In the first year after moving
08.09.2021Step-by-step plan for those who have just arrived
You signed a work contract, notified your relatives and friends about moving to Holland. They even started to collect things, but do not understand at all what will happen next?
Below we will briefly outline the necessary steps that you will need to take during the move.
With comments and additions from those who have gone through these processes and are going through them.
- Obtaining an entry visa
Obtaining an entry visa (MVV) at the consulate of the Netherlands in the country of your permanent residence (if you are wintering in Thailand, but you have a Moscow residence permit, then you will need to fly to Moscow for a visa!)
After receiving notification from the employer that the permit has been received, contact the consulate, make sure that they have received all the confirmations and make an appointment to obtain a visa. At the consulate, you submit your biometric data for your future residence permit card.
On the same or the next day, an entry visa will be pasted into your passport.
It allows you to come to the Netherlands by any means, including on your own through other Schengen countries. You have 3 months to obtain an entry visa. After receiving the visa, it is valid for another 3 months.
- Obtaining a residence permit card
After arriving in the Netherlands (usually 2 weeks after submitting your biometric data when obtaining a visa), you can obtain a residence permit card (verblijfsvergunning) at the IND office or at the ExpatCenter offices (if your employer is served by them).
An appointment with the IND must be made in advance (it's possible make online).
Personal appearance of all family members obligatory.
In 95% of cases, an appointment with the IND is made by the employer.
If your residence permit is not ready, you can get a free sticker in your passport confirming your legal stay in the country and confirming your work permit.
- Registration in the municipality of the place of residence
When you register with the municipality of your place of residence, you will receive a BSN (Burgerservicenummer) - this is a unique number for everyone living in the Netherlands. Then you will need it when opening a bank account, for requesting honey. insurance, rental housing, etc.
Also, your employer can cooperate with Expat Center (paid, but faster service - issuance of a residence permit and registration at the same time, etc.) and you will need to visit the ExpatCenter and the procedures will be different (check with your employer).
If you have found accommodation in advance:
It is advisable to register at the place of residence within a few days after arrival. This is usually done in the city municipality - gemeente.
The first registration takes longer than the subsequent ones: employees enter you into the database, check and copy all documents, etc. An appointment in advance is most often required; you can usually make an appointment online on the municipality's website.
You need to have with you:
- Residence permit card or passport
- Birth certificates with translations and apostilles for all family members
- Marriage certificate (if any) with translation and apostille
- Work contract
- Rental contract
Note: if you are moving to Amsterdam, due to the long queues, an appointment at Gemeente must be made in 1,5 months.
If you have NOT found accommodation in advance:
For the first time, the employer (and gemeente) may allow you to register at the office address to obtain BSN. Let them know about this in advance.
If you register at the employer's address, then when submitting papers to the municipality, you need to have:
- Residence permit card or passport
- Birth certificates with translations and apostilles for all family members
- Marriage certificate (if any) with translation and apostille
- Work contract
- Written consent from the employer for registration at the office address.
- X-ray
When filling out migration documents for citizens of some countries, there is a mandatory checkbox "I agree to be tested for tuberculosis." You will receive a fluorography form from your employer. You can / need to get tested at GGD polyclinics.
Countries of the former USSR, whose citizens do NOT need fluorography:
- Russia
- Belarus
- Ukraine
- Kazakhstan
- Uzbekistan
- Armenia
- Georgia
- Azerbaijan
(Full list of countrieswhose citizens are exempt from fluorography when moving)
For those who are required to take the test: Fluorography must be done in the first 3 months after registration. It is compulsory for all members, including children. For untimely passed (or not passed at all) fluorography, your residence permit may be canceled!
Residents of Amsterdam (as well as Amstelveen, Diemen, Ouder-Amstel, Aalsmeer and Uithoorn) can make an appointment online , Lists of other GGD branches can be found on their website.
- Registration of medical insurance
All newcomers to the Netherlands for permanent residence are required to have health insurance from the first day of stay. Even if you have temporary (for example, travel) insurance for the country from which you have arrived, then the Dutch insurance will still be concluded retroactively from the date of arrival. Thus, you will be insured from day one.
You can compare (and conclude) health insurance, for example, on site.
Lack of health insurance is an administrative offense. Fines may be imposed for evading insurance and insurance premiums.
Basic insurance (basisverzekering) is the same for everyone and to cover the costs of a family doctor (huisarts), hospital or pharmacy.
For health insurance, self-risk (eigen risico) is compulsory in the amount of € 385 (2018).
Children under 18 are included in the parents' insurance and are served free of charge.
Read more about insurance. in our article.
- 30% steering
Rouhling - this is a tax break, which is received incl. highly skilled migrants for 5 years (2020). This is not an automatic process, the employer asks for ruling and permission for its use is issued to the employer, for a specific combination of "employer-employee". If you received ruling, then usually the first 30% (this is the maximum, but a lower percentage is possible) of your gross salary are not taxed and you receive them “as is”, taxes are paid from the remaining 70% of your gross salary.
In addition, ruling gives the right to replace foreign rights with Dutch ones free of charge and without re-examination, and also gives the opportunity to obtain the status of a “partial tax resident of the Netherlands”, which entails a number of financial benefits.
If the request for taxiing is sent within 4 months after the start of the work contract, the employer has the right to apply taxiing from 1 working day, if the taxiing request is requested later, then only from the date of actual receipt of the permit.
- Driver license exchange
After moving to the Netherlands, you are only allowed to use your driver's license for the first 6 months (185 days) from the date of registration. If you are the lucky owner of 30% driving, then you (and your spouse / partner) can replace your driving license with a Dutch one without passing any exams. All categories from your rights will be transferred 1 to 1, perhaps the category "Tractor" will be added to you, do not be surprised.
Continuing to drive a car with a foreign license after 185 days, you run the risk of getting a fine "for driving without a valid driver's license" from 90 to 360 euros.
For more information and change of rights you can in our article about changing rights.
- DigiD
You will need a DigiD account for any interactions with Dutch government agencies over the Internet, which is the Dutch equivalent of an electronic signature. An account can only be created when you have received a BSN (Burgerservicenummer) during the registration process.
You can (and should!) Get DigiD here.
- Create an account, write down the login somewhere (it cannot be restored until activation).
- Within 5 days you will receive an email with an activation code. The code does not contain punctuation marks and always starts with "A".
The activation code has a (short) expiration date, do not postpone activation indefinitely. - Enter the activation code in the second window (Did you receive a code?) On page.