Before you start

Ordinary route, non-EU: a contract with an IND-recognised sponsor, or an orientation-year, DAFT or self-employment basis
Privileged route: an appointment letter from the mission or treaty organisation, submitted to the ministry by your employer's protocol officer — you do not file it yourself
A registered address in The Hague with a signed contract showing the start date
A valid passport, plus an original birth certificate legalised or apostilled and translated where required

Step-by-step

1
Establish which of the two tracks you are on before doing anything else
If your employer is an embassy, consulate or a treaty-based international organisation, your protocol officer registers you with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and you receive an MFA card. If it is a company, an NGO, a university or a Dutch public body, you are on the ordinary IND and gemeente route. The two involve different documents, different offices and different tax and insurance consequences, and mixing them wastes weeks.
Via employerWho: You, with your employer's HR or protocol officerBefore departureFree to establish
2
Ordinary route: have a recognised sponsor file the permit
Only IND-recognised sponsors may lodge a highly skilled migrant application. The IND's legal decision period is 90 days, and recognised-sponsor applications are in practice usually decided far inside it. If the employer is not on the register, this route is closed regardless of your qualifications. Where an entry visa is needed, the MVV is bundled into the same application.
Via employerWho: Your employer90-day legal maximum; usually much faster via a recognised sponsorPermit fee, normally employer-paid
3
Book The Hague International Centre and register in the BRP
The centre on Spui combines the municipal registration desk with an IND desk, so biometrics, permit collection and BSN issue can happen in one visit. Registration is legally due within five days of arrival but appointments run weeks ahead, so book from abroad. Bring identity documents, the signed tenancy contract and your original birth certificate.
In personWho: You, at The Hague International CentreBook weeks ahead; BSN issued at the appointmentFree
4
Privileged route: collect the MFA card, then register in the BRP anyway
Privileged staff are recorded in PROBAS, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' own protocol register, and can obtain a BSN through that registration — but PROBAS is not the BRP, and municipal registration is voluntary rather than automatic. Many everyday services — schools, some banks, utilities, the water board — query the BRP and simply fail to find you. Gemeente Den Haag runs a dedicated free BRP registration for privileged persons at The Hague International Centre, and doing it early removes a long tail of small refusals.
In personWho: You, at The Hague International CentreAfter the MFA card is issuedFree
5
Apply for DigiD and make sure your name is on the letterbox
Once registered with a BSN, apply at digid.nl. The activation code arrives by post within a few working days, so the nameplate on a shared front door genuinely matters. Add the DigiD app afterwards; it has become the default for tax, allowances, insurers and municipal services.
OnlineWho: You≈3 working days for the codeFree

Documents you’ll need

Passport, or EU/EEA/Swiss national ID card
Residence permit card or MVV, on the ordinary non-EU route
MFA identity card and the ministry's BSN letter, on the privileged route
Signed The Hague rental or purchase contract showing the start date
Original birth certificate, legalised or apostilled and translated as required

Things most newcomers don’t know

Privileged status is a different legal universe, and the differences are not cosmetic.

Holders need no residence permit, are usually exempt from Dutch income tax on the organisation's salary under its headquarters agreement, generally sit outside Dutch social security, and are ordinarily exempt from compulsory Dutch health insurance. It is not a better version of the ordinary route — it is a separate one with its own gaps, notably no zorgtoeslag, no kinderbijslag and no Dutch pension accrual on that salary.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs protocol guidance

Privileged staff sit in PROBAS rather than the BRP, and that gap causes real friction.

A BSN obtained through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a valid number that many Dutch systems cannot find, because they query the municipal register and PROBAS is a separate one. School enrolment, some bank onboarding, utility contracts and the water board all fail in slightly different ways. The fix is a single free appointment at The Hague International Centre to register in the BRP as a privileged person — it is optional, not automatic, and worth doing in your first month rather than after the third refusal.

Source: Gemeente Den Haag; RvIG

When the posting ends, the exemptions end with it — and the ordinary rules apply from that day.

People who stay in the Netherlands after leaving an international organisation move overnight into the ordinary system: a residence basis is now needed, the salary becomes taxable, and compulsory health insurance starts running with its four-month clock and its backdating. Several years of privileged status is not a grandfathering. Plan the transition before the contract ends rather than discovering it through a CAK letter.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs; CAK

The Hague International Centre bundles the gemeente and the IND, which turns three trips into one.

In much of the country municipal registration, IND biometrics and permit collection are separate appointments at separate organisations. The Hague runs a single centre covering all three, plus a dedicated route for privileged persons. The cost of that concentration is that everything international funnels through one place, so the appointment queue is the real critical path for your first month.

Source: The Hague International Centre

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming an international organisation job puts you on the ordinary IND route, or the reverse — the two tracks share almost no paperwork.
Being recorded only in PROBAS and never registering in the BRP, then hitting refusals at schools, banks and utilities.
Booking the registration appointment after arrival rather than from abroad, and losing weeks with no BSN.
Bringing a birth certificate that is not legalised, apostilled or translated, which the gemeente can refuse on the day.
Staying in the Netherlands after a posting ends without arranging a residence basis and compulsory health insurance from day one.

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