Our Second Week in Amsterdam: Catching Up with Us!

The past few weeks have been flying by as we work to get everything together. We’ve managed to find an apartment, register with the city, and take steps toward opening my business but the next few weeks will be our most exciting! We’ve been all over making sure to the city as we work.

Once we found our apartment, we were almost ready to get the ball rolling on everything else we need. Registration and visa paperwork is complicated but what it really boils down to is having a Dutch address. We quickly found you cannot do anything until you have a Dutch address! This means we couldn’t open a bank account, register my business, or even register for the more affordable train tickets (more on this in another article).

As we mentioned in our previous article, our real estate agent has helped us tremendously but it still took us over a week to get a fully signed lease. Until I had this paperwork, I couldn’t do anything else. I continuously checked our email while looking at my to-do list. In terms of my visa process, I need the following things in the following order before I’m ready for our appointment coming up this week.

1. Apostilles for Birth & Marriage Certificates. DO THIS BEFORE YOU LEAVE!!! Months before we left, I had to send our birth and marriage certificates for what’s essentially a verification and certification of vital records to be used internationally. You have to send your original documents with a form, a prepaid/stamped return envelop, and $15 per document to your Secretary of State. It takes several weeks but it’s nothing compared to the price and time it takes if you wait until you arrive in Europe!
2. Appointments with Gemeente & IND Services. You need to make these calls as soon as possible. You must register with the city within 5 days of arrival or immediately after receiving your lease. Our appointment with the Gemeente for a BSN was quick but the IND appointment for immigration took 3 weeks. The phone operators all speak English, they’re very nice and helpful, and they make sure you understand everything!
3. Temporary BSN (burgerservicenummer) This is free. You must have a BSN or Citizen Service Number to do anything; however, BSNs are granted to those with a Dutch address. You can only get a temporary BSN if you live in temporary housing, such as a hotel, AirBnB, etc. Otherwise, you must have a signed lease or they will turn you away.
4. Signed Apartment Lease. A signed lease demonstrating a Dutch address and owner’s permission to register is essential for anything related to government. It confirms your mailing address and helps the city know what/how many services to offer at any given time.
5. Register with the KvK( Kamer van Koophandel). This is the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, where I register my business as a sole-proprietor or freelancer. As part of my DAFT visa, registering my business ensures legitimacy plus they automatically register with the Tax Authorities as well. At minimum, you must have a permanent BSN, proof of foreign address (bill and driver’s license), and a signed rental agreement.
6. Open Bank Accounts. There are a lot of banks to choose from but expats consistently recommend one of two choices: Bunq and ING. Bunq is completely online and uses a network of ATMs to handle deposits; ING is brick-and-mortar with slightly higher fees (>2€). We need a personal account and a business account; therefore, we needed our passports, KvK paperwork, and a Dutch address. I need a certified copy of my opening business balance for IND. We went with ING, the banker was insanely helpful and sweet. I highly recommend this bank.
7. Stamped Statement from a Certified Accountant. Immigration requires your opening balance to be certified and stamped by an accountant yet this is not a service provided by the bank. You must reach out to an accountant that is familiar with the process. We received some recommendations from some expat Facebook groups, it should cost around 85€. We weren’t able to get this in time, we’ll have to see what IND says…
8. Copies of Everything You Have. It’s important to have copies of everything you could possibly need but specifically your passport (all stamped pages), your apostilles and certificates, and your BSN paperwork. Every visa is different, mine requires 4 supportive documents while John’s requires a lifetime biography and everything he’s ever had since he was born. You’ll need to bring originals but we won’t know everything until after our appointment.