DigiD: how to get it, the app and the ID check, from abroad, without a Dutch passport
DigiD is the login for Dutch government services, healthcare, education and pensions. You need a citizen service number (BSN), an address registered with a Dutch municipality and a mobile phone. You apply at digid.nl, a letter with an activation code arrives within five working days, and you must activate within 21 days. The DigiD app is the normal way to log in; its ID check works only with a Dutch passport, identity card or driving licence, not with a foreign passport or a residence document.
Sources
DigiD: DigiD app and the ID check
DigiD: I live in the Caribbean Netherlands or abroad
Netherlands Worldwide: applying for a DigiD from abroad, step by step
Netherlands Worldwide: DigiD desks
Netherlands Worldwide: activating from abroad
Government.nl: applying for a DigiD
Government.nl: I can't log in with my European eID
Rijksoverheid: when must I register in the BRP?
RvIG: registration of non-residents (RNI)
Last updated 16 October 2026.
Getting a DigiD, step by step
- Get a BSN first. Anyone staying longer than 4 months registers as a resident in the Personal Records Database (BRP) at the municipality, within 5 days of arrival, and receives a BSN. A shorter stay: register as a non-resident (RNI) at a municipal RNI desk; a valid identity document is enough. With a European passport any of the 19 desks; with another passport, since January 2026, only Breda or Venlo.
- Apply at digid.nl/en/aanvragen with your BSN; choose a username and password and give a mobile number. The letter with the activation code goes to your BRP address and takes up to 5 working days; a new code can be requested once.
- Activate within 21 days, or the application lapses and you apply again. Activating in the DigiD app activates the account and the app in one go; the website works too.
- Children under 14: a parent applies in the child's name and the letter goes to the child. From 14 a DigiD is strictly personal.
No permanent home? You can register with the municipality at a postal address of a person or institution, not a PO box, and apply with that. A DigiD that is not used for 3 years lapses and must be applied for again; so does one whose password you forgot before activating it.
Ways to log in
| Method | What you need | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DigiD app | Phone or tablet (iOS 15+, Android 9+) or a Windows 11 / macOS computer; a PIN of your choice | The usual way; fingerprint or face instead of the PIN; up to 5 devices |
| App with ID check | Phone with NFC and a Dutch passport, identity card or driving licence | Needed for the most sensitive data, such as health records; more organisations ask for it yearly; foreign passports, residence documents and foreign ID cards do not work |
| SMS verification | Username, password and a phone that receives Dutch SMS; a voice call can read the code out | Works abroad; needed to activate the app without an ID check |
| Username and password only | Nothing else | Fewer and fewer organisations accept it |
If your Dutch passport or ID card carries no BSN (issued abroad, at a border municipality or at Schiphol), the ID check fails; activate the app by SMS instead, or apply for a new document with the BSN on it. An organisation that insists on the ID check must offer you another way: ask it.
Living abroad or registered as a non-resident
- With a BSN you can apply from abroad through the same form. You then get a desk code (9 characters, starting with B, valid 30 days) by SMS and email instead of a letter.
- With the desk code you collect the activation code in a video call with Netherlands Worldwide, or at a DigiD desk: embassies and consulates in Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Bern, London, Washington, Ankara, Rabat, Sydney, Vancouver, Wellington, Bangkok and Paramaribo, or in the Netherlands at the Schiphol municipal desk, The Hague, Breda, Maastricht, Nijmegen, Enschede, Venlo and a few other border towns. Most desks need an appointment; book it before you apply, as waiting times can exceed the 30 days.
- The video call is not available while you are in the European Netherlands; use a Dutch desk then. The activation code is valid 21 days (45 days when you apply through the SVB as a state pensioner).
- Moving abroad with a DigiD: add the ID check and SMS verification before you leave; an app activated in the Netherlands keeps working and can activate the app on a new device. If activation by SMS or ID check fails abroad, you must apply for a new DigiD.
- Living in another EU or EEA country: a recognised national login such as Belgium's itsme can log you in to a growing number of Dutch organisations (eIDAS); most still need your BSN.
Someone helping you
Never hand over your username, password or PIN. Someone who manages your affairs can be authorised instead: you give them an authorisation code and your BSN, they activate it with their own DigiD on the DigiD Authorisation site, and they act for you with their own login. Parents and guardians may use a child's DigiD up to age 13.
Questions people ask
- Can I get a DigiD without a BSN?
- No. The BSN comes with registration: in the BRP at your municipality if you stay longer than 4 months, or in the non-resident register (RNI) at a municipal RNI desk for a shorter stay: any of the 19 desks with a European passport, only Breda or Venlo with another passport.
- I am an international with a residence permit. Can I do the ID check?
- No. The ID check reads the chip of a Dutch passport, identity card or driving licence; a foreign passport, a Dutch residence document or a foreign ID card is not accepted. Activate the app by SMS instead, and if an organisation requires the ID check, ask it for an alternative. A Dutch driving licence, for example after exchanging a foreign one, does work.
- How long does it take?
- The letter with the activation code arrives within 5 working days at your registered address; from abroad you get a desk code at once and then need an appointment for a video call or a desk. Activate within 21 days.
- I am only here for a few months. What then?
- Register as a non-resident (RNI) to get a BSN, then apply the way people abroad do: desk code by SMS and email, activation code at a DigiD desk in the Netherlands such as Schiphol or The Hague.
- I forgot my password.
- Before activation: apply again. After activation: recover it through the DigiD app, by email and SMS if both are added to your account, or by letter. A username cannot be changed and the helpdesk will not tell you yours.
- Does my DigiD expire?
- It lapses if you do not use it for 3 years; then you apply again. Moving abroad does not end it.
- Can my partner use my DigiD?
- No, it is personal. Use authorisation (machtigen): your partner gets their own login to act for you, and you can withdraw it.
Good to know
- Use the activation code from the letter (it starts with A); codes by email start with E and SMS codes are 6 digits. After 3 wrong entries the application is stopped and you apply again.
- No SMS arriving abroad: choose 'No code received?' and have the code read out by a voice call.
- The app works on a computer too, but the ID check and biometrics only on a phone or tablet.
- There is no legal duty to have a DigiD, but without one most government matters cannot be done online.