How to get internet in the Netherlands as an expat (2026 guide)

As of 29 September 2026: to order home internet in the Netherlands you need a Dutch address where you actually live, a valid passport or EU ID card, a euro bank account for direct debit and an email address. Check which connections (fibre, cable or DSLInternet via het koperen telefoonnetwerk. Trager dan glasvezel en kabel.) reach your address, pick a provider and order online. Ziggo, for example, says it can connect you within 3 working days (Ziggo, English page). Telecom providers are not among the organisations the law allows to use your BSN (citizen service number, burgerservicenummer), so you do not need to wait for it (Rijksoverheid). Under EU rules a provider must accept any euro IBAN from the EU/EEA, not only a Dutch one (De Nederlandsche Bank).

You need an address, ID, a bank account and an email address. That is the whole list for most providers. The table below shows what each item is for and where expats get stuck.

On the BSN: private organisations may only use it when a specific law allows it, such as healthcare providers and banks. Telecom providers are not on that list (Rijksoverheid, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens). The Dutch data protection authority advises you to make your BSN unreadable on any copy of your ID given to an organisation that is not allowed to use it. Some expat websites still say you need a BSN for internet; in practice, what you usually need it for is opening a Dutch bank account.

Register, check your address, compare, order and plan the installation. In order:

1. Register with your municipality (gemeente). If you will stay more than 4 months you must register within 5 days of arrival; the municipality arranges your BSN (Government.nl). You don't need it for internet, but you do for a bank, health insurance and DigiD.
2. Check what reaches your address. Enter your postcode and house number on our internet comparison. You will see whether fibre (glasvezel), cable (kabel) or DSL is available and which providers can deliver.
3. Choose speed and contract length. Most households are fine with 100 to 500 Mbit/sMegabit per seconde: de eenheid voor internetsnelheid. 8 Mbit/s is 1 MB per seconde.. Our speed advice tool works it out from your household. Contracts run 1 month, 1 year or 2 years; 2 years is the legal maximum (ACM ConsuWijzer).
4. Order online. You enter your details and IBAN. For an online order you have a 14-day cooling-off period (bedenktijd).
5. Installation. If there is already an active fibre or cable socket, you usually get a modem by post and plug it in yourself. A new fibre connection may need a technician visit.

Anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. It depends mainly on whether the connection in your home is already active. Ziggo says it can connect you within 3 working days on its cable network, or at a later date you choose (Ziggo). Fibre can be quick too if the fibre box is already in your home; if a new connection has to be made, it takes longer. Median delivery times per provider, updated every night from the providers' own data, are on our delivery time page.

While you wait, a SIM-only plan with a large data bundle works as a hotspot. See getting a Dutch SIM card.

Roughly €24 to €36 a month for internet only in the first year. According to the Kiesbeter Internet Price Index (reference date 29 September 2026, n = 434, median monthly price in the first year), fibre costs €35.58, cable €34.03 and DSL €23.50. DSL is cheaper mainly because it is much slower. Watch for introductory discounts: many deals are cheaper for the first months, so compare the total over the contract period, not only the first month.

Adding TV usually costs extra. See internet and TV deals or the price trend on our price index. Which provider runs which network is explained in internet providers in the Netherlands explained.

Yes, if it is a euro account from the EU or EEA. The SEPA Regulation forbids so-called IBAN discrimination: a company that offers direct debit in euros must accept IBANs from all EU/EEA countries (De Nederlandsche Bank). If a provider's form rejects your IBAN, complain to the provider first; if that doesn't help, you can report it to De Nederlandsche Bank, which says it will tell you within three weeks whether it will investigate. A non-EU account (for example US or UK) is not covered by this rule, so you may need a Dutch or EU account first.