Five things to sort out in your first week in the Netherlands
Almost everything administrative in the Netherlands depends on something else being done first. Do these in this order and the queue moves. Do them out of order and you will spend September waiting.
1. Register at your address
Book the gemeente appointment the moment you have a signed contract. The BSN that follows is the key to the other four items on this list, and the appointment calendar, not you, sets the pace.
2. Get a Dutch bank account
You will need one for rent, for a phone contract, and to be paid by an employer. Some banks let you start the application before your BSN arrives and complete it afterwards. iDEAL, the payment method almost every Dutch website expects, needs a Dutch account.
3. Buy a bike, and a proper lock
Maastricht is small enough to cross by bike in twenty minutes and awkward enough by bus that most students stop bothering. Budget €120 to €250 for a decent second-hand bike from a shop with a receipt.
Spend €40 or more on the lock, and buy two. Bike theft is the most common crime a student here will experience. A cheap lock on a good bike is a donation with extra steps.
Never buy a bike from someone selling it on the street or in a park. It is stolen, buying it is an offence, and you are funding the thing that will happen to yours.
4. Sort out health insurance, or confirm you do not need it
If you only study, your EHIC or a private student policy is usually enough. If you take a job, even a few hours a week in a café, you are generally required to take Dutch basic insurance and can be fined for going without. This catches people out around November, months after they started the job.
5. Get a Dutch SIM
Verification codes, delivery notifications, viewing appointments and landlords all assume a Dutch number. A prepaid SIM costs a few euro and removes a surprising amount of friction.
What can wait
Furniture, a gym membership, a second-hand desk, a decent frying pan. None of these block anything else. Spend the first week on the things with queues attached and the second week making the room habitable.
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