The Social Security Office (Sociale Verzekeringsbank, SVB) is the organisation that administers the national insurance schemes in the Netherlands. Information on social security can be found on the organisation’s website ‘svb.nl’. Information pages are provided in several languages.
Month: January 2018
What is the bpm?
If you buy a passenger car, motorcycle or delivery van in the Netherlands, or bring it to the Netherlands from abroad, you are liable to pay various taxes. One of these taxes is known as belasting van personenauto’s en motorrijwielen – bmp (private motor vehicle and motorcycle). If you buy a vehicle from a main dealer or importer, then bmp will usually already have been included in the purchase price for the vehicle.
If you bring your own vehicle to the Netherlands (importing it), you will be required to make a declaration and pay tax which is calculated on the value of the vehicle, its CO2 efficiency rating and the type of fuel that it uses. You may also be liable to pay customs duty and BTW (VAT), depending on how long you have owned the vehicle. You can gain an exemption from paying the bpm if you have lived in another country for at least one year and can prove that you have had the car in your possession for at least six months prior to moving to the Netherlands.
Please note that if you import your own vehicle, you cannot sell it within twelve months from the date of registration. If you do so, you will have to pay the tax which was exempted at the time you imported this car.
Do I need to pay taxes if I bring my own vehicle to the Netherlands?
If you are not a Dutch resident, you may use your car, motorcycle, caravan or trailer in the Netherlands for up to three months without paying tax. If you want to use your car, motorcycle, caravan or trailer in the Netherlands for longer than three months, you must register your vehicle with the RDW (Dutch Road Transport Directorate) and submit a private motor vehicle and a bpm motorcycle tax declaration. Depending on your circumstances, you may be liable to pay belasting van personenauto’s en motorrijwielen – bpm (private motor vehicle and motorcycle tax) and its CO2 emissions efficiency.
Who can marry in the Netherlands?
Anyone who has Dutch nationality can get married in the Netherlands, regardless of whether they live here and regardless of their partner’s nationality.
Two foreign nationals may marry in the Netherlands if one of them legally resides in the Netherlands. To prevent marriages of convenience, non-Dutch nationals who wish to marry or enter into a registered partnership must either have a permanent residence permit or obtain a statement from the Dutch police service for foreigners (vreemdelingenpolitie) regarding their status under the Aliens Act.
Couples of the same gender are also allowed to marry in the Netherlands.
The Dutch government’s website on marrying a foreigner in the Netherlands gives a good overview of the conditions that apply to various situations where two people want to marry under Dutch law.
What is the Dutch law on property when you marry or enter a registered partnership??
Unless stipulated otherwise with a prenuptial agreement, marriage or registered partnership automatically takes place in ‘limited community of property’ . Only the assets and debts that were jointly owned by both partners before the marriage or registered partnership and future assets and debts fall into the community of property. Assets that were solely yours before the marriage or registered partnership, will remain solely yours.
Inheritances and gifts you received before and during the marriage or registered partnership will remain solely yours, unless the donor has decided otherwise or the deceased person has decided differently in his will.
This must be drafted by a notary and entered in a matrimonial property register at the municipality where the marriage notice or notice about registered partnership is placed. It is also possible to make a postnuptial agreement during the marriage or registered partnership.
What is the difference between marriage and registered partnership?
Marriage and registered partnership are both relationships formalised by law. The most important differences between the two kinds of arrangements have been eliminated. What remains is primarily the absence of a religious ceremony in the case of a registered partnership, and the fact that a registered partnership and its legal consequences may not always be accepted in other countries. Furthermore, how to dissolve a marriage and a registered partnership differs in that a registered partnership can be ended without the involvement of the courts if you have no children under the age of 18. A marriage can only be dissolved by a court.
In principle, as in marriage, all possessions and debts are generally shared jointly in the registered partnership, but different arrangements can be made by instructing a notary to draw up a pre-partnership agreement, similar to a prenuptial one.
What are the requirements to get married in the Netherlands?
The documents needed may vary depending on nationality, previous marriages and residence status in the Netherlands. It is advisable to find out well in advance what documents you need and whether they meet the requirements.
Usually you need to bring the following documents:
- A birth certificate
- Proof of identity, e.g. passport
- A marriage certificate in the case of a previous marriage, a divorce decree in the case of a previous divorce or a death certificate in the case of being widowed
- Completed witness forms for two to four witnesses
- A certificate of no impediment to marriage or a certificate of civil status proving you are not married elsewhere. This is available from your respective Consulate General or you may have to apply for the certificate in the last place you lived abroad. In most cases you will need to have the document legalised to make it legally valid in the Netherlands. Note: A certificate of no impediment to marriage is issued after a notice of marriage has been displayed at your Consulate General for 21 days and if no objection has been made about the proposed marriage. It is issued in Dutch.
Documents from abroad that are not written in Dutch, French, German or English must be translated into Dutch by a sworn translator in the Netherlands. Furthermore, documents from certain countries must be legalised or provided with an ‘apostille’ stamp. More information about this is available on the Dutch government’s website:https://www.government.nl/topics/marriage-cohabitation-agreement-civil-partnership
My partner and I are contemplating, registering our partnership. Can you please tell me how to go about with this and if there are any costs involved?
The registered partnership provides almost the same rights and responsibilities as marriage and they both have similar steps.
If you plan to register your partnership, you first need to inform the gemeente (municipality) of the city of residence of one of the partners involved. This is called ondertrouw (notice of intent to marry). You need to do this at least two weeks before the intended date of the partnership registration which must take place within one year of submitting the notice. If the one-year period expires, then you need to resubmit another notice of intent to marry.
The documents needed may vary depending on nationality, previous marriages and residence status in the Netherlands. It is advisable to find out well in advance what documents you need to meet the requirements by contacting your local municipality. Required documents for both partners are similar to the documents requested for the marriage.
My partner and I would like to have a religious marriage. What are the steps involved?
In the Netherlands, marriages may only be blessed by religious institutions after the civil marriage has taken place. It is up to the institutions to bless or solemnise the marriage. They are not obliged to do so. It is advisable to check with the religious institution of your choice.
Unlike a marriage, a registered partnership may not be blessed in a religious institution.
What is the applicable law in a divorce proceeding between spouses of different nationalities?
For every divorce element, different rulings determine which law is applicable. The most important divorce elements are: the divorce itself , child and spousal support, division of assets and property, children (parental authority, access rights) and pension. These rules are found in European Union regulations, conventions and the Dutch Civil Law. In most regulations, there are possibilities to opt for a certain law (for example on the divorce itself or the matrimonial regime), so be sure to get solid advice from a competent lawyer on this matter. Even if you share the same nationality, an international divorce will most likely incorporate aspects that may be subject to different national laws.
Sometimes filing a divorce in the Netherlands will suit you best; in other cases filing it abroad might be a better option.
If your partner has already filed for a divorce in any country, you cannot file for divorce anywhere else.
If you decide to file for divorce in the Netherlands, make sure that it will be recognized in your home country.
What is the jurisdiction of the Dutch Court in case of a divorce?
For two Dutch nationals, it is always possible to divorce in the Netherlands.
The Dutch Court has international competence when the two spouses live in the Netherlands, regardless of their nationality.
If only one of the spouses lives in the Netherlands and they don’t have a common Dutch nationality, the Dutch court is authorised as well, but in some cases it is necessary that one of the spouses has lived here at least one year. With ‘live’ is meant habitual residence. Only being registered in the Netherlands is insufficient to file for a divorce.
Once the Dutch Court is authorised regarding the divorce itself, the Dutch Court is also authorised regarding other divorce elements (assets, alimony, pension, etc.), except when it comes to children. Only when the children ‘live’ in the Netherlands does the Dutch Court have international competence. If not, the Dutch Court cannot make decisions about parental authority, access rights, etc.
What do we need to do to legally get divorced?
In the Netherlands, all cases of echtscheiding (divorce) have to be granted by the court. Since only a lawyer has the authority to file a petition for divorce with the court, the first thing that you can do is to seek legal advice from a good divorce lawyer or mediator.
According to the Dutch law, there is just one ground for divorce: irreparable breakdown of the marriage. The marriage can be said to have irreparably broken down if continuing to live together has become unbearable and there is no prospect of a restoration of marital relations. The judge is not interested in the question of blame at all. The behaviour that has led to the divorce has no influence on the decision as to how the assets should be split or how much alimony should be paid.
The divorce proceedings may be instituted by both spouses jointly (a joint petition) or by just one of them (a unilateral petition), and a divorce petition may be filed at any time after marriage: there is no requirement for the parties to have been married for a certain number of years or to have lived separately for a certain number of years.
If the divorce is by mutual request, is uncontested it is not necessary for you to go to court physically. The divorce settlement can be drawn up by a lawyer or a mediator, signed by both partners and sent to the court for authorisation via a lawyer, which is almost always given if both partners have signed the agreement. If you have children younger than 18 years, a parenting plan is a requirement. Furthermore, children from the age of 12 years have the right to be heard by the court. So even if you have a divorce with a mutual request and it is not necessary for you to go the court, children of 12 years and older will receive an invitation from the court to be heard.
If only one of you wishes to end the relationship, or you are not agreeing on topics regarding your divorce, there is a great chance that you have to go to court physically.
The divorce comes into effect when the court ruling has been entered in the Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages of your municipality by either you or your lawyer. This has to be done six months after the court ruling, it is not open for appeal anymore.
