Immigrating to the Netherlands (NL) Tips

I moved from South Africa to Netherlands (Weesp) recently (Nov 2021) so I thought I would share some tips to help others avoid some of the stresses I had. These tips are for when you land, not prior as they will vary based on the country you come from. It can be a lot but, stay clam and know that thousands of us have been through this and now it is easy. The Netherlands people are also very efficient and helpful when you get past their directness. They are not rude they just like to get on with life🙂.

Disclaimer: This is a personal post and nothing to do with my employer, any organization(s) mentioned in any form. Also this is only what I learnt and things will change over time.

I will break this down into some form of timelines, but the sooner you arrange any of these the better for you. When you get here everything is new so do what you can before you get here. Have lists and things to be organized and connect with groups on Facebook and other social platforms. "South Africans helping South Africans in The Netherlands" is a good Facebook group.

Tip #1 - Phone Play App Store location change

You will need to load a number of new apps for the NL (banking, trains, shopping, etc.) so this is critical. App stored restrict the apps you can install based on your confirmed location.

Once you have bought a new SIM and activated it I suggest you change the country location ASAP as it can take days to propagate (spread) through all the servers.

I have an Android phone so can only share info on that but Google to find answers for your phone OS.

1. Follow the steps in this link How to change your Google Play country - Android - Google Play Help

2. Open Play Store

3. Go to settings and then "Account and device preferences"

4. This is where you see if it has been changed. As I say it can take days.

Work around!!!

For me it would not work and I spent hours chatting to a Google help agent (my premium account). What I landed up doing once in the Netherlands is create a new Google account (and email) and made sure I registered it with my Netherlands mobile cell number and address.

Tip #2 - Residence card & BSN number

This is very critical and in most cases you will have the appointments pre-arranged before you land. You can not open bank accounts without the BSN, so very critical.

Depending on where you live you can get your MVV residence card, and BSN at IN Amsterdam - Official services for international newcomers | I Amsterdam offices, but it depends where you will live. I had to do my BSN appointment at my town municipality.

Tip #3 - Banking

You will quickly find that most shops here want a local payment method and many shops do not take credit cards and some not even cash. So shopping for food when you can't read Dutch is tough enough😕 so do not add stress by not having the right banking.

Here are some Apps I installed:

• ABN AMRO Bank - (2023 update) is the most popular for expats as it is also easy to run in English. Also once you have your BSN you can apply for a bank account via the App, otherwise book an appointment as soon as you can. (2023 update) Although I started with ING (below) I moved to ABN as it works on my Samsung S23 phone to make payments through Goggle Pay app. ING would not work of any of my Samsung phones.

• ING - is also popular and what I landed up using to start.

• PayPal - If you have money in PayPal you can spend it with many of the online stores.

• Google Pay / Apple Pay is also used a lot by locals to pay at most stores.

Tip #4 - Traveling around

The following are good apps to install for getting to know how to get around in the trains, trams and metro. Things like Google Maps is awesome to start as it does all three in one view including where you need to walk to if needed.

• Google Maps is great and I sometimes compare it with things like NS or 9292 to understand what the apps are telling me.

• NS is the main train App.

• 9292 and 9292 moves are used by many.

• GVB is the other train app.

• Trip advisor is awesome to see all the new places you can explore.

• Life360 - is great for keeping track of where your kids are on a map should you want. It is very safe here for kids to travel alone but we parents always like to know, and it helps for us to meet them somewhere.

Important Apps

• You need get your DigiD app registered and this will require your residency card which you will scan using the NFC chip in the card. It is used for all sorts of official registrations and services.

• Corona Check is needed if you want to get into any restaurant and for internationals you may need to make an appointment in Utrecht, you can find more info here News item: GGD region Utrecht: (ggdru.nl)

Tip #5 - Shopping Apps

Here are some Apps shared with me that I like to use. Some

Highlights

• IKEA.com (website) - is the most used to order things for your home. You need to assemble the furniture so I would suggest to start use a handyman service as larger items (beds, cupboards) can be complex to assemble. IKEA site has some otherwise you can use my friend Gino, who is a pro. Email him at gvk.alkmaar@gmail.com and tell him I sent you for a good price.

• Bol.com - is a brilliant for buying anything really good prices and delivery, sourced from many suppliers.

• Coolblue - is good for electronics.

• Markplaats - people here sell anything second hand here.

• Lidl - also has variety and great prices.

• Veilingen - is a budding app.

• ... check out the other apps for yourself

I hope this helps and it is confusing to be kind to yourself, it all comes with time.

God bless you and enjoy your new adventure.