If you own an iPhone, you probably still need to change the app store from your country of origin to Dutch after moving to the Netherlands. However, you may have noticed that some of the Dutch apps, like Buienradar (pretty essential if you live in the Netherlands) and Tikkie (maybe even more critical!), are only available in the Dutch app store and therefore can’t be downloaded in other countries than the Netherlands.
To download these apps, you need to change the app store (temporarily). There are two possibilities:
- Change your apple id region to the Netherlands to gain access to the Dutch app store. But be aware that you might not be able to update apps, which are only available in the app store of your origin country. Also, the possibility of changing the Apple ID region is limited to once every three months.
- Create an additional Apple ID with another email address and set the region to the Netherlands. Now you can (temporarily) link your iPhone with your new Dutch Apple ID and download all essential apps.
TIP: To create a Dutch Apple ID, you need to provide a Dutch payment method which you might still need to get. The solution is to buy an iTunes top-up card in the supermarket and use this as a payment method when changing the country of your app store.
TIP: By the way, to use Tikkie, you need a Dutch IBAN number. You can open expat-friendly accounts with ABN Amro and ING. You can find more information here.
The same applies to Android phones. You won’t be able to download Tikkie or Buienradar on an Android phone if your Gmail account is assigned to another country. If you don’t want to switch the country of your current Gmail account, you can create a second Gmail account and register your phone anew.
Do you still need a Dutch phone number? We created a list of all Dutch phone providers and figured out the best deals for you.
Was this post useful to you? Feel free to share this information with those who might find it beneficial. Here’s the link to this item.
