Your first month in Leeuwarden

Within five days of arriving you have to go to the gemeente yourself and register. It is free. They give you the BSN in that same meeting, and you can start the rest from there.

Address: Oldehoofsterkerkhof 2, postcode 8911 DH. Burgerzaken will not help you without an appointment. The dates you see online are the real slots. If you study at NHL Stenden, the school usually emails you a booking link. The walk-in hours in that building are for passport and driving-licence renewals, not for this first registration.

Town hall is open Monday to Friday 08:30 to 17:00, Thursdays until 19:30. If you have a pram or a wheelchair, use the Oldehoofsterkerkhof side. The Nieuwestad side is only stairs. Phone 14 058. WhatsApp 06 433 65 223.

You have to go in person. If a partner or child is registering with you, they come too.

The gemeente site still asks people born outside the Netherlands for a birth certificate, and sometimes for legalised papers. If you have an Iranian passport, you do not need that right now because of the situation in Iran. They do not ask for a shenasnameh, and you do not need to legalise anything. Your original passport and a copy of your proof of address are enough.

Under four months you do not register as a resident in Leeuwarden. You still get a BSN, but on your address in Iran, through RNI. Book within five days. No appointment, no help.

An EU passport can still do RNI here in Leeuwarden. With an Iranian passport, from 1 January 2026, only Breda and Venlo do this. Fill the online form first and keep the QR code.

DigiD is the key to almost every government job: tax, benefits, DUO, insurance, the gemeente site. Do not apply until the gemeente has your street. They post the letter to that address, not to your email.

You need: the BSN, that postcode and house number, a phone that gets SMS, and an email. It is yours. Do not apply for a roommate.

Go to digid.nl, put in BSN, date of birth and address, and pick a username and password. You need that password later to activate, so write it down. Within five working days a white envelope arrives. The code inside starts with A. You have 21 days to enter it. Then install the DigiD app.

If five working days pass and nothing comes, first ask the gemeente if the address is right. Then request a new code on the site.

Omrin collects the waste in Leeuwarden. That Afvalwijzer site the rest of the Netherlands uses does not work here. Put your postcode and house number in the Omrin calendar or their app so you know when to put the bin out.

If you live in the centre or in an apartment, residual waste and food waste sit underground and open with a card called a milieupas. Houses outside the centre usually have three bins: residual, food, paper. Put them at the curb before 07:30. In the centre you have until 08:00.

A thing a lot of people get wrong: do not separate plastic, cans and milk cartons here. They go in residual waste. Omrin's plant sorts them. Paper, glass and clothes have their own bins. The app shows the nearest one. Do not leave a bag next to a full container. They fine that.

After the gemeente has your address, get a free milieupas from Omrin. Without it the underground container and the sorting centre at Greunsweg 86 will not open. Book a slot before you go there. The card belongs to the house. Leave it when you move.

Once you have the BSN, find a huisarts near your house and put your name on their list. Search on ZorgkaartNederland. You go to that doctor first. The hospital is for when it is really urgent, or when that doctor sends you.

If your life is in danger, call 112. Night or weekend that cannot wait until morning: Dokterswacht Friesland, 085 082 08 20. Their address is Borniastraat 40. Do not walk in. Call first. Bring your passport, BSN and the names of any medicine you take.

Insurance here is tied to work, not to a student card. If you only study, you usually cannot take Dutch public insurance. You need private international cover. If you have a paid job or a paid internship, you usually have to take Dutch basic insurance. If a letter arrives from somewhere called CAK, call them that day. Do not ignore it. They fine people.