Keeping a bank account and DigiD: the two lines you never cut
After your deregistration you still need the Netherlands for years — for the M return, refunds and your pension. Within the EU your bank account is a right, towards Australia a favour from the bank. And your DigiD you arrange before departure, not after.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
After you emigrate, keep two lines with the Netherlands intact: a payment account and your DigiD, your login for the Dutch government. A lot still runs over them after you leave:
- the M return, your tax return for your emigration year;
- a refund from the Belastingdienst, the Dutch tax authority;
- your pension funds;
- cancelling that one forgotten subscription.
Deregistering with the municipality feels like pulling the door shut behind you. Even so, you emphatically want to keep these two lines intact. Within the EU the account is a right you take with you. Outside it, it depends on the bank. And you arrange the DigiD before you leave. Afterwards it becomes a little project of codes that are each valid for only weeks.
Can your bank close your account when you live abroad?
If you move to Spain, Portugal or France, there's little to worry about. Your Europe is clear: whoever legally lives in an EU country has the right to open a basic payment account, and a bank may not refuse that application "solely because you do not live in the country where the bank is established". Refusal is only allowed if you don't meet the anti-money-laundering rules, or (in some countries) if you already hold such an account at another bank.
A basic account offers:
- deposits, withdrawals, transfers and incoming payments;
- a payment card;
- internet banking.
An overdraft is not part of it. A bank may charge a "reasonable" fixed amount per year for it.
Towards Australia or any other country outside the EU that right does not exist: there your bank's policy decides whether you may stay a customer. Report your move, ask in writing beforehand what that policy is, and make sure your pension and the Belastingdienst don't depend on one cancellable account.
Why does the Belastingdienst still need that account?
A refund only goes to an account that meets three conditions: it is a payment account (not a savings account), it is in your name, and the Belastingdienst knows it.
As a private individual you can only report a foreign account number by letter to the Belastingdienst in Heerlen. You send along:
- a copy of your ID;
- a bank statement showing your name and account number.
Those documents may be no older than two months. A confirmation follows within three weeks. One Dutch account you simply keep saves you all of that.
If you'll be living outside the eurozone, you'll also want a bridge between that Dutch account and your new one. Many emigrants use a transfer service such as Wise for that: you see the rate and the fees up front, and you can hold balances in several currencies. Vertrekklaar receives a fee if you open an account through that link; the choice remains yours, and this is not advice.
What do you arrange for your DigiD before you leave?
The Belastingdienst puts it at the top of the emigration checklist: make sure your DigiD works, "and do this before you leave the Netherlands".
Your DigiD simply remains valid after deregistration. Your BSN, your citizen service number, doesn't disappear, after all. The DigiD does expire if you don't use it for three years; then you have to apply again. Two things to do now:
- Put the DigiD app on your phone and activate the SMS check. It also works with a foreign phone number, so just switch the number once you have a new SIM card. The ID check in the app does not work with a foreign identity document, so keep your Dutch passport or ID card valid.
- Log in now and then over the coming year. The M return is a reason for that by itself.
What if you've already left and have no working DigiD?
Then it's still possible, but it's a series of steps with short clocks:
- You apply for DigiD on digid.nl with your BSN. You receive a counter code by SMS and e-mail.
- With that counter code you collect an activation code: by video call with NederlandWereldwijd, or at a DigiD counter.
Counters outside the Netherlands exist in, among others, Sydney, Madrid, Paris, Berlin, Rome, London, Bern, Washington, Vancouver, Wellington, Bangkok, Ankara, Rabat and Paramaribo, and on the six Caribbean islands. At most of them you need an appointment. Portugal is not on the list; there the video call is the route.
You make the video call yourself, and children from 14 do so as well. You hold your original passport or ID card in view. It is not possible if you are in the Netherlands at that moment.
| What | Term |
|---|---|
| Counter code after the application | valid for 30 days |
| Activation code after counter or video call | valid for 21 days |
| DigiD without use | expires after 3 years |
| Confirmation of a foreign account number | within 3 weeks |
| Supporting documents for that account number | at most 2 months old |
| Change of address at the Belastingdienst | 5 working days online, 10 by letter |
DigiD itself warns that the waiting time for an appointment at some counters is longer than the 30 days your counter code is valid. So first look at the diary of the counter or of the video call, and only then submit the application.
The rule of thumb for both: if your situation changes, change the line along with it: new phone number in the app, new address at the bank and the Belastingdienst. A line you maintain costs a few euros a month. A line you lose costs letters, copies and months.
In Vertrekklaar this belongs to the phase Closing down the Netherlands of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See how the step-by-step plan works.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Your Europe — the right to a payment account applies within the EU — europa.eu
- Belastingdienst — the emigration checklist ("arrange your DigiD before departure") — belastingdienst.nl
- Belastingdienst — reporting a foreign account number — belastingdienst.nl
- DigiD — DigiD abroad — digid.nl
- DigiD — the SMS check, also with a foreign number — digid.nl
- NederlandWereldwijd — the activation code by video call — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- NederlandWereldwijd — the DigiD counters outside the Netherlands — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
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