The Dutch bureaucracy checklist for international students

The Netherlands is efficient once you're in the system and impossible before. This is the system.

1. BSN. Your personal number, from registering your address at the gemeente. Everything else needs it. Guide.
2. DigiD. Your login for every government site. Apply at digid.nl with your BSN; the activation code comes by post to your registered address within a week. Install the DigiD app too.
3. MijnOverheid. Your government inbox. Log in once with DigiD and turn on email notifications, or you'll miss letters about your permit, taxes and allowances.
4. Bank account. Guide.
5. Health insurance. Only when you work. Guide.
6. Zorgtoeslag (health allowance) at toeslagen.nl, the same day you take Dutch insurance. Refunds most of the premium.
7. Huurtoeslag (rent allowance). Only for self-contained studios and apartments with their own door, kitchen and bathroom, under the rent limit, and only if you're registered there. Rooms in a shared house don't qualify. Guide.
8. Residence permit (non-EU). Your university applies for you before you arrive; collect the card at IND after landing. Keep your enrolment and your finances in order, the permit depends on both.
9. Tax return in March or April, through belastingdienst.nl. If you worked, you almost certainly get money back.
10. Deregister when you leave. Tell the gemeente, cancel insurance and allowances. Forgetting this creates bills for years.