Moving to the Netherlands from South Africa

You need a residence permit to live and work here. With a job offer, your employer applies for it as your sponsor: usually as a highly skilled migrant, an EU Blue Card or an intra-company transfer.

The MVV (provisional residence permit) is a sticker in your passport that lets you travel to the Netherlands for a long stay. In most cases you apply for it together with your residence permit (the entry and residence procedure).

Your municipality asks for your birth certificate (and your marriage certificate, if you're married). Foreign documents must be legalised or have an apostille, and be translated if they aren't in Dutch, English, French or German.

First registration from abroad is always in person, by appointment. In the big cities slots can be weeks away, so book now for the days just after you arrive.

Dutch insurers give a discount for years without claims, but only if you can show it. A letter from your current insurer, in English, usually does the job.

Some things in your current country are easy to arrange now and hard to arrange later.

Registering puts you in the Personal Records Database (BRP) and gives you a BSN (citizen service number): the number you need for work, banks, insurance and doctors.

DigiD is your login for Dutch government websites. Once you have a BSN you apply online; an activation code arrives by post at your registered address within a few working days.

Basic health insurance (basisverzekering) is compulsory. You have 4 months to take it out, and cover goes back to the start date, so you don't save anything by waiting. We recommend doing it in your first 2 weeks.

Most banks ask for your BSN, ID and proof of address. Some digital banks let you open an account before you have a BSN and add it later.

Your residence permit card is ready to collect at an IND desk or an expat centre, usually about 2 weeks after you arrive. You'll get a letter or email with an appointment.

People with some nationalities must have a chest X-ray or other TB test at the GGD (municipal health service) within 3 months of arriving, as a condition of their residence permit. Your IND letter usually includes the referral.

Without your BSN, your employer must withhold tax at the highest rate. Send HR your BSN and Dutch bank account (IBAN) as soon as you have them.

You need a GP referral for most specialists. Practices only take patients who live nearby, and some are full, so register before you need one.

A prepaid SIM gives you a Dutch number on day one. On trains, trams and buses you can simply tap in and out with your contactless bank card or phone (OVpay); a personal OV-chipkaart is only needed for some subscriptions and discounts.

With the 30% ruling, up to 30% of your salary can be paid tax-free in 2026 (27% from next year). You must have been recruited from abroad, have lived more than 150 km from the Dutch border for more than 16 of the 24 months before you start, and earn above the salary threshold.

Healthcare allowance (zorgtoeslag) helps with your health insurance premium. In 2026 the income limit is about €40,857, or €51,142 with a partner, and there's also a limit on savings.

You'll need to pass the Dutch driving test (CBR), unless you get the 30% ruling: with the ruling you can exchange it without a test. 'May get it' isn't enough; you need the decision.

Liability insurance (aansprakelijkheidsverzekering, AVP) covers damage you or your children accidentally cause to others. Contents insurance (inboedelverzekering) covers your belongings against theft, fire and water damage. Neither is compulsory.

In the year you move here you usually get an M form (migration return) instead of the normal return. It opens on 1 May of the following year, and the deadline is usually 1 July. The date in your own letter from the Belastingdienst is the one that counts. You may get money back.

You build up 2% of the state pension (AOW) for every year you live or work here, and most employers also have a pension scheme. You can see what you've built up on mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl with DigiD.

You can get by in English, especially in the big cities, but learning Dutch makes daily life easier. Many municipalities, universities and language schools offer courses.