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Leaving the Netherlands takes almost as much paperwork as arriving. And the mistakes cost more, because you only find out about them after you've gone. For example: health insurance you keep paying for, government money you have to pay back, a tax refund you never asked for, or years of state pension you didn't know you were missing. It all starts with one step: telling your town or city that you are leaving. This is called deregistering. This checklist explains, from the start, when and how to deregister, and everything else to arrange before and after you leave.
The idea in simple words
When you arrived, you told the Dutch government where you live. When you leave, you have to tell them you're gone. That's step one.
But not every organisation hears it from the government. You also have to tell your landlord, health insurer, energy company, the tax office and others yourself, and stop the contracts and payments you no longer need.
Follow the list below, and keep proof of everything.
The most important facts
- Deregister if you will spend more than 8 months of the next 12 abroad. You can do it from 5 days before you leave until the day you leave.
- Your Burgerservicenummer: your personal Dutch ID number. stays valid. Your details move to the register for people who don't live here (Registratie Niet-Ingezetenen: the Dutch register for people who don't live in the Netherlands but still have a link to it, such as Dutch income or a pension.), and DigiD keeps working.
- Cancel your health insurance after you deregister, unless you keep working in the Netherlands.
- Stop your allowances (money from the government) and report that you are leaving in Mijn toeslagen.
- Fill in an M form (the tax return for the year you leave). Many people get money back.
- State pension: you stop building up the Dutch state pension (Algemene Ouderdomswet: the Dutch state pension. You build up 2% of it for each year you live or work here.) when you leave. You can continue by choice if you apply within 1 year.
Your timeline
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 2 to 3 months before | Tell your employer you are leaving your job, and, if needed, your children's school or daycare. Decide what happens to your car. Look into your pension and residence permit questions. |
| 1 to 2 months before | Tell your landlord you are leaving. Cancel or move energy, internet, phone and insurance. Book movers. Arrange for your post to be sent on. |
| The last week | Deregister with your The local government of your town or city. In Dutch: gemeente. (from 5 days before). Write down the final meter numbers. Hand over the keys, and do the final check of your rental home with the landlord. |
| After you leave | Cancel your health insurance with your proof of deregistration. Stop allowances. Apply for voluntary AOW within 1 year. Fill in your M form the next year. |
Deregistering with your municipality
Everyone who lives in the Netherlands is in the population register (Basisregistratie Personen: the Dutch population register.). You must deregister if you will live abroad for more than 8 months in a 12-month period. The 8 months don't have to be in one go. This counts whether you are leaving for good, or for a long work trip.
- When: from 5 days before you leave, up to and including the day you leave. Weekends and public holidays count.
- How: each municipality has its own way. Many let you do it online with DigiD, or by post. If not every family member is leaving with you, you usually have to go in person.
- What you need: your ID, the date you leave, and your new address abroad, if you know it.
- Proof: ask for an international proof of deregistration (bewijs van uitschrijving). Some countries ask for it when you register there, and Dutch organisations, such as your health insurer, will ask for proof too.
After you deregister, your details move to the RNI. Your BSN stays valid. You need it for your last tax return, a pension, or any Dutch income later. If you just leave without deregistering, the municipality can deregister you after checking. But until then, you still have to pay local taxes, and organisations will think you still live here.
Your rental home
If you rent with a contract that has no end date, you normally have to give one month's notice, if you pay rent every month. Give notice in writing, and check your contract for the exact date. Book the final check of the home (eindinspectie) with your landlord, and take photos of the home's condition. Give your landlord a foreign bank account for your Money you gave the landlord at the start, as a safety. You get it back when you move out, minus the cost of any damage or unpaid rent., and ask when they will pay it back. If you own your home and want to rent it out after you leave, ask your mortgage bank for permission first.
Health insurance
Dutch basic health insurance is linked to living or working in the Netherlands. Once you no longer live here, you are usually not allowed to keep it, and you must cancel it. Send your insurer your proof of deregistration as soon as you have it. Most insurers then end the policy from the day you left. Do it quickly: if you wait months, getting your money back can be hard.
The exception: if you keep working in the Netherlands while you live abroad (for example, you cross the border every day for work), you usually stay insured here. Make sure your new country's insurance starts on the day the Dutch one ends. Read more in our guide to health insurance in the Netherlands.
Tax: your final Dutch tax return
- The M form: for the year you leave, you fill in a special tax return called the M form. It covers the part of the year you lived here. It's due by 1 July of the next year, unless your letter from the tax office says something else. Because you only worked part of the year, there's a good chance you'll get money back.
- Monthly tax payments or refunds: if you get money back from the tax office every month (or pay every month), for example for The interest you pay on your home loan. You can take it off your taxable income, so you pay less tax., ask the tax office to stop or change it from the month you leave.
- Your last payslip: keep your last payslip and the yearly statement (jaaropgaaf) your employer sends early the next year. You need them for the M form.
- The 30% ruling (a tax benefit for some expats) ends when your Dutch job ends. Your employer handles this on your last payslip.
- Pensions and owning a big part of a company: if you saved for a pension with a tax discount, or own 5% or more of a company, the tax office may send you a "just in case" tax bill (conserverende aanslag) when you leave. You don't have to pay it straight away. It's only collected if you later do something like taking out your pension money early.
- Income or property you keep here: if you keep Dutch rent income, a Dutch home or a Dutch salary, you may keep filling in Dutch tax returns as a non-resident taxpayer. See our guide to resident and non-resident taxpayers.
Allowances and child benefit
Healthcare allowance, rent allowance, childcare allowance and the child budget all stop when you move abroad. These are payments from the government to help with costs. Report the change in Your personal online page for allowances on the tax office website. You log in with DigiD. with DigiD within 4 weeks, so you don't get money you no longer have a right to. After the year ends, you get a final decision. So give the tax office your foreign bank account and address, for any money back or any bill.
Child benefit (kinderbijslag) from the Sociale Verzekeringsbank: the Dutch government office that pays child benefit and the state pension. usually stops too. If you move to another EU country and one parent keeps working in the Netherlands, you may still get it. Tell the SVB about your move either way.
Pension and social security
You build up 2% of the Dutch state pension (AOW) for each year you live or work in the Netherlands. When you leave and stop working here, that stops, which leaves a gap in your AOW. Two things to know:
- Voluntary AOW insurance: you can keep building up AOW by paying for it yourself. You must apply to the SVB before you leave, or within 1 year. And you must have been insured in the Netherlands in the year before you leave. You can stay insured for up to 10 years. The price depends on your income, so check if it's worth it, especially if you will build up a state pension in your new country. Our pension guide explains more.
- Your pension from work stays with your Dutch pension fund. You usually can't take it out as cash, and moving it abroad is only possible in a few cases. Give the fund your new address, and check what you have saved on mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl with DigiD.
If you don't have a job when you leave and you get Dutch unemployment benefit (Werkloosheidswet: money from the UWV for a while after you lose your job.), you can sometimes take it with you to another EU country for up to 3 months while you look for work there. You need to arrange this with the The Dutch government office for unemployment and sickness benefits. before you go.
Your residence permit
If you are not a citizen of the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, your The document that allows you to live in the Netherlands if you are not from the EU. is linked to living here. When you deregister, the municipality tells the Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst: the Dutch immigration office., and in most cases your permit ends. A permanent residence permit can also be taken away if you move your main home abroad. If you think you might come back, check with the IND before you leave. Some permits can be kept during a temporary stay abroad. But leaving for good can mean starting again from zero.
Your car
- Taking it with you: have the export registered with the Rijksdienst voor het Wegverkeer: the Dutch government office for vehicles., so the Dutch registration ends. Your road tax (MRB) stops then, and you can cancel your Dutch car insurance. Register the car in your new country before its deadline.
- Selling it: move the registration to the buyer at a post office or RDW desk on the day you sell it, and keep the proof.
If you brought the car in tax-free when you arrived, check the rules first: selling or lending it within 12 months of that tax-free import can mean you still owe A one-time Dutch car tax, paid when a car is first registered in the Netherlands. (car tax). Our guide to expats and cars in the Netherlands explains more about registration and insurance.
Money, DigiD and post
- Keep a Dutch bank account open for a few months, if your bank allows it. You'll need it to receive your deposit, your last salary and tax refunds. Some Dutch banks close accounts of people who no longer live in the EU, or charge them extra. So ask first, and give the bank your new address.
- Keep your DigiD. You need it for your M form, Mijn toeslagen and your pension overview. Set up the DigiD app before you leave. See what DigiD is and how to use it.
- Have your post sent on. PostNL (the Dutch post office) can send your post to an address abroad, for a fee. Also switch on email alerts in The Dutch government's online mailbox. If you switch it on, government letters arrive there digitally., so you don't miss letters from the government.
- Student loan: if you owe money to The Dutch government office for student loans and grants. for a student loan, give DUO your new address and keep paying it back from abroad.
Bills, contracts and subscriptions
- Energy and water: tell your companies the date you move, and give them the final meter numbers. Moving abroad usually lets you end a fixed-term contract early without paying a penalty.
- Internet and phone: many companies let you cancel without a penalty when you move abroad, if you send proof of deregistration.
- Local taxes: many municipalities pay back part of the waste tax for the months after you leave. See our guide to local taxes.
- Other insurance: cancel your home contents and liability insurance from the day you move out. Your car insurance stops once the car is exported or sold.
- Gym, streaming, newspaper, public transport card: cancel subscriptions. If you have a personal The Dutch card for public transport. Your money left on a personal card can be paid back., ask for the money left on it back.
Leaving the country doesn't mean leaving every system
Dutch organisations don't all hear from each other that you have left. The municipality tells some government offices about your deregistration. But your health insurer, energy company, landlord, bank, pension fund and the allowances office (Dienst Toeslagen) often need to hear it from you. Go through this list, and keep a folder with your proof of deregistration, your last payslip, and the letters cancelling your contracts.
Your leaving the Netherlands checklist
- Tell your landlord, employer, school and daycare that you are leaving.
- Decide what to do with your car, and register the export or the sale.
- Cancel energy, internet, phone, insurance and subscriptions.
- Deregister with your municipality, from 5 days before you leave.
- Cancel your health insurance with your proof of deregistration.
- Report that you are leaving in Mijn toeslagen, and tell the SVB.
- Decide about voluntary AOW insurance within 1 year.
- Keep DigiD and a bank account, and fill in your M form the next year.
Official sources and useful links
- Rijksoverheid: deregistering for a long stay abroad (Dutch)
- Netherlands Worldwide: how to deregister from the BRP (Dutch)
- Belastingdienst: the M tax return
- Belastingdienst: national insurance when you leave the country (Dutch)
- Netherlands Worldwide: voluntary AOW insurance (Dutch)
This is general information. What applies to you depends on where you move to, your nationality, your job and your pension. For pensions and tax in your new country, talk to an adviser who knows both countries' systems.
