Last updated:
THE HAGUE – October 4, 2026 | The Dutch Daily
Leaving the Netherlands checklist: if you will live abroad for at least 8 months in a year, you must deregister from your municipality, at the earliest 5 days before you leave. Deregistration sets off a chain of other changes: your Dutch health insurance usually ends, allowances (toeslagen) stop or change, you usually stop building up state pension (AOW), and you file an M form for the year you move. This checklist puts every step in the right order, from three months before you go until after you arrive. Download it as a free PDF.
Key rules
- Deregister (BRP): required if you live abroad for at least 8 months in a year. Earliest 5 days before departure, at the latest on the day you leave.
- Your BSN stays valid. Your details move to the non-residents register (RNI).
- Health insurance: usually ends when you are deregistered and no longer obliged to be insured in the Netherlands.
- AOW: you build up 2% for every insured year in the 50 years before your AOW age. Apply to SVB for voluntary insurance within 1 year of leaving if you want to avoid a gap.
- Rental deposit: back within 14 days, or within 30 days if the landlord deducts costs.
- Tax: for your emigration year you file an M form (online or on paper).
Leaving the Netherlands: at a glance
- 1. Two to three months before you leave
- 2. Your rental home and deposit
- 3. Deregistering from your municipality
- 4. Health insurance
- 5. Allowances (toeslagen) and benefits
- 6. State pension (AOW) and your work pension
- 7. Tax: the M form and your emigration year
- 8. Your job and the 30% ruling
- 9. Bank, DigiD, car and subscriptions
- 10. Key takeaways
- 11. FAQ
- 🇳🇱 Dutch Corner
- Sources
1. Two to three months before you leave
- Give notice on your rental contract in good time. Check your contract for the notice period.
- Tell your employer and agree on your last working day.
- Make a list of everything that is linked to your Dutch address: insurance, energy, internet, phone, gym, newspaper and other subscriptions.
- Check your DigiD works, including the app with ID check. You will need it after you leave for your tax return, allowances and pension.
- Check your entitlements abroad: allowances, benefits and child benefit depend on where you move to.
- Retiring abroad or getting close to AOW age? Contact SVB before you leave.
2. Your rental home and deposit
The deposit (waarborgsom) for a rental home can be at most two months’ basic rent for contracts signed on or after 1 July 2023, and at most three months’ basic rent for older contracts. When the tenancy ends, the landlord must return it:
- within 14 days if there is nothing to deduct;
- within 30 days if the landlord deducts costs.
The landlord may only deduct rent arrears (including service costs or an energy performance fee) and damage you are responsible for, and must tell you in writing what was deducted. Normal wear and tear cannot be deducted.
Tips: take dated photos at the final inspection, give the landlord your foreign bank account or keep your Dutch account open until the deposit is back, and ask for the inspection report in writing. The Huurcommissie does not handle deposit disputes: ask the Juridisch Loket or your municipality for advice, or go to court.
3. Deregistering from your municipality
You must deregister from the Personal Records Database (BRP) if you are going to live outside the Netherlands for at least 8 months in a year. Those 8 months do not have to be consecutive.
- When: from 5 days before departure until the day you leave at the latest. Weekends and public holidays count.
- How: in writing or in person, depending on your municipality. If not everyone at your address is leaving, many municipalities require you to come in person.
- Proof of deregistration: ask your municipality for it. You may need it in your new country and for your health insurer. You only get proof if the deregistration date is the same as your emigration date.
- Foreign address: give it when you deregister, or later. Authorities need it to reach you, for example for tax or allowances.
After deregistration your details move to the non-residents register (RNI) and your BSN stays valid. The municipality passes your deregistration on to other organisations, including the Tax Administration and insurers.
4. Health insurance
Dutch basic health insurance is linked to living or working in the Netherlands. If you move abroad to live and work there, your obligation to be insured usually ends, and so does your policy. Tell your insurer the date you leave and send your proof of deregistration.
Different rules apply if you keep working in the Netherlands, or if you receive a Dutch pension or benefit while living abroad: in some cases you stay insured in the Netherlands or arrange your insurance through the CAK. Check your situation on NetherlandsWorldwide before you cancel. Note that a WW benefit can only be taken to another EU/EEA country or Switzerland, for up to 3 months. Arrange health insurance in your new country so there is no gap. More on the Dutch system: our health insurance 2027 guide.
5. Allowances (toeslagen) and benefits
Zorgtoeslag, huurtoeslag, kinderopvangtoeslag and kindgebonden budget are based on your situation in the Netherlands. Before you move, check whether you are still entitled to them abroad. Report changes in Mijn toeslagen or via the BelastingTelefoon Buitenland as soon as possible, so you don’t have to pay money back later. If you are no longer insured in the Netherlands, you must stop your zorgtoeslag.
Receiving child benefit (kinderbijslag), a UWV benefit or another Dutch payment? Ask SVB or UWV whether it continues abroad. See also our zorgtoeslag guide.
6. State pension (AOW) and your work pension
AOW: you build up 2% of the full AOW for every year you are insured in the Netherlands (by living or working here) during the 50 years before your AOW age. Every year you are not insured means 2% less AOW later. To avoid a gap you can insure yourself voluntarily with SVB if:
- you apply before you leave or within 1 year after you leave;
- you were insured for AOW in the Netherlands for at least 1 year;
- you have not reached AOW age yet.
Voluntary insurance usually lasts up to 10 years, and the premium depends on your income. Whether it is worth it depends on your plans: ask SVB.
Work pension: your Dutch pension stays with your fund after you leave. Give your fund your foreign address, and check mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl with DigiD for all your Dutch pensions. Worked in education or government? Read our ABP pension 2027 guide, including the 3-month rule for partner cover after you leave your job.
7. Tax: the M form and your emigration year
For the year you leave, you file an income tax return for people who lived in the Netherlands for part of the year: online in Mijn Belastingdienst, or on the paper M form (migratie). You have up to 3 years after the end of the tax year to file; for 2026 that is 31 December 2029.
- Provisional assessment (voorlopige aanslag)? Ask the Tax Administration to adjust it to your new situation.
- Still have Dutch income after you leave (for example rent, a pension or Dutch work)? Different rules apply, and you may have to file in both countries. Tax treaties prevent double taxation.
- Selling or keeping a Dutch home affects mortgage interest deduction: check before you leave.
More on the M form: our tax return guide.
8. Your job and the 30% ruling
Get your final payslip, holiday pay (vakantiegeld) and the value of any unused holiday days paid out. Ask for your annual statement (jaaropgaaf) at the start of the next year; you need it for the M form.
The 30% ruling is linked to your Dutch employment. When that employment ends, the ruling stops. It can only continue with a new Dutch employer if the new job starts within 3 months of the old one ending, and you and the new employer apply for it together within 4 months of starting. See our 30% ruling checklist.
9. Bank, DigiD, car and subscriptions
- Bank: keep your Dutch account open until your final salary, deposit and tax refund are in. Tell your bank you are moving abroad; some banks have conditions for non-residents.
- DigiD: make sure it works before you leave. Without it you can request one from abroad or use an EU-recognised login from your new country, but that takes longer.
- Car: taking your car? Register it for export with the RDW. You may be able to reclaim part of the BPM.
- Subscriptions: cancel energy, internet, phone and insurance policies in writing. Check each contract for its notice period and ask whether moving abroad lets you end it early.
- Post: arrange a forwarding service or give a contact address in the Netherlands.
Free: Leaving the Netherlands Checklist (PDF)
Every step on two printable pages: deregistration, deposit, health insurance, allowances, AOW and tax. Tick the boxes as you go.
10. Key takeaways
- Deregister from your municipality no earlier than 5 days before you leave and ask for proof.
- Your BSN stays valid; give authorities your foreign address.
- Cancel or stop health insurance and allowances on time to avoid paying back.
- Decide within 1 year whether to insure yourself voluntarily for AOW.
- Your deposit must come back within 14 days, or 30 days with deductions.
- File the M form for your emigration year and keep DigiD working.
11. FAQ
When can I deregister from my municipality?
From 5 days before you leave until the day you leave. Weekends and public holidays count.
Do I lose my BSN when I leave the Netherlands?
No. Your BSN stays valid and your details move to the non-residents register (RNI).
Do I have to cancel my Dutch health insurance?
Usually yes, if you go to live and work abroad. It can be different if you keep working in the Netherlands or receive a Dutch pension or benefit. Tell your insurer and send proof of deregistration.
How fast must my landlord return my deposit?
Within 14 days after the tenancy ends, or within 30 days if the landlord deducts costs.
Does leaving the Netherlands affect my AOW?
Yes. You build up 2% for every insured year. You can apply to SVB for voluntary insurance before you leave or within 1 year after leaving.
Which tax return do I file for the year I leave?
The return for people who lived in the Netherlands for part of the year: online, or on the paper M form.
🇳🇱 Dutch Corner
| Dutch | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Emigreren | To emigrate |
| Zich uitschrijven | To deregister |
| Het bewijs van uitschrijving | Proof of deregistration |
| De Basisregistratie Personen (BRP) | Personal Records Database |
| De RNI (Registratie Niet-Ingezetenen) | Non-residents register |
| De waarborgsom / de borg | Rental deposit |
| De eindinspectie | Final inspection |
| Het M-formulier | Migration tax form |
| De vrijwillige verzekering | Voluntary insurance |
| De opzegtermijn | Notice period |
Sources
- NetherlandsWorldwide: how to deregister from the BRP (8 months in a year, from 5 days before departure, proof of deregistration, RNI, BSN stays valid, data passed on to Tax Administration and insurers).
- Belastingdienst: emigration checklist (DigiD, deregistration, address abroad, RDW export and BPM, health insurance, toeslagen, provisional assessment, tax return, treaties, home and mortgage).
- Belastingdienst: tax return for the year of emigration or immigration (online or M form, within 3 years after the tax year).
- NetherlandsWorldwide: zorgtoeslag abroad and reporting changes.
- Rijksoverheid and NetherlandsWorldwide: AOW accrual abroad and voluntary insurance with SVB (2% per year, apply within 1 year, at least 1 year insured, up to 10 years).
- Rijksoverheid and Volkshuisvesting Nederland: waarborgsom (maximum two months’ basic rent for contracts from 1 July 2023, three months for older contracts; repayment within 14 or 30 days; permitted deductions; written specification; disputes).
- NetherlandsWorldwide: health insurance abroad (buitenlandregeling, CAK for pensions and benefits). Rijksoverheid: taking a WW benefit abroad (EU/EEA/Switzerland, 3 months).
- SVB: AOW accrual (50 years before AOW age, 2% per insured year).
- Rijksoverheid: unused statutory holiday days are paid out when your employment ends; your built-up work pension stays yours as a former participant (slaper) when you leave your employer.
- Belastingdienst: continuing the 30% ruling with a new employer (new job within 3 months, joint request within 4 months).
More in our guide: Moving to the Netherlands
Switching health insurance for 2027?
Deadline 31 December. Our free checklist has every date, the €400 deductible and what else changes on 1 January. Confirm your email and the PDF is yours; we will also email you when the 2027 figures are confirmed.
