Moving to the Netherlands.

The boring paperwork guide that everyone needs.

Who wants to deal paperwork in a foreign language? No one I know, at least. When we move to another country, we easily get lost in dreaming about the culture, people we’ll become friends with, exploring all new places. However, the first weeks also mean documents, contracts to sign, people to call and lots of google translate. To make all this less intimidating, I made a short list of things I wish I was explained before moving to study in the Netherlands.

BSN number

First things first you need a citizen service number, in dutch known as
BSN number. Make sure you do this as soon as you can. For this, you need to make an appointment at the city hall. On the website of the city hall, you will see a section about making a registration appointment. When in doubt, just make a phone call or send an email to the city hall about registration. For the appointment you typically need a form of identification, housing contract, but you can find the list of required documents on the website. I know I got it with the confirmation email from the registration appointment.

The BSN is a proof of your identity and you will get asked about it everytime: if you want to apply for a job, change your address, apply for healthcare and so on.

DigiD

As an international, you should get familiar with the word Belastingdienst. This translates to Tax and Customs Administration, so it is the goverment department dealing with taxes. You will often see this name if you want to apply for healthcare benefits, rent benefits etc.
You can do all of this administration online with the help of the DigiD. It refers to your digital identification. You can use this as a gateway for basically anything: making online arrangements with the government, educational and healthcare institutions, pension fund. It is your personal account for governmental issues.
For example, if you want to check the status of your taxes, you login to Belastingdienst website with your DigiD credentials and you can see a overview of anything you want.

Since the application for a DigiD is in Dutch, you can find a clear explanation of the process right here.

Housing allowance

This is a rent benefit for which you can apply if you meet certain criteria. Keep in mind this differs from place to place. There will be restrictions such as age, basic rent, size of the house, personal income, etc. In my case, the list of requirements for housing allowance was given on the website of the housing agency. You can use this online calculator to approximate the housing allowance you are entitled to. If you are indeed entitled to this benefit, you can apply online at this link through Belastingdienst. You will have to login with your DigiD, so we can already see how it comes in handy.

Health insurance

You absolutely need a health insurance if you live or work in the Netherlands, otherwise you will eventually get fined. The dutch health insurance world still gives me headaches and confusion, so I keep this short.
The harder part is to choose which insurance company is the one for you. You can find a list of dutch health insurance companies with a simple google search. Any basic insurance costs at least 100 euros per month. You also need a General Practitioner (GP). This is the first doctor you go to in case of general and minor health issues. If necesary, they will re-direct you to other specialists. For simplicity you can call your insurance company and they will help you find the closest GP practice in your neighbourhood.

Health insurance allowance

The criteria for the health insurance benefit are similar to the ones for the rent benefit and you can find them here. As a student with no income you are most probably eligible for this. Just like with the housing allowance you apply for it though Belastingdienst, at this link. Once you are logged in, search for the work zorgtoeslag and fill in the corresponding form. The health benefit is approximately 100 euros at the moment.

Income tax return

In case you paid too much tax, you can claim a tax refund. You will generally receive a letter each year to complete your taxes for the previous year. Afterwards, you will be informed if you owe money or if you get some money back. Even if you do not receive this letter, as a working student in the Netherlands you are most probably paying some extra taxes which you can get back during the following year, so make sure you fill in the tax return. Again, you will do this through Belastingdienst, follow these instructions.

DUO

If you are an EU/EER/swiss student between 18 and 30 years, you may be eligible for student finance or, in dutch, DUO. Check if you meet ANY of the criteria below:

• you work at least 56 hours/month
• you have been living in the Netherlands for at least 5 years
• any of your non-Dutch parents or partner is EU/EER/swiss and works in the Netherlands for at least 56 hours/month

DUO offers you three kinds of benefits:

• a loan for your studies
• a supplementary grant
• a travel product

The supplementary grant and the travel product are converted into a gift if you finish your studies within 10 years. This means you do not have to pay the money back. The supplementary grant is computed based on your parents income from the past 2 years and it should not exceed a certain sum. As of 2020, this sum is 50,000 euros. The travel product allows you for free travel within the Netherland either during week days or weekends. You can check more about DUO requirements and eligibility here. If you want to apply for any of the above benefits, log in here and follow the instructions.

Conclusion

I can go deeper about all of these topics, but it would just make things overwhelming. In the beginning, the important thing is to know what is available to you. Afterwards, you can take things one at a time and slowly figure everything out! I myself am still learning about this a little each day,
so take it easy.

Good luck!