Tips: Applying for DigiD and opening a bank account (my experience)

Last month I helped a friend who had just arrived in the Netherlands. Everything starts with two things: DigiD and a bank account. Here are my tips.

DigiD

You need DigiD for almost everything: Belastingdienst, toeslagen, DUO, your health insurance.

1. Apply for DigiD at digid.nl. You need your BSN, an address with a Dutch municipality, and a mobile phone.
2. You will receive a letter with an activation code. That takes at most 5 working days.
3. Activate it quickly and then install the DigiD app. Logging in with the app is much easier than with SMS codes.

Bank account

For my account I needed a passport, BSN and address. At many banks you can simply do it via an app. Do this quickly, because a lot of online payments here go through iDEAL, and for that you need a Dutch account.

My lesson: arrange DigiD in your first week. Almost all dealings with the government go online with DigiD.

Question for the group: which bank do you think is good for newcomers? At my bank everything was only in Dutch, which was difficult at first.