Compulsory schooling on a world trip: what is allowed with your child?
If your family stays registered, your child stays of compulsory school age in the Netherlands, and extra time off is at most ten days per school year without the school attendance officer. If you deregister, the Dutch Compulsory Education Act no longer applies. Distance learning is possible through Stichting NOB.
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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.
If your family stays registered in the Netherlands, your child stays of compulsory school age in the Netherlands. Extra time off outside the school holidays is then at most ten days per school year, unless the school attendance officer (leerplichtambtenaar) allows more. If you deregister, the Dutch Compulsory Education Act no longer applies. For many families this decides whether they stay registered or deregister.
Who does Dutch compulsory schooling apply to?
The Rijksoverheid (Dutch central government) writes: all children between 5 and 16 who live in the Netherlands are of compulsory school age. And: if you live abroad with your child and are registered there as a resident, you don't fall under the Dutch Compulsory Education Act.
| Your situation | Compulsory schooling | What you arrange |
|---|---|---|
| Registered, trip within the school holidays | just go to school | nothing |
| Registered, trip outside the holidays | still applies | permission from the school (up to ten days) or the school attendance officer |
| Registered, child at a school abroad | exemption possible | every year before 1 July a statement from that school |
| Deregistered, resident of another country | Dutch law doesn't apply | the rules of that country |
| Deregistered, resident nowhere | no source says what applies | make sure of education and keep what your child does |
How much time off can my child get?
Little. The Compulsory Education Act has two kinds of extra leave:
- Holiday outside the school holidays. Only if a parent's work means you can't go away in the holidays, once per school year, for at most ten days, and not in the first two weeks of the school year.
- Other important circumstances. The head of the school may grant up to ten days. If it's more than ten days, the school attendance officer of your municipality decides.
The Rijksoverheid is clear (in translation): "Going on holiday for longer outside the school holidays is not allowed by law." You request leave eight weeks or more in advance, and anyone who goes without permission can get a fine.
Does the school attendance officer allow a world trip?
That isn't written anywhere. Stichting NOB, the knowledge centre for Dutch education abroad, writes that a registered child may only come along outside the holidays with the approval of the school attendance officer. Whether and when they give it is up to the municipality.
Start the conversation early, well before you book anything. Bring a plan for education on the road: which provider, how many hours a week, and who teaches. Without approval you risk a fine.
Are there exemptions?
The Compulsory Education Act has a few, but they rarely fit a trip:
- A school abroad. If your child is enrolled at a school outside the Netherlands and attends it regularly, they can be exempted. Every year before 1 July you hand in a statement from that school to your municipality. For a family that moves every few months, that's rarely feasible.
- Objection to the school's denomination. Anyone who objects to the denomination of all schools in the area can get an exemption. In practice that's the route to home schooling, but it isn't a travel arrangement, and in December 2025 the state secretary announced wanting to decide on it soon.
- A travelling existence. That exemption is for fairground, circus and bargee families. Whether a family living on a sailing boat falls under it, we couldn't find in any source.
And if we deregister?
Then the Dutch Compulsory Education Act no longer applies. Stichting NOB points out that compulsory schooling doesn't lapse with that: the rules of the country where you live apply instead. For a family that lives nowhere, no source at all says what applies then. In any case, make sure your child gets an education, and keep what they do. That helps when you return.
How does my child learn on the road?
Stichting NOB works on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) and lists providers of distance learning, who teach children online wherever they are in the world. A few things to know:
- Schools and providers affiliated with NOB receive a government subsidy. That subsidy goes to the school, not to you: you pay yourself.
- One of the providers mentions a price from € 1,250 per year. A full programme with a teacher costs more.
- An NTC school gives an average of two and a half hours a week of Dutch language and culture. That's a supplement, not full education.
How does it work when we come back?
The school or provider from the road supplies an educational report and test results. With these, the new school in the Netherlands decides the level. We haven't found a compulsory test on return. So ask for the report right at the start of the distance learning, so you know what you'll get back.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey for a life on the road or go straight to step 4.1 in the open plan.
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.
- Rijksoverheid — news of 18 December 2025: a quick decision for parents with objections to the school's ethos — rijksoverheid.nl
- Compulsory Education Act 1969, articles 5, 13a and 14 — exemptions and extra leave — wetten.overheid.nl
- Rijksoverheid — compulsory education and qualification, for children who live in the Netherlands — rijksoverheid.nl
- Rijksoverheid — compulsory education and a school abroad — rijksoverheid.nl
- Rijksoverheid — compulsory education and school holidays — rijksoverheid.nl
- Stichting NOB — compulsory education when you are abroad — stichtingnob.nl
- Stichting NOB — organisations for online education — stichtingnob.nl
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