This is how you get a personal number (BSN) to handle your affairs in the Netherlands

You need a

• Open a Dutch bank account

• Work in the Netherlands

• Apply for unemployment or welfare benefits

• Take out health insurance (if you have an asylum residence permit)

• Apply for allowances (if you have an asylum residence permit)

Are you in the Netherlands for more than 6 months? Then you can get a BSN. This is done in 2 steps.

1. The

   Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA)
   will make an appointment for you to register with the municipality. You then register in the
   Dutch population register (BRP)
   . After COA makes an appointment for you, you will go to a special
   BRP street
   to register.

2. As soon as you are registered with the BRP, you will automatically receive a letter containing your BSN from the government. You will usually receive a letter containing your BSN within 4 weeks of your registration in the BRP.

Please note: You cannot make your own appointment to register at the BRP street. COA must arrange this appointment for you.

Please allow for a longer wait for registration in the BRP due to a shortage of staff. People who already have an asylum residence permit are given priority for registration.

Sometimes you can be registered in the BRP as a priority, which means you can get a BSN faster. COA determines whether you can be registered with priority. You can sometimes be registered with priority if:

• You have an asylum residence permit and have already found work

• You have an asylum residence permit and you are offered housing

• You need a BSN with a medical reason

• You do not yet have an asylum residence permit, but do have a

Through the information desk of the COA reception location where you live, you can ask if you can be registered with priority.

You cannot register in the BRP if one of the following situations applies to you:

• You fall under the

  Dublin procedure

• You come from a country that is considered a safe country by the Netherlands

• You already have a residence permit in another country within the European Union (EU)

• Your identity has not yet been established by the

  Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND)