Netherlands insurance for nomads

Dutch healthcare runs on regulated private insurers rather than a free public system. Everyone who lives or works in the country must buy a standardised basic policy (basisverzekering) from a private insurer, and the government sets what that policy must cover. Short-stay tourists do not buy into this system at all and rely on their own travel or international cover. Residents do: if you take the DAFT route or otherwise register at a Dutch town hall, you are required to take out a Dutch basic policy within four months, and it must be backdated to the day your residence permit took effect. Your first point of contact for almost everything is a huisarts (GP), who acts as gatekeeper to specialists and hospitals. You register with one near your home, and most in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague speak excellent English.

For emergencies the number is 112, free from any phone, with operators who handle English and often German or French. For urgent but non-life-threatening problems outside office hours you call the local out-of-hours GP post (huisartsenpost) on 0900-8844 rather than going straight to a hospital. Nomads in the big cities lean on large teaching hospitals such as Amsterdam UMC and OLVG in Amsterdam, Erasmus MC in Rotterdam and Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), all of which have English-speaking staff. Several private and "tourist doctor" clinics in Amsterdam cater specifically to visitors without Dutch insurance and will issue receipts you can claim back. Because the Netherlands is compact and flat with no remote islands to speak of, there is no medical-evacuation problem here: a top hospital is rarely more than a short drive away.

US, UK, Canadian and Australian citizens can enter the Netherlands visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period under the Schengen rules, and no health insurance is required to enter as a tourist. From the last quarter of 2026 these same travellers will need an ETIAS travel authorisation (a roughly 20 EUR online approval, valid three years) before they fly, but it is a pre-screening step, not a visa. Even so, travel medical cover is strongly advised, because uninsured care at a private clinic is billed at full list price.

For longer stays the Netherlands has no formal digital nomad visa. US citizens have a standout alternative in the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty: register a Dutch business, own at least 25% of it, and keep at least 4,500 EUR of capital invested, and you can get a two-year self-employment residence permit that is extendable for five more years. The DAFT application itself does not demand proof of insurance, which lulls people into thinking cover is optional. It is not. Once the permit takes effect and you register locally, Dutch basic health insurance becomes a legal obligation you must arrange within four months, and a foreign or travel policy does not satisfy it. Budget for the monthly premium from day one. Full details are on our Netherlands DAFT visa page.

• Cycling is the real hazard. Cyclists are now the single largest group of road deaths in the Netherlands, so wear a helmet (rare among locals) and treat e-bikes and tram tracks with respect.
• The four-month insurance clock. Miss the deadline to buy Dutch basic cover after your permit starts and you face fines and backdated premiums, with no retroactive cover for the gap.
• Eigen risico bites. Even with insurance, the first 385 EUR of most hospital and specialist care each year is yours to pay before the policy kicks in.
• DAFT is US-only and self-employment-only. It is not open to UK, Canadian or Australian nomads, and you cannot take a salaried job with a Dutch employer on it.
• Housing, not healthcare, is the budget killer. A severe rental shortage means city-centre one-bedroom flats often run well above the official averages, especially in Amsterdam.