university studies.
- The Z-route (self-reliance route), designed for individuals facing high learning barriers who require practical participation and A1 language skills.
Have you already earned a foreign educational degree? You can request a free credential evaluation via the Internationale diplomawaardering (IDW) service right at the start of your integration trajectory to present your qualifications to Dutch employers.
Housing and the gemeente: what else belongs in the first three months
Settling into your new home involves medical and municipal requirements beyond registration. If you confirmed during your immigration filing that you would undergo a tuberculosis screening, you must book an appointment with the public health service (Gemeentelijke Gezondheidsdienst or GGD). The IND living in the Netherlands guidance states this medical examination must take place within three months of receiving your residence permit. Bring your completed TB test referral form.
Schooling rules are strict. Children aged five to sixteen living in the Netherlands must attend full-time school under the statutory education obligation (leerplicht). Parents must enrol their children at a recognized school promptly upon moving.
Keep your personal data up to date permanently in municipal records. Whenever you change apartments, get married, or welcome a newborn child, you must notify the municipality. Moves between Dutch cities require registering with your new municipality, which handles the deregistration from your previous town automatically. The BRP stores your residency records permanently and logs every official data access for twenty years.
Maintaining the Netherlands as your main residence is essential. Spending excessive time abroad risks the cancellation of your residence document by the IND.
What the KNM exam asks about this
The Kennis van de Nederlandse Maatschappij (KNM) exam tests your real-world understanding of these administrative systems across themes like health, work, and housing. A question may present a short scenario about registering with a huisarts, signing up children for compulsory schooling, or selecting health insurance. It may also ask about employment taxes, the function of the gemeente, and how government bodies like the Belastingdienst communicate through digital tools like DigiD. Knowing which agency handles each procedure is central to passing.