Applying for a DigiD abroad
February 24 2020
The question has come up several times about not having the DigiD and how it can be reactivated. Below is the course of action that may lead to a result.
If you do not live in the Netherlands but do have Dutch nationality, you can still apply for a DigiD. There are two options:
You are a customer of the Social Insurance Bank (SVB) because you receive an AOW benefit:
- Go to the website www.svb.nl.
- Type in the search box: request digid from abroad.
- Click on the magnifying glass.
- In the Search results, click on You live outside the Netherlands and want to apply for a DigiD.
- Read the information before applying.
- Click Request your DigiD.
- Provide all requested personal data.
- If all details have been approved, you will automatically be redirected to the DigiD website.
- Follow the instructions in Username and Password in this article and beyond.
If you are not a customer of the Social Insurance Bank (SVB) who receives an AOW benefit:
- Read here how to apply for DigiD >>
To recover
It sometimes happens that you no longer remember your username or password for DigiD. In that case you can request a new username or password. If you have lost your username, you must request your DigiD again.
- Go to www.digid.nl
- Click Contact.
- Click on I forgot my password or I forgot my username.
Applying for DigiD is not difficult if you live abroad, but the DigiD app, and making it work, or receiving SMS verification, that really causes problems. I've been working on it for 7 months now and I keep getting sent from pillar to post.
I arranged it for someone in Thailand: applied for a new Digid and then you can select the SMS control and therefore add it when applying for your new Digid. Forget the app. Handy if you live in Bangkok because you have to go to the embassy twice (by appointment) to collect your new DigiD and later for the letter with activation code for the SMS check.
I do have digid, but without SMS verification or ID check. Works fine at the moment, but will it cause problems later? Or can I leave this as it is?
Leave it as it is now!
(Misery comes soon enough!)
DigiD is a miserable piece of software and is comparable to the other ICT misery that the Dutch government has tried to develop. What do you think of the last one (NU.NL). The software that has been tried to develop for communication for the military organization since 1987(!) has failed!
Why do Dutch pension funds apply this without consulting the clients? The app they are proposing is part of the Google Android empire that really wants your data.
To activate the app you will receive a code by letter that forces you to go to the local embassy for a while. For people here to Bangkok.
And to receive an SMS code you must have a Dutch telephone number?
Worthless and I call that Digital Dictatorship and the government of course knows everything about you!
I would say: because of this malfunctioning software, or because you no longer understand it, demand paper information because you are entitled to the INFORMATION OBLIGATION. By the way, letter mail is also the safest!
Dear Adam van Vliet,
You are absolutely right about Digid, it took me months to get in touch with Digid by phone, but that was pointless, and their advice wasn't even worth trying for so long. But you are powerless because the organizations that work with it just don't care about you no digid code no contact. And if you say I want to be informed by email or letter, you can often whistle at the post, especially often if you live in Asia. At least in the part where I live. A very poorly functioning post. Unfortunately, sad but oh so Where.
DigiD can work but has some snags.
In my case, my old Dutch phone number was still in the system, so when I wanted to install the app, the message we sent a verification text message came up. Yes, but I didn't get to see that.
Indeed, after a lot of e-mails back and forth, there finally came a call from an observant person at DigiD who, after a long story, found that old number.
He/she is not allowed and cannot change anything about it, so I could log in to my desktop and delete the number. Entering a new foreign number is not possible if you do not live in the Netherlands, because this cannot be checked.
That's where the NFC reader on your (modern) phone comes in handy. You can scan your passport or Dutch driver's license (with chip) with this reader and you can have your phone and therefore also the app checked. Now that your phone has been recognized in the system, you can also enter your foreign number at DigiD to do an SMS check.
Everything works fine after that and last week I applied for and received my pension with the help of DigiD.
Haha, no, I have no interest in DigiD. It was an attentive employee who got me on the right path.
John then you were LUCKY but normally you just don't get out,
I have been using DigiD since 2011 which I obtained through the SVB site. My pension fund recently switched to logging in with DigiD App without warning or consultation with their customers. Now all their letters are sent to me by post again. Activating the DigiD App does not work, but I got over the Message Box download and activate and that worked. Here is a link to a very good article about downloading and activating the DigiD App. Can be done through this article. https://www.gratissoftware.nu/app/digid.php I only got stuck on the phone number for SMS codes as this is not the same as my tablet, so Google how to change this.
Dear John,
So you use an NFC reader?
Would you mind telling us which one you bought?
For android or your laptop?
There are so many different ones and you as an expert by experience may be able to help us on our way.
I myself have no problems with DIGID, but you never know.
One has an old telephone number in the system and grumbles that DigiD cannot reach him, the other does not know what NFC is and asks which NFC reader he should use, and yet another only wants to be informed by mail while he also reports that in Asia you can forget about your mail? Well, then as a person you are happy that almost all stubbornness has emigrated with many!
I've also been struggling for a while to activate the DigiD app from Thailand, it finally worked.
Downloaded the app and tried to scan my passport or driver's license with the NFC reader by moving over the passport and driver's license, which didn't work. Looked up and read a lot on the internet, finally removed the app again and waited a week, reinstalled, now looked different, PIN code came up, and now got the message Ready to scan, unfortunately, it still didn't work. Searching the internet again, found that on Iphone 7 and higher the NFC reader is on by default, on an Android phone it must be deliberately switched on, I assume in Settings.
So I have an iPhone 7, but also read by chance that you have to download an update iOS 13. No sooner said than done, it didn't work 1, 2, 3 either, but after a week I succeeded.
Scan again, zero result....I think, well I'll just request a new DigiD via SVB, you will receive the activation code by post, valid for 30 days, you can hope that the post is on time.
Tried again, hey, it worked the first time this day, you will see a line filling up on the screen, hooray! Now I could log in to DigiD itself with the pin code and could now also change my telephone number, I now receive SMS messages on my Thai telephone number.
Still succeeded, it is not difficult in itself, but it is difficult, all together about 50 attempts have been made.