Going abroad for a while: a dream of many. Although the small Netherlands has a lot to offer, many people still secretly dream of a place to live in another country. For example, one is going to study in Spain for a semester, the other is in South Africa for a few months to volunteer. Some people choose to move permanently to another country. When you have made this exciting decision, a lot of planning begins before you can start the adventure. Because this is not always clear, you can read tips on how to arrange your move abroad in this blog.
Unsubscribe from the Netherlands?
It is a big decision to deregister from the Netherlands. This has consequences for your health insurance, tax authorities and many other matters. If you are out of the Netherlands for more than eight months in a year, you must deregister. You must do this from five days before your departure. If you deregister from the Netherlands, you will keep your Dutch passport and BSN number. However, you are no longer entitled to benefits, housing benefits and child benefit, for example. This will expire when you unsubscribe. You can deregister at the municipality, which then shares this with other authorities such as the Tax Authorities and the pension fund.
You have to arrange this
After you have unsubscribed, the real arrangements only start. You may have to sell your house and you can also sell or (temporarily) store your household effects. Taking the relatively high storage costs into account, is it worth keeping the stuff? You will also have to resign from your job. That is of course just as difficult and exciting, but necessary to leave the Netherlands well behind. By the way, you can keep your bank account. However, it is useful to authorize someone in the Netherlands about your bank account. Don’t forget to cancel various subscriptions and insurance policies. You must also deregister with your doctor and dentist.
Legalize diplomas
If you plan to look for work abroad, you must be able to show your diplomas. Usually your diplomas are only valid after legalization and provided with an apostille. This is only possible for officially registered diplomas. After this, you must have your diplomas translated into the desired language. You have this done by a sworn translator. This provides the document with an official stamp, statement and signature guaranteeing its authenticity and content. Usually it takes about 4 to 6 business days to process a translation. You will receive the translation as a letterbox package by regular mail. Sometimes you can also get an online document of the translation.
