In this guide
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Why Leaving the Netherlands Takes Some Planning
When you deregister (uitschrijven) from your gemeente, your data moves to the Registratie Niet-Ingezetenen (RNI), and your deregistration is passed on to several government bodies, for example the Belastingdienst, your health insurer and pension funds. NederlandWereldwijd warns that it can affect your arrangements with the government, such as benefits, allowances and your AOW accrual, and advises contacting each organisation about the consequences (NederlandWereldwijd, checked 8 October 2026).
Work through the list below in order. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also publishes its own checklist for moving abroad, because many things are harder to arrange from another country.
3 Months Before Departure
Confirm Your Departure Date and Tell Your Employer
Tell your employer when you leave, and check the notice period in your contract. A clear last working day helps with the final payslip and with your tax return for the year of departure.
Review Your 30% Ruling Status
The 30% ruling applies to employment in the Netherlands, and a decision lasts a maximum of 5 years. If you come back to work in the Netherlands later, the Belastingdienst reduces the duration of a new decision by the period you previously worked or lived in the Netherlands (Belastingdienst, checked 6 October 2026). Ask your employer how your last payslips will be handled, and read our Dutch tax system guide for how the ruling interacts with emigration.
Start Pension Research
Ask your Dutch pension provider whether you can take your pension with you; there are conditions (Belastingdienst). For a transfer to another EU country, your pension provider assesses whether you meet the conditions; for a country outside the EU, it asks De Nederlandsche Bank to assess the transfer. You then receive a statement that you need if you want to apply for an exemption from tax on the transfer (Belastingdienst).
| Option | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Leave the pension where it is | The accrued pension stays with your provider; ask the provider about the payout date and your address |
| Value transfer (waardeoverdracht) | Transfer to the pension provider of your new employer, if the conditions are met |
| Cash out | Only for very small pensions: buy-out is possible if the pension is below EUR 632.63 a year (2026) and the participant agrees (Rijksoverheid) |
Contact your pension provider directly. Your annual pension overview shows the provider’s name and contact details.
Review Your Rental Contract
A tenant who ends a rental contract has to observe the notice period, which is usually 1 month before leaving and is stated in the contract; you do not have to give a reason (Rijksoverheid, checked 8 October 2026). Send your notice in writing and keep proof. Document the condition of the home with photos for the deposit return; see our guide on rental contract rights in the Netherlands.
Check Your Documents and DigiD
NederlandWereldwijd advises you to do these things before you deregister (checked 8 October 2026):
- DigiD: apply for DigiD before you deregister, because it is easier from the Netherlands. Activate the DigiD app and update your phone number before you cancel your old number.
- Passport or ID card: check that your document is valid and that your Dutch ID card works for travel to your new country. Renew it before you leave if it expires soon.
- Driving licence: check whether your Dutch licence is valid in your new country, and renew it before you leave if it expires soon.
- Visa: check whether you need a visa for your destination.
1 Month Before Departure
Give Notice on Contracts
Go through every recurring contract and give notice in writing. Check the notice period in each contract.
- Health insurance (zorgverzekering): tell your insurer your move date, preferably 2 months before you leave to avoid double costs (NederlandWereldwijd). Whether you stay insured in the Netherlands depends on your situation; ask your insurer and the CAK. Do not simply stop paying the premium.
- Energy, internet, mobile phone, gym and subscriptions: check the notice period in each contract and cancel anything with an auto-renewal. For energy, arrange a final meter reading and photograph your meters.
Allowances (Toeslagen)
If you receive toeslagen, check what applies when you live abroad (Belastingdienst/Toeslagen, checked 8 October 2026):
- Huurtoeslag: you no longer have a right to it once you live abroad; stop it in Mijn toeslagen.
- Zorgtoeslag: sometimes you can still get it abroad, for example if you keep your Dutch health insurance; if you no longer qualify, stop it in Mijn toeslagen.
- Kinderopvangtoeslag: sometimes possible abroad; if not, stop it in Mijn toeslagen.
- Kindgebonden budget: abroad only if you receive kinderbijslag from the SVB; otherwise call the BelastingTelefoon to stop it.
You do not need to report your new address to the Toeslagen yourself: give it to your gemeente before you leave and the gemeente passes it on. Stop allowances on time so that you do not have to pay anything back later.
Notify Your Bank
Contact your bank to discuss your options. Ask in writing whether you can keep your account after you deregister, on what terms, and whether the bank needs a foreign address. If you want to receive a refund or pension payments later, arrange this before you deregister.
Keep Your Wise Account for International Transfers →
For a full comparison of Dutch banks for expats, see our bank account guide.
Update Your Address With Organisations
When you deregister you can give your new address abroad to the gemeente; if you do not have one yet, you can give it later (NederlandWereldwijd). Also tell the organisations you deal with directly:
- Belastingdienst, which is critical for correspondence about your tax return (BelastingTelefoon 0800-0543)
- Your pension provider(s)
- Your bank
- UWV, if you receive a benefit from them
- SVB, if you receive child benefit or AOW
You can also select the Rijksdienst voor Identiteitsgegevens (RvIG) in the Berichtenbox of MijnOverheid and give permission for digital messages, so that you receive a yearly reminder to check or update your details in the RNI (NederlandWereldwijd).
Final Week Before Departure
Deregister at the Gemeente (Uitschrijven BRP)
If you will live abroad for more than 8 months within a year, you must deregister at your gemeente, and you do so in the last 5 days before you leave, not earlier. The 8 months do not have to be consecutive, and it does not matter whether you keep your home in the Netherlands. If you do not deregister, you can be fined (NederlandWereldwijd, checked 8 October 2026).
How you deregister differs per gemeente, so check your gemeente’s website. You must always deregister in person if not all family members (such as your partner and children) move with you.
Ask your gemeente for an international proof of deregistration, because you may need it to register abroad. You only get this proof if the date you deregister is also the date you emigrate.
Your BSN stays valid after deregistration, and your data moves to the RNI.
Health Insurance
Whether you remain insured for healthcare costs in the Netherlands after you leave depends on your situation, and nothing is cancelled automatically (Rijksoverheid, NederlandWereldwijd). Give your insurer your move date, preferably 2 months before you leave to avoid double costs. If you will live abroad with a Dutch pension or benefit, you can register with the CAK for health insurance (the buitenlandregeling): you tell your pension or benefit provider that you are moving, give your insurer your move date and then apply to the CAK; the CAK decides within at most 4 weeks (NederlandWereldwijd). If the CAK arrangement does not apply to you, take out health insurance in the country where you will live.
If you come back to live or work in the Netherlands later, the normal rule applies again: take out Dutch health insurance within 4 months of arriving and it covers you from the day you arrived (Government.nl).
Use our Health Insurance Wizard if you need to compare cover for your new location. Supplementary insurance (aanvullende verzekering) is a separate contract and has to be cancelled separately.
Final Meter Readings and Key Return
On your last day, or as close to it as possible, take final meter readings, photograph all meters with a timestamp, return the keys to your landlord and get written confirmation, and complete the handover inspection (oplevering) of the property. A signed inspection report protects your deposit.
Return Library Cards and Other Items
Return borrowed items such as library books and rented bicycles, and ask about any municipal permits you hold.
After Departure
File Your Tax Return for the Year of Emigration
For the year in which you emigrate, you file an online return for taxpayers living outside the Netherlands for part of the year, or you use the paper form M. You will usually be informed within 3 months after you file; officially the Belastingdienst has 3 years to impose the final assessment (Belastingdienst, checked 8 October 2026). Make sure the Belastingdienst has an address and bank account where it can reach you. For how Dutch income tax works, read our Dutch tax system guide.
Check Your AOW State Pension Entitlement
You build up 2% of AOW for every year you are insured for AOW. The build-up starts 50 years before your AOW age and stops when you receive AOW. If you live outside the Netherlands you usually do not build up AOW, but you may be able to insure yourself voluntarily with the SVB: you can apply from at most 2 months before you leave until 1 year after you started living or working abroad (SVB, checked 8 October 2026). The SVB pays AOW abroad too: to a SEPA country around the 24th of the month (UK: at the start or middle of the month), usually in euros (SVB).
Complete Leaving Checklist at a Glance
3 Months Before
- Confirm departure date with employer
- Ask about the 30% ruling and final payslips
- Contact your pension provider about your options
- Give notice on the rental contract (check the notice period)
- Apply for DigiD, activate the DigiD app; check ID card, passport and driving licence
1 Month Before
- Give notice on energy, internet and other contracts
- Tell your health insurer your move date (preferably 2 months before leaving)
- Stop toeslagen you no longer qualify for
- Contact your bank: keep or close account
- Update your address with the organisations you deal with
Final Week
- Deregister at your gemeente (last 5 days before leaving, if you leave for more than 8 months in a year) and ask for an international proof of deregistration
- Take final meter readings with photos
- Complete the property inspection and get written confirmation of the key return
- Return library items and rented bicycles
After Departure
- File the tax return for the year of emigration
- Check your voluntary AOW insurance options with the SVB (apply within 1 year)
- Follow up on your pension provider’s decisions
Common Mistakes Expats Make When Leaving
Stopping the premium without telling your insurer. Tell your insurer your move date and ask what applies to you.
Deregistering too early. If you will live abroad for more than 8 months, you deregister in the last 5 days before you leave, not earlier (NederlandWereldwijd).
Forgetting to stop allowances. Stop toeslagen you no longer qualify for on time, so that you do not have to pay anything back later (Belastingdienst).
Closing the bank account too early. If you expect a refund or pension payments, keep an account that can receive them, or give the payer new bank details.
Not keeping the proof of deregistration. Ask your gemeente for an international proof of deregistration; you may need it to register abroad.
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to do before leaving the Netherlands?
Key steps: deregister at your gemeente in the last 5 days before you leave if you will live abroad for more than 8 months in a year, tell your health insurer your move date (preferably 2 months before you leave) and check with the insurer and the CAK what applies to you, stop any toeslagen you no longer qualify for, check your pension options with your pension provider, and keep your DigiD working. File the tax return for the year you leave.
Do I need to file a tax return when leaving the Netherlands?
For the year in which you emigrate, you file a different return from a normal resident: an online return for taxpayers living outside the Netherlands for part of the year, or the paper form M. The Belastingdienst says it usually informs you within 3 months after you file, and has 3 years to impose the final assessment (Belastingdienst, checked 8 October 2026).
Can I keep my Dutch bank account after leaving?
That depends on the bank and the account. Ask your bank in writing, before you deregister, whether you can keep the account and on what terms. Rules differ per bank and can change.
Does my BSN stop when I deregister?
No. When you deregister, your data moves to the Registratie Niet-Ingezetenen (RNI), which is part of the BRP, and your BSN stays valid (NederlandWereldwijd, checked 8 October 2026).