Before you start

A BSN from gemeente registration
A residence permit or EU registration that makes you legally insurable — you generally cannot insure while a permit decision is pending
A Dutch IBAN for the monthly premium direct debit
DigiD, to claim zorgtoeslag and to use most patient portals

Step-by-step

1
Buy the basisverzekering, backdated, inside four months
Compare on price, service and contracted hospitals only — the covered treatments are set by law and are the same everywhere. Set the start date to the day you became insurable, not the day you sign. Decide separately whether an aanvullende package for dental, physiotherapy or glasses is worth it, since the basic policy excludes adult dental almost entirely.
OnlineWho: You — every adult buys their own policy; under-18s are free on a parent'sHard deadline of 4 months after becoming insurable≈€142-185 per month in 2026, averaging about €159
2
Register with a huisarts the week you have an address
Practices take patients only from their own catchment postcodes and many in Nijmegen are closed to new registrations, particularly around Heijendaal and the student districts where list pressure is highest. Search by postcode, call rather than emailing, and take the first practice that says yes even if it is not the nearest. Ask explicitly whether consultations in English are available.
In personWho: You, at a practice covering your postcodeBefore you are ill; some practices have long listsFree — GP visits are exempt from the excess
3
Understand the eigen risico and what it does not cover
The first tranche of most care in a calendar year comes out of your pocket — €385 in 2026. GP consultations, maternity care and care for under-18s are exempt; prescriptions, lab tests, scans, specialists and ambulance transport are not. The excess resets on 1 January, which is why people cluster elective referrals.
OnlineWho: YouPer calendar year€385 in 2026
4
Claim zorgtoeslag if your income is under the threshold
The healthcare allowance is paid monthly in advance by Dienst Toeslagen through Mijn Toeslagen with DigiD, and reconciled against your actual year-end income. It can be claimed retroactively for the current year. In a city this full of students, PhD candidates and part-time contracts, the share of people who qualify and never apply is high — it is means-tested on assets as well as income, so check rather than assume.
OnlineWho: You, via Mijn ToeslagenAny time; retroactive within the yearFree to apply
5
Learn the out-of-hours routing before you need it
During surgery hours, call your own huisarts. Evenings, nights and weekends, call the Huisartsenpost Nijmegen on 0900-8880 and be triaged by phone — it sits next to the emergency department at CWZ on Weg door Jonkerbos, not at Radboudumc. Call 112 only for genuine emergencies. Turning up at an emergency department unreferred for a non-emergency is discouraged and can leave you with a bill against your excess.
In personWho: You and your householdKnow it from day one112 free; the huisartsenpost is covered like a GP visit

Documents you’ll need

BSN
Passport or national ID card
Residence permit or proof of legal registration
Dutch IBAN for the premium direct debit
DigiD, for zorgtoeslag and patient portals

Things most newcomers don’t know

Insuring late does not save you money — the policy backdates and you pay for cover you never had.

The obligation starts the day you become insurable, usually your residence permit or registration date. Buy at month three and the insurer charges premiums from month zero, while nothing you spent in that gap is reimbursed. You get the worst of both: retroactive premiums and no retroactive cover. On top, the CAK can impose a fine and then arrange insurance for you at a worse price.

Source: Government.nl; CAK

Every insurer sells the identical basic package, so a more expensive basisverzekering buys you nothing extra.

The Dutch government defines the covered treatments and insurers may not vary them. What varies is the premium, the service, whether your preferred hospital is contracted, and whether the policy is a restitutie type that reimburses any provider or a natura type that pays only contracted ones. People routinely pay a premium for a brand name in the belief they are buying better cover. They are not.

Source: Zorgverzekeringslijn

Having Radboudumc down the road is a genuine advantage, and it is not the place you call at 2am.

Nijmegen has a university medical centre, a large general hospital in CWZ and the Sint Maartenskliniek, a national referral centre for orthopaedics and rheumatology — a concentration of specialist care most cities of 180,000 could not dream of. But access to all of it runs through your huisarts's referral, and the out-of-hours GP post is at CWZ, not at Radboudumc. Walking into the wrong emergency department unreferred wastes an evening and can cost you against your excess.

Source: community-reported

A student city rations GP list places, and the campus postcodes are the tightest.

45,000 students across Radboud and HAN all need a huisarts, they arrive in the same fortnight in September, and practices are sized to a catchment rather than to demand. The postcodes around Heijendaal and the student districts are where every list is closed. Register the week your address is fixed rather than in September with everyone else, take whichever practice accepts you, and note that moving across the city usually means starting the search again.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Waiting for HR to arrange health cover that no Dutch employer provides, and blowing the four-month deadline.
Paying more for a basisverzekering in the belief it covers more — it is legally identical everywhere.
Assuming GP care being free means the tests and referrals it generates are, when those hit the excess.
Arriving in September with everyone else and finding every practice in your postcode closed to new patients.
Going to Radboudumc's emergency department for something the huisartsenpost at CWZ handles.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.