Health Insurance
Health insurance (Ziektekostenverzekering)
Everyone in the Netherlands is obliged to take out health insurance, even if you are working temporarily. This ensures that every person is protected against the financial risks of illness and hospital admission.
Foreign health insurance
It is often recommended that during the initial period of your stay in the Netherlands, you keep the insurance you had in your country of origin. This is on the condition it covers your possible costs here, so be sure to confirm that in advance.
In some cases, the Dutch law allows foreigners to keep their foreign health insurance during their stay. In reality, however, this rarely happens because all foreign insurances must comply to the rules of the Dutch Health Care Authority (NZA). Therefore it is best to switch to a Dutch health insurance the moment you receive your residency permit.
Health coverage
The basic health insurance package from a Netherlands insurer includes medical care, hospital admissions, visits to your general practitioner and medication. Dental costs are only included in the basic package for those under eighteen. You can take out additional insurance for dental care and for a number of specialist and alternative treatments. You will always have an excess or deductible (eigen risico) of at least 150 euro.
You can take out health insurance with any one of a number of insurance companies. For a comparison of insurances and prices, consult the following website (only in Dutch): www.kiesbeter.nl
Expatcenter's Partners: Insurance
For a full list of the Expatcenter's partners or for more information on the Partnership Program, please click here.
More information
For more information on the healthcare insurance system in the Netherlands, click here. You can choose from a list of languages.
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You can also reach us by phone:
+31 (0)20 254 79 99