Hi, I literally just made my first Reddit account ever just to post this question- I have no idea if I'm doing this right haha. I'm an American citizen in my late 30s who works freelance/for myself. I'm looking into the DAFT visa for the Netherlands and plan to start this process within the next month or so. I am sending in my birth certificate soon to get it apostilled, which is one requirement when applying, and am planning everything else. Once I have all of the paperwork I need, I will be booking a flight, and starting this process once I land.

If anyone on here has already been granted the DAFT visa, can you help me understand how one secures an apartment if they do not have a visa/legal authorization to rent an apartment just yet? It sounds like they require you to show proof of an apartment lease while applying for the DAFT visa, but as far as I know you need legal residency to be able to apply for one. I'd love to hear others experiences of this. My goal is to gather as much information as I can prior to flying over there so that once I am there, I can get things done in a relatively smooth manner. Thank you in advance :)