petitefrancaise

My son will be studying full time in the Netherlands from August 2017. Any recommendations for a cheap, no charges bank account?
I'm thinking it's probably not possible to open an account until he has arrived and fully registered with the university? It would be good to do something in advance if at all possible so that we can transfer money to him.

morpeth

Maybe easiest way is to get a prepaid card from USA ( preferably from UK) , or even debit card from a savings account. Then he can simply withdraw funds there to start.

calman014

If he is studying full time in NL he will need an NL Bank Account. The University will provide him with all the necessary info he needs. Several banks have student arrangements.

SushiFan

Several Dutch banks provide web pages in English to get you started. For example ING and ABN-AMRO:
https://www.ing.nl/particulier/english/index.html
https://www.abnamro.nl/en/personal/i...als/index.html
Your son will have to visit a bank's branch office to open an account as they need to verify his ID.

Pulaski

Most, if not all, prepaid cards (I am assuming you mean "visa gift card" or similar) issued in the US are not valid for withdrawals outside the US.

morpeth

Actually I was thinking of a prepaid card from a bank, or worst case one on arrival.

Pulaski

Still not clear what you mean by that - people use "prepaid card" to mean two different things - both are issued by a bank (i) a prepaid credit card, where it works like a credit card but you can only spend what you have already paid in to the accounts, OR (ii) a visa gift card - it is loaded up and then funds are available to spend; some can be reloaded.

Type (ii) cards bought in the US generally won't work outside the US

morpeth

You are correct , I us ether term prepaid for both types of cards. I wasn't thinking of gift cars, though I did assume the Western Union card would work outside of USA.

petitefrancaise

thanks peeps. It seems that the university will indeed help him to open a bank account as part of the international orientation.

Now to figure out healthcare for a boy with celiac disease. AON as recommended by the university won't cover anything to do with it. Not that he has any issues but it is a slightly scary thing to send him away with a huge hole in the coverage.

Red_Wine_Fairy

AHAHAHHA

ahhhahhahaa

hhahahhaha


*cough*


Welcome to the Netherlands.


Ok ok, serious now because it involves your child (most basic bank accounts charge around Eur 7-10 per quarter, ''value added' accounts even more).

1) Netherlands uses PIN. For online, they use iDeal. The (world) standard 16 digit credit/debit cards aren't exactly favoured here (if you do, choose only Visa or Mastercard. Places that accept Amex can be counted on one hand). A Dutch bank account with a pin card (debit) is best, if he doesn't want to be caught short at the supermarket, public transport, etc.

2) Your son cannot be refused basic Dutch health insurance (of which AON is not one). He can take a basic dutch policy, then claim via the tax office a rebate each month. Very rough example: €100 per month policy, €85ish per month back. There is (this year) a standard own pay of €385; once this is passed, nothing other than your regular monthly installments are due: the gov't takes care of any further bills directly with the insurer. There are lots of policies aimed at (young, fit, healthy) students, with small print that says their lower cost means they have a €895 own pay - don't fall for that with a pre-existing condition. Google translate can help you find a policy (independer, kiesbeter, etc) and will help you with the online rebate (zorgtoeslag) once he's legally registered here at a Dutch address (this cannot be done in advance). Alternatively, his international student office at Uni, or perhaps a buddy (if he has one) will be able to help him. Best of Luck!

calman014

A bit more explanation: Dutch Health Insurance companies cannot exclude your son on the basis of a pre-existing condition. This is because health insurance in NL is compulsory.
Whichever company you choose, you will have an 'own risk' payment of € 385,- (minimum) per year, meaning you have to fork out the first € 385,- for medicines or treatments not covered in the "BASIC" insurance package. A visit to the doctor is covered for example, but medicines may or may not be covered. Biggest company is CZ, (cz.nl) with Independer (independer.nl) being a kind of online comparison site. You can "top up" your coverage with supplemental insurances for dental etc..best to get some assistance from a knowledgable friend/colleague once in NL and established. Most companies will have no problems in helping you in English. Basic cover will cost about €90 - 95 per month with a good company. By increasing your "own risk" you could reduce the monthly premiums a bit. In your son's case I would just take basic cover and the 385,- own risk at first. Contract runs until 31 Dec. each year.

petitefrancaise

Interesting...

AON is a travel insurance policy aimed at students studying abroad and it was recommended on the university website.

So, once he has his dorm allocation, we can register him as resident in Netherlands and get local insurance?

Our US health insurance won't cover him out of the country and I'm a bit concerned that if he registers as dutch resident it will have implications for his US green card.

calman014

Just like the health insurance, registration as resident is compulsory, but once again, there are special rules/regs for students. UNI should give him all the info he needs. Travel Insurance is OK for vacation, but not for a student staying a considerable while in NL.

If you look here : (https://www.tue.nl/en/education/stud...onal-students/) there is some info in English. (most Dutch Universities will have it on their websites)

MORE info here: (https://www.studyinholland.nl/practi...care-insurance)

There might be a specific reason they use AON Insurance, best to check this out asap.


Good luck!

SushiFan

@petitefrancaise you refer to your son's US green card. Does this mean that his nationality is not American? But that he holds a passport of another country? I'm not sure, but it could be that this could offer you some alternative solutions?

I agree with @calman014 that a travel insurance is not a good solution to cover medical costs in case you stay for a longer period in another country.

Red_Wine_Fairy

Yes. Once resident, he can apply for Dutch Basic Insurance. If I recall, the AON policy is a combined (emergency) health cover, contents insurance for the dorm, etc policy. It's completely private and so they can set their own conditions. In order to offer a Dutch policy, the insurance companies must abide by whatever the Dutch government tells them they must provide. For example, all visits to a family doctor are free, but not all treatments from that doctor are.

Unless your son takes a part time job here, the Dutch government won't force him to a basic policy as an international student. Dutch basic policy costs between 90-105 euros (on average) and varies: the cheapest policies either have a larger own-pay, or, they have certain other conditions such as you don't get a choice of which hospitals/health specialists treat you, or your medication can only be ordered online, not at a pharmacy (!). This is why I recommend looking at a comparison website and going for the Dutch insurance and claiming the rebate (all 18 year olds do this - some are still at highschool when they are required to start paying for it). It works out you'll pay 15-20 per month in total which is probably comparable to an AON policy anyway - but at least you will always know that he will have full coverage and the insurer can't refuse to pay for it.

This guide might be useful for you:

https://www.nuffic.nl/en/publication...-checklist.pdf