Coming along on an L-2: what you let go of in the Netherlands — and what you get back for it

On an L-2 you cannot stay registered in the Netherlands once you spend more than eight months a year outside the Netherlands. That is less bad than it sounds, because the L-2 gives you almost everything else.

The situation: your partner is transferred to the American branch on an L-1, the visa for a transfer within a company. You come along on an L-2, without a job of your own, planning to spend a good part of the year in the Netherlands. The L-2 gives you:

• residence for the whole term of the L-1;
• the right to work without a separate permit;
• free travel.

The only thing it does not give is a Dutch address.

The routes are in The five keys to America, the Dutch side in Partner comes along without a job.

What does the L-2 give you?

The L-2 is a derived status: it exists as long as your partner's L-1 exists. An L-1A (managers and executives) has a maximum of seven years, an L-1B (specialised knowledge) of five. The spouse and unmarried children under 21 can come along, for the same period as the employee.

Since 12 November 2021 L-2 spouses are employment authorised incident to their status. No separate work permit (EAD) is needed. Your I-94, the digital record of your entry, with the notation "L-2S" is your proof for an employer. And the L-2 does not oblige you to stay in America.

Item	Rule or deadline
Term L-1A / L-1B	at most 7 years / 5 years
Accompanying on L-2	spouse and unmarried children under 21
Spouse's right to work	since 12 November 2021, I-94 with "L-2S"
Deregistering at the municipality	required at more than 8 months a year outside the Netherlands
Substantial presence test	31 days this year and 183 over three years (1, 1/3, 1/6)
Closer connection exception	fewer than 183 days in the US, tax home in the Netherlands, Form 8840 every year
Health marketplace after the move	enroll within 60 days
FBAR	all foreign accounts together above $10,000
Form 8938, married filing jointly, living in the US	above $100,000 on 31 December or $150,000 during the year
Voluntary AOW/Anw insurance	apply within 1 year of the end of compulsory insurance (usually departure)
Voluntary AOW premium 2026	at least € 569, at most € 5,693 a year
AOW accrual	2% per insured year

When must you deregister?

The Wet BRP, the Dutch law on the municipal population register, says: you file notice of departure if you reasonably expect to stay outside the Netherlands at least two thirds of a year. Two thirds is eight months, and they need not be consecutive. Four months here and eight there thus falls under that duty. The rule applies per person: you are assessed separately from your partner.

The second limit comes from America. At roughly half a year per year you meet the substantial presence test, the American count that decides whether you are liable for tax there:

• 31 days in the current year;
• and 183 days over three years, counting this year in full, last year for a third and the year before for a sixth.

You then stay outside American tax liability only with the closer connection exception, for those more closely tied to another country. The conditions:

• fewer than 183 days in the US;
• your tax home in the Netherlands all year;
• no steps towards a green card;
• Form 8840 every year.

Between those two limits there is room, but narrow. Count days, not months.

Do not stay registered while you are away more than eight months a year: then benefits keep running that are later reclaimed, and a deregistration by the municipality itself follows.