DigiD (Dutch digital identity login)

DigiD says it lets you show who you are when you arrange your affairs online, for example with the government, educational institutions, healthcare or your pension fund. You log in with the DigiD app, with a username and password plus an SMS code, or with a username and password alone, and some especially privacy-sensitive services also ask for an identity document check. It is strictly personal: you may not apply for a DigiD for someone else, but you can authorise someone to act for you, such as with the tax authorities. You give your helper an authorisation code and your BSN, and they activate it on the DigiD Authorisation website with their own DigiD.

For international health professionals the main uses are the tax and benefits services, MijnOverheid, health insurance and the BIG-register's online portal for BIG registration.

• A BSN, which you receive when you register with your municipality.
• A registration address with a Dutch municipality. If you have no permanent home, you can register a postal address, but not a PO box or an empty address.
• A mobile phone.

Children aged 14 and over must apply themselves; parents can apply for children of 13 and under.

1. Fill in the application form at digid.nl with your BSN and choose a username and password.
2. Wait for a letter with an activation code at your BRP address. DigiD says it arrives within 3 working days, and at most 5 depending on post in your region.
3. Enter the code exactly as printed. It always starts with an A.
4. Add SMS verification or install the DigiD app, which DigiD calls the easiest way to log in securely.

If you live abroad or in the Caribbean Netherlands and have a BSN, you can apply through DigiD's form for applicants abroad. If you already had a DigiD before moving abroad, you can keep using it.

The BIG-register says you can log in to mijn.bigregister.nl with DigiD, which anyone with a BSN can apply for. If you cannot get DigiD yet, for example while you are still abroad without a BSN, you can use a BIG login instead, and all messages about your application arrive in your online file. See our BIG test guide.

• Letter sent to an old address. It always goes to your BRP address, so correct your registration with the municipality first.
• SMS codes not arriving abroad. DigiD offers a voice call with the code, which it says sometimes works better outside the Netherlands.
• Code not accepted. Use the most recent code you received, check the date on the letter and enter it exactly as printed.
• Phishing. DigiD warns about fake emails and text messages, so log in only via digid.nl or the official app.