Student health insurance

If you have plans to study in Holland, it´s very important to make sure that you are sufficiently insured for healthcare. In some cases you are obliged to have a public healthcare insurance in Holland, in other cases a public healthcare insurance in your home country is sufficient or you have to take a private healthcare insurance. This page will explain which situation applies to you.

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Public healthcare insurance in The Netherlands

When are you obliged to take out a public healthcare insurance in Holland?

• If you are planning to work during your studies or if you are planning to do a paid internship, you need to take a public healthcare insurance in Holland;
• If you are planning to stay in Holland longer than 1 year (this will be seen as permanent), you need to take out a public healthcare insurance in Holland.

When are you not obliged to take out a public healthcare insurance in Holland?

• If you can prove to the authorities (and you are planning to stay in Holland between 1 and 3 years) that you are planning a temporary stay, there is a possibility that you can keep your healthcare insurance of your home country. You can contact the Dutch Sociale Verzekeringsbank to obtain more information;
• If you are younger than 30 years and your stay is solely for study purposes you are NOT obliged to take a public healthcare insurance in Holland.

You need a Dutch ID-number (Burgerservicenumber or BSN)

In order to take out a Dutch public healthcare insurance, you must have a Dutch ID-number. You can apply for an ID-number at your local municipality.

Where can you get a public healthcare insurance in Holland?

There’s a large number of public healthcare insurance companies in Holland, with different prices and different types of insurances. If you are looking for public healthcare insurance companies in Holland, especially for students, please visit Top 5 public healthcare insurances.

Public healthcare insurance in home country

When is a public healthcare insurance in your home country sufficient?

• If you are only planning to study in Holland and you are NOT planning to work or do an internship (with salary).
• If you are planning a temporary stay in Holland (see explanation above)
• If you are a citizen of the EU (including Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway)

Contact your public healthcare insurance in your home country
In order to make sure that your public healthcare insurance of your home country is covered in Holland, it is wise to contact your public healthcare insurance company in your home country. Here you can also apply for an EU Health Insurance Card that is valid in Holland if you need to go to a hospital.

Private healthcare insurance

If you are from a non-EU country, the public healthcare insurance from your home country is not valid in The Netherlands. So if you are staying in Holland temporary, you are not planning on working or doing an internship (with salary) and you are from a non-EU country, the best option is a private healthcare insurance.