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 are closed to new registrations, particularly in the student-dense districts. 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 — around the university and the UMCG many practices are used to it, which is much less true in the surrounding villages.
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. Groningen has the lowest median incomes of the big Dutch cities precisely because so much of it is students and early-career staff, so the share of people who qualify is high — and it is means-tested on assets as well as income.
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 Doktersdienst Groningen on 0900-9229 and be triaged by phone — it runs weekday evenings and nights from 17:00 to 08:00 and around the clock at weekends. Call 112 only for genuine emergencies. Turning up at the UMCG's 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

The UMCG concentrates the north's specialist care, which cuts both ways.

For anything complex — transplant, oncology, rare disease — the country's largest university medical centre is a fifteen-minute cycle away rather than a two-hour journey, which is a genuine advantage of living here over most cities this size. The flip side is that it is the referral centre for three provinces, so waiting lists reflect a catchment far larger than the city, and access still runs through your huisarts's referral and your insurer's contracted list. Check the hospital contracting before choosing a natura policy.

Source: community-reported

If you end up living outside the city, GP capacity is the thing that changes, not the insurance.

The insurance is identical everywhere in the country. Primary care is not: the villages north and east of Groningen have an ageing GP population and practices that have closed or merged, and some have no practice taking new patients at all. People who move out to Ten Boer, Bedum or the wierde villages for the space discover this after they have signed. Confirm a practice will take you before you commit to a rural address.

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.
Starting the huisarts search in September along with the whole student intake.
Moving to a village outside the city without checking that any practice there is accepting patients.

Some of this may be out of date.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