Guide
Health insurance in your first months
Four months sounds like plenty of time. It is the reason people end up with a bill. Your cover and your bill both start on your first day, whatever day you sign.
Who this page is for
For everyone who lives or works in the Netherlands, from the EU or from outside it.
Why waiting costs you money
Dutch basic insurance, the basisverzekering, is compulsory from the day your duty to have it starts. You get four months to choose an insurer.
Whichever day you sign, your policy is backdated to that first day. So you are never without cover for those months, and you never gain by waiting. The premiums for the months in between are simply owed at once.
The law sets what basic cover contains, so every insurer offers the same basic package. Only the price, the extras and the service differ. Changing insurer is easier than most people expect.
When your four months start
For most people, they start on the day you arrive to live or work here.
If you are from outside the EU, they usually start on the day your residence permit takes effect. That can be a different date. It is worth checking which one is yours rather than guessing.
The gap before you are registered
A Dutch policy can usually only begin once you are registered or working. So your first days or weeks are a gap you have to cover yourself.
Travel insurance or international health insurance that includes medical costs is the usual answer. One emergency visit without cover can cost more than a year of premiums.
Who does not have to take it
The main exemption is about whether you work, rather than where you are from. A student who only studies, and who has valid cover from home, is usually exempt. This is the same for students from the EU and from outside it.
Take any job, even a zero-hours contract or a paid placement, and the duty starts, with its own four months.
If you get a letter telling you to insure yourself and you think you are exempt, ask the SVB for a free assessment. That is the proof that settles it.
What happens if you do nothing
It does not go away. You get warnings. After that you are signed up with an insurer chosen for you, at a higher price than you would have paid, with fines on top.
Choosing your own insurer early is always the cheapest outcome.
Register with a GP at the same time
Dutch healthcare starts with the huisarts, your family doctor. You reach specialists through them.
Practices in busy areas keep waiting lists, and one near your own postcode is far more likely to accept you than one across town. Register before you are ill, on the same list as the insurance.
The app does the dates for you
Everything on this page depends on where you are from, which permit you have and when you arrived. settlme asks you once, then counts your deadlines down in the order they come.
Questions people ask about this
- How long do I have to arrange Dutch health insurance?
- Four months from the day your duty starts. That is usually the day you arrive to live or work here. If you are from outside the EU, it is often the day your permit takes effect. Your policy is backdated to that day, so signing late gives you a bigger first bill rather than a gap in cover.
- What happens if I do not take out health insurance?
- First you get warnings. Then you are signed up with an insurer chosen for you, at a higher price than you would have paid, with fines added. Choosing your own insurer early is always cheaper.
- Are students exempt from Dutch health insurance?
- A student who only studies, and who has valid cover from home, is usually exempt. This is the same for students from the EU and from outside it. Taking any paid work ends the exemption at once and starts the four months.