Moving to Amsterdam from the UK is one of the shorter European moves — but the paperwork is no lighter for it. You need a residence permit, you have five days to register once you arrive, and the city’s canal houses are famously hostile to furniture. Here are seven practical tips to get your move right.
1. Sort your residence permit before you travel
Since Brexit, UK nationals need permission to live in the Netherlands for more than 90 days. Which route applies depends on whether you are coming to work, study or join family, and many employment routes are sponsored by your employer through the Dutch immigration service. The GOV.UK guide to living in the Netherlands is the right starting point, and it links through to the official Dutch guidance.
2. Register with the municipality within five days
If you are staying longer than four months, you must register with your local municipality within five days of arriving to get your burgerservicenummer (BSN). This is the number that unlocks everything else — employment, a bank account, health insurance, a doctor. Amsterdam appointments can be slow to come through, so book as soon as you have an address, and bring your birth certificate (legalised and translated if needed), passport and tenancy agreement.
3. Use the customs relief for your household goods
Your belongings now cross a customs border. The relief for people transferring their main residence into the EU means you can usually import household goods free of duty and import VAT, provided you have lived outside the EU for at least 12 months and have owned and used the items for around six months beforehand. You will need a detailed, dated and signed inventory, and there are limits on selling or lending the goods for a period after clearance. Alcohol, tobacco and commercial vehicles are excluded. The current conditions and the declaration you need are on the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration site.
MoveDay Removals prepares the inventory and files the clearance through our customs removals service, so nothing sits at the port waiting on a form.
4. Arrange a parking exemption for the removal lorry
Amsterdam’s central streets are narrow, often one-way, and heavily restricted for larger vehicles. For a move you will generally need a parking exemption from the city, and for the oldest parts of the centre a vehicle access exemption as well. These take time to arrange and cannot be sorted on the morning of the move, so give your removal company the exact address — and any canal-side or bridge access quirks — the moment you book.
5. Expect your furniture to go through the window
This is not a joke. Amsterdam’s canal houses have staircases so steep and narrow that hoisting furniture up the outside of the building and in through a window is the standard method, which is why so many facades have a beam at the top. A proper hoist or an external furniture lift should be in your quote, not a surprise on the day. Measure your largest pieces and the window openings, and send photographs of the front of the building when you ask for a price.
6. Take out Dutch health insurance straight away
Health insurance is compulsory in the Netherlands and you are expected to arrange it quickly once you become a resident — leaving it can result in a fine as well as uninsured bills. You choose your own insurer from the open market, and basic cover is standardised by law, so compare on price and service rather than on what is included. The GOV.UK healthcare in the Netherlands guidance explains how the system works for UK nationals.
7. Exchange your driving licence within 185 days
You can drive in the Netherlands on a UK licence for up to 185 days after becoming resident. After that you need to exchange it with the Netherlands Vehicle Authority (RDW), and the application should be in before that window closes. That said, Amsterdam is a city where a car is often more burden than benefit — plenty of new arrivals exchange the licence, then barely use it.
Planning a move to Amsterdam? Get a free quote from MoveDay Removals and we will sort the transport, the hoist and the customs paperwork.