Vaccinations in Netherlands: Expat Guide

This guide is for parents who want to understand where the Dutch programme starts, for adults wondering whether they need anything updated, and for families planning travel. It is general information, not medical advice. Ask your GP about your own situation.

Vaccination in the Netherlands is voluntary. Understanding how the system works, and what you need to arrange yourself, helps you manage your family’s health from the start.

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The Dutch National Vaccination Programme (Rijksvaccinatieprogramma)

The Rijksvaccinatieprogramma (RVP) protects children against serious infectious diseases (rijksvaccinatieprogramma.nl). It is run by the RIVM (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) together with the Ministry of Health. The Netherlands vaccinates against 14 infectious diseases.

According to the RIVM, most vaccinations offered by the government, such as the Rijksvaccinatieprogramma and the flu shot, are free (rivm.nl). Vaccinations are given by the youth health service (jeugdgezondheidszorg, JGZ).

Schedule Overview

This is the schedule published on rijksvaccinatieprogramma.nl (page updated 8 September 2026). The schedule depends on the year of birth, so check the page for your child’s birth year.

Notes from the RIVM page: babies born from October to March get the RS shot within 2 weeks of birth, and babies born from April to September get it in September or October. The DKTP-Hib-HepB shot at 6-9 weeks is only given if the mother was not vaccinated against whooping cough during pregnancy, and in special situations. The youth doctor discusses this with you.

From 1 September 2026 a different HPV vaccine is used (rijksvaccinatieprogramma.nl).

Is My Child Enrolled?

Ask the youth health service (JGZ) in your municipality how your child is invited. If your child has had vaccinations abroad, bring the vaccination record to the first appointment. The JGZ assesses which vaccinations your child still needs.

Vaccinations for Expat Adults

The national programme is for children. For adults, the RIVM lists several vaccinations that are not free but that you can choose to have, called “vaccinations on request” (vaccinaties op eigen verzoek): for example shingles, chickenpox, hepatitis B, adult whooping cough, pneumococcal, RS and HPV outside the programme (rivm.nl). Ask your GP what is advisable for your age and health.

Flu Shot

GPs and institutional doctors invite people aged 60 and over, and people with certain conditions such as diabetes, heart, lung or kidney disease or a lowered resistance, for a free flu shot every autumn (rivm.nl/griepprik).

TB Testing

For some nationalities the IND requires a tuberculosis (TB) test as part of the residence procedure. IND form 7644 lists the nationalities that do not have to take the test. Check the current list with the IND.

Check Your Own Record

If you do not know your vaccination history, bring whatever records you have to your GP and ask what is missing.

Travel Vaccinations

Travel vaccinations are not part of the national programme. For personal travel advice, the LCR (Landelijk Coördinatiecentrum Reizigersadvisering) recommends an appointment at a travel advice and vaccination clinic, and offers a search tool for vaccination addresses and country-by-country advice at lcr.nl.

Where to Get Travel Vaccinations in the Netherlands

• Travel advice and vaccination clinics: use the vaccination-address search at lcr.nl.
• Your GP, the GGD or pharmacies: some offer certain travel vaccines. Call ahead to check which ones.
• Yellow fever: this vaccine and its international certificate can only be given at authorised centres. Ask the clinic.

Cost and Insurance

Prices differ by clinic, vaccine and number of doses, so ask the clinic for a quote before you book. Travel vaccines are not part of the Rijksvaccinatieprogramma. Whether your insurer pays for them depends on your policy: check the conditions of your basic and supplementary insurance, or ask your insurer. See our Dutch health insurance guide for how supplementary policies work.

If you are on international health insurance rather than Dutch basic insurance, check the preventive care provisions in your policy.

HPV Vaccination

HPV vaccination is given in the year a child turns 10 as part of the programme: 2 doses, half a year apart. It protects against several types of cancer caused by HPV, in women and men (rijksvaccinatieprogramma.nl). If your child is older than the standard age or missed the invitation, ask the JGZ or your GP what is possible. The RIVM also lists HPV vaccination outside the programme as a vaccination on request, which you pay for yourself.

Whooping Cough Vaccination in Pregnancy

Pregnant women can have the whooping cough shot (22-week shot, “22 wekenprik”) from week 22 of pregnancy until delivery. It is the combined DKT vaccine, which also protects against diphtheria and tetanus, and the baby is protected for the first 3 months after birth (rijksvaccinatieprogramma.nl). If your midwife or gynaecologist has told you about it, you can book an appointment with the youth health service (JGZ) yourself, and you need your BSN at hand. The programme also mentions the flu shot during pregnancy. Ask your midwife or GP.

For general guidance on pregnancy care, see our pregnancy and maternity care guide.

School and Childcare

Schools cannot refuse unvaccinated children because of compulsory education (leerplicht), which applies to children from 5 up to and including 16. Childcare organisations may refuse unvaccinated children only under strict conditions. They may not discriminate, and they first have to look at less far-reaching measures (Rijksoverheid, “Mag een kinderopvang of school niet-gevaccineerde kinderen weigeren?”). Check the policy of your childcare provider when you register.

For help choosing schools, see our moving to the Netherlands with kids guide and international schools guide.

Arrival Order: Timing Your Health Setup

1. Register at the municipality to get your BSN. See our BSN registration guide.
2. Register with a GP (huisarts). See our guide to finding an English-speaking doctor in the Netherlands.
3. Arrange Dutch health insurance. See our Dutch health insurance guide.
4. Bring vaccination records for yourself and your children, and ask your GP or the JGZ what is missing.

For the full arrival checklist, see our first 30 days in the Netherlands guide.

Vaccination Records

Records come in different formats. If yours are in another language, bring them anyway: your GP or the JGZ can go through them with you. If you have no records, ask your GP whether a blood test to check immunity for specific diseases makes sense. Keep your own copies of all certificates, particularly international ones such as the yellow fever certificate.

For the system as a whole, see the Dutch healthcare system explained guide and our guide to Dutch healthcare in English.