Month: January 2018

Who should I contact for help with moving house?

Posted on by Katerina Triantafillou

If you feel overwhelmed by all the arrangements that need to be made, you can opt to use a relocation company to assist you in this process. They can also advise you on such matters as contacting an international removal company and offering advice and help with getting settled in your new country.

Most relocation companies offer departure services, moving services and settling-in services. They can also advise whether your belongings should be transported to your new country by air, boat, rail or road.

If you want to use a removal company, you need to bear in mind that prices and services vary considerably from one company to another. It is therefore important to be clear about what services your require and to ask for written offers from at least three different companies. Some companies are more experienced than others at managing the movement of household items internationally. Long-distance shipments are sometimes expressed in terms of standard international container sizes, whereas more local moves will normally use one or more trucks.

In general, the price depends on:

  • The nature of the items being transported, volume and approximate weight.
  • The distance to be travelled.
  • The type of furniture and number of heavy or fragile items.
  • The number of staff required to conduct the move.
  • The floor on which you live or are you going to live; presence or absence of an elevator and general ease of accessing the premises.
  • The extra services that are offered (e.g. packing, unpacking, providing you with boxes and containers- most companies will provide these to your home in advance).

It is essential to make an inventory of what needs to be moved:

  • Make a list of everything that you want to move.
  • Make a list of valuable items and their worth for the removal company’s (and your own) insurance, with photographs.

The removal company will normally come to your house to estimate the volume and weight of your possessions as well as the number of boxes needed, before giving an estimate of cost. You may feel that you wish to pack some of your items yourself, and you can ask for boxes in advance to do this. However be aware that if you pack and seal the box yourself it will not be covered by the insurance of the packing company.

It is advisable to insure your inventory for the move. Removal companies often offer this insurance as part of the service, but the disadvantage can be that they might question every claim you make. Make photos of your belongings before packing, because they can be used as proof in case of damage.

What should I bear in mind when leaving the Netherlands if I have a pet?

Posted on by Katerina Triantafillou

If you are going to fly out from the Netherlands, be aware that an airline can only carry a limited amount of animals on each flight. You may need to book it in advance to make sure you are able to fly in the same flight. Check with your dierenarts (vet) that the pet has its international passport and that all vaccines are up to date. Some countries ask for a blood sample to be taken in advance in order to verify that the pet has no diseases before allowing the pet to enter the country.

Check the blog Pettravel.com for advice on travelling with your pet. Some useful information about relocating with your pet and EU regulations can be found in the following links:

europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/carry/animal-plant/index_en.htm
ec.europa.eu/food/animals/pet-movement_en

How do I sort out my tax situation?

Posted on by Katerina Triantafillou

If you decide to move to another country or repatriate back to your own country of origin, this is usually regarded by the Dutch authorities as emigration. However, there are situations in which you would not be deemed to have emigrated, at least not for tax purposes. In such situations, the Belastingdienst (Tax Office) continues to regard you as a resident of the Netherlands.

In order to determine whether your move abroad qualifies as emigration, it is important to establish your permanent country of residence. The regulations governing the status of ‘domicile’ or ‘living abroad on a temporary basis’ will help you determine whether your situation constitutes ’emigration’. More information about the regulations is available here .

It is also possible that  you will be obliged to pay tax in the Netherlands after your emigration . This will be the case if you have an ongoing income which is generated from within the Netherlands. Under these circumstances, you will be regarded as a foreign taxpayer. Examples of such income are:

  • Income from employer based in the Netherlands, e.g. if you commute from a neighbouring county to your regular place of work in the Netherlands.
  • Pension or social security benefits that you receive from the Netherlands, income from immovable property that you own in the Netherlands, e.g. renting out a property owned by yourself

If you move from the Netherlands to another country, you will be unable to file your return digitally for the tax year of your move. Instead, you will be required to use the M form. You will either have been sent this form from the Dutch tax office prior to your move; or you can download a copy from their website. It should be noted that the ‘explanatory notes’ for the M form are only available in Dutch. However, most of the information required to complete the M form can be obtained by consulting the ‘explanatory notes’ for the C form (which is available in English and can be downloaded from the website, under the ‘tax return’ subject heading): here.

As I am now leaving the Netherlands, can I get a tax rebate?

Posted on by Katerina Triantafillou

Your tax liability will be assessed for the full tax year in which you leave the country. Therefore, the tax assessment of the income that you received whilst you were resident in the Netherlands (and any ongoing income from the Netherlands) will only be made at the end of the tax year by the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax office). Depending on the information that you have provided in the M form tax return, you may be eligible for a tax rebate which will be paid to you in the following tax year. To claim a tax refund an active DigiD is necessary. Please be aware that you cannot get and/or activate a DigiD once you have deregistered in the Netherlands, unless you have Dutch nationality or the nationality of an EEA country (EU plus Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland).

The country that I am moving to requires me to provide a translation of official documents which are in Dutch (birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc.). How do I do this?

Posted on by Katerina Triantafillou

When a translation of an official document has to be submitted to official bodies, either in the Netherlands or abroad, it is often stipulated that the translation must be ‘certified’. That is that the document has been translated by a certified professional translator and that the translation is complete and accurate. In the Netherlands, translation of formal documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates or any official documents must be conducted by someone who is a “sworn” (beëdigde) translator. This is someone who has taken an oath before one of the Dutch District Courts that he/she possesses a formal qualification in translation and who meets a number of statutory requirements regarding qualifications, education and conduct.

Please note that in many countries, official documents may require some form of verification to prove their authenticity, i.e. the documents must be “legalised” though a court. In the Netherlands, there is the ‘apostille’ process, which is actually a simplified form of legalisation. An apostille which is issued in the Netherlands is recognized by all signatories to the ‘Apostille Convention’. Many countries have signed the Convention since its inception and in principle, no other formalities are required. Apostilles can be issued in Dutch, German, English, French, Spanish or Italian. For countries which are not signatories of the Convention, a formal legalisation process must be followed where a Dutch court authenticates the document. Further declarations are made by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the consulate or High Commission of the country in which the document is to be presented. Under certain circumstances, it may be worth noting that when moving to another country, if an apostille is required, it can only be given by the document’s country of origin. A Dutch document may have an apostille from Netherlands; however, a birth certificate from the US, for example, requires an apostille issued in the US.

If you require the services of a sworn translator or an office for an apostille and have difficulty finding one, please contact the ACCESS Helpdesk at helpdesk[at]access-nl.org which will provide assistance locating one in your area.

For how long does my passport need to be valid for me to be able to leave and enter another country?

Posted on by Katerina Triantafillou

The requirements for entry into a given country will vary and are determined by your citizenship. For EU citizens entry into most countries outside of the EU normally requires the holder to be in possession of a passport which is valid at least six months. If your passport expires sooner than that, you need to renew your passport before you can leave. Hence, it is advisable to check the entry requirements for the country you are going well in advance of your departure.

Will I still receive social security benefits when I leave the country?

Posted on by Katerina Triantafillou

To be eligible to receive most of the social benefits provided by the government in the Netherlands, you need to be living in the country. Hence, if you have been receiving benefits and you move abroad, in general you will lose the right to these benefits.

As a rule, everyone who lives or works in the Netherlands is covered by the Dutch national insurance scheme which is administered by the Social Security Office (Sociale Verzekeringbank – SVB). Through this scheme, you build up rights to an old age (AOW) pension and qualify for child benefits and survivor benefits.

However, if you leave the Netherlands, you will cease to be covered by the Dutch national insurance system. This will mean that:

  • You will not be able to continue to build up to a full AOW pension
  • You will not be able to claim a Dutch child benefit
  • If you pass away before your spouse, your partner may not receive any income from the National Survivor Benefits Act (ANW), or they may only get a reduced amount, depending upon your new country of residence

Here are some guidelines regarding certain benefits:

General Old Age Pensions Act (AOW)

For some countries, e.g. within the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, the level of pension that you will have built up during your stay in the Netherlands will be paid to you when you reach pensionable age. For other countries, your full pension rights may be restricted or your payment rights may be stopped altogether after your move.

Child Benefit Act (AKW)

You will cease to receive AKW payments for your children once you and your family leave the Netherlands. If you remain in the Netherlands, but your child moves to live abroad permanently, then you will also lose your AKW entitlement. This will occur when you deregister your child from the municipality. When you first arrived in the Netherlands, you were obliged to register with the Basisregistratie Personen (BRP, the municipality’s personal records database). You can change your status online by logging onto the ‘My SVB’.

Disability Insurance Act (WAO/WIA)

In general, you will lose your right to a disability benefit (WIA) when you leave the Netherlands. However, the Netherlands has treaty agreements with certain countries including those of the EU, EEA and Switzerland where you will be entitled to continue receiving a benefit.
If you receive any other social benefit, you need to contact the organisation that pays the benefit to find out whether it can be continued after you have left the Netherlands.

In all cases, you are legally obliged to inform the organisation that pays your benefit about your plan to leave the Netherlands.

National Survivor Benefits Act (ANW)

If you or your partner dies after leaving the Netherlands, the surviving spouse may be entitled to receive a partial ANW benefit

To obtain contacts and/or special information that may apply to your situation visit the SVB website

I have Dutch health insurance. Will I still be covered once I have left the Netherlands?

Posted on by Katerina Triantafillou

When you live in the Netherlands, you are in most cases required to take out a compulsory private health insurance policy with a commercial insurance provider. In addition, if you were earning an income whilst resident in the Netherlands, you also provided a contribution to the Dutch social security system for health insurance (ZVW) through your taxes. However, when you leave the Netherlands to go to live in another country, your existing Dutch insurance policy will normally no longer be valid. Some Dutch health insurance companies do provide specific health insurance products for those wishing to live abroad/emigrate. This will mean that you will need to change your health insurance policy with your provider.

You should contact your Dutch health insurance company about your move to notify them of the change (so that no further payments are made for your current policy) and to discuss the possibilities of having health insurance coverage in your new country of residence.

How can I take my pension to another country when I leave the Netherlands?

Posted on by Katerina Triantafillou

Your pension can be split into two parts:

  1. The general old age pension (AOW). If you leave the Netherland, you stop building up your AOW. You will then get a reduced AOW pension when you reach the age at which you are entitled to this benefit. At the time you are retired, you might be able to receive the AOW you built up during your stay here. However, this is only possible if you are living in a country with which the Netherlands has a treaty at the time of your retirement.  For an overview of the current regulations for several countries please look at https://www.svb.nl/en/aow-pension/claiming-an-aow-pension-if-you-live-outside-the-netherlands/you-are-going-to-live-outside-the-netherlands.
  2. The pension built up via your employer. If you leave the Netherlands, you might be able to transfer the pension you built up here to a pension fund in your new country. This is called international value transfer of your pension. It is advised to ask an expert to check if this is possible and if it is beneficial for you. He can also inform you about the steps to take.

For more information on this subject please visit the following website:

https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/en/individuals/content/i-have-built-up-a-pension-in-the-netherlands-can-i-take-my-pension-to-another-country

I would like to study or do a short course in the Netherlands. What are the possibilities if I don’t speak Dutch?

Posted on by Katerina Triantafillou

There are many opportunities in the Netherlands for you to study or do a short course in English. Nuffic has a database of about 2,000 international study programmes and courses in English ranging from short training seminars to postgraduate degrees. You can find the database on the Nuffic website here.

In addition, many masters’ programmes and higher degrees at the major universities in the Netherlands are taught in English.

I would like to do a study or a short course that is not available in English. However, my Dutch is still at a low level. What can I do?

Posted on by Katerina Triantafillou

If this study or course is really important to you, you may consider to follow an (intensive) Dutch course on the level of NT2 (Dutch as a second language). Once you have passed the exam, your Dutch should be good enough to do a study in Dutch. Please keep in mind that it may take at least a year if you need to start (almost) from scratch.

Many universities also offer special Dutch courses or even a bridge year to help you prepare for the study you want to follow. Check with the university of your choice for the options available.

I would like to study online. Is that possible in the Netherlands?

Posted on by Katerina Triantafillou

Most courses and studies require that you attend classes on a regular basis in addition to online learning. If you want to do a course which is only online, you could consider following a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC). This is an online course on university level provided by a university in the Netherlands or abroad. Many MOOCs are offered at Coursera.org. You can also choose to enrol in a study or course from an Open University abroad.