WW, WIA and Ziektewet when you work on the road and deregister

Q: What does this mean when I come back?

Then the WW weeks requirement counts. The law says: you qualify for WW if, in the 36 calendar weeks immediately before the first day of unemployment, you worked at least one hour per calendar week in at least 26 calendar weeks. What that means: You stopped working for the trip. If you come back after a year, you did not work in the 36 weeks before. You then have no WW. You only build it up again once you work here again. You kept working on the road for your Dutch employer and stayed insured, compulsorily or voluntarily. Then those weeks simply count. Voluntary WW only pays out after your return; apply for it within a week of getting back. You took unpaid leave. Weeks in which you did not work because of unpaid leave are left out when looking back, up to a maximum of 78 weeks. So the 36 weeks shift back. If you worked in another EU country on the road and were insured there, that work can count if you first work here again and then become unemployed. The proof is the PD U1 form. How that works is in moving back to the Netherlands . If you already receive a benefit and want to leave, read emigrating with a benefit .

If you are employed and on the road, your insurance against unemployment, sickness and incapacity for work depends on where you work and whether you officially live in the Netherlands. Outside the EU you can lose that cover if you leave for more than a year. Within 13 weeks of leaving you can insure yourself voluntarily with the UWV.

9 min read

Written and checked by Auke on 27 October 2026, against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.

If you are employed and go on the road, you think of your tax and your health insurance. Your employee insurance schemes are easy to forget. Those are the schemes that replace your income if you become unemployed (WW), fall ill (Ziektewet, the Sickness Benefits Act) or, after two years of illness, can no longer work fully (WIA, the incapacity scheme). Within the EU you are always insured for these somewhere. Outside the EU not automatically: if you deregister, you can lose them.

Three things to know up front:

Within the EU, with a Dutch employer, you usually stay insured in the Netherlands, with an A1 certificate.
In a country outside the EU without a treaty you only stay insured if, in the UWV's eyes, you still live in the Netherlands, or if you insure yourself voluntarily within 13 weeks of leaving.
If you come back and become unemployed, you only qualify for WW if you worked at least 26 of the 36 weeks before.

When am I still insured?

The UWV (Employee Insurance Agency) distinguishes by the country you work in.

Where you work	What the UWV says
In the EU, the EEA or Switzerland	Usually insured in the country of work. Insured in the Netherlands if you are employed by a Dutch employer. You then need an A1 certificate
In a country with a social security treaty	Depends on the agreements with that country. With a Dutch employer often insured in the Netherlands, also with an A1
In a country without a treaty	Only insured in the Netherlands if you are employed by a Dutch employer and still officially live in the Netherlands, or if you take out voluntary insurance

For people teleworking within the EU, the SVB (Social Insurance Bank) says you remain socially insured in the Netherlands "in many cases" if you do so for less than 24 months and telework fully from the other member state during that period. Your employer applies for the A1 certificate. More in working remotely for your Dutch employer.

So the difficult part is outside the EU, in countries without a treaty. There, where you live decides.

Do I still officially live in the Netherlands when I am away?

The UWV says two things about this.

The conditions for voluntary WIA insurance state: "Werknemers die niet langer dan een jaar in het buitenland verblijven worden beschouwd als wonend in Nederland" (employees who stay abroad for no longer than a year are regarded as living in the Netherlands). Anyone away for longer than a year counts as living abroad. Unless your family stays in the Netherlands: then you still live in the Netherlands after a year too.

And on the page about voluntary insurance: voluntary insurance is "niet nodig" (not needed) if an employee goes abroad for his employer for less than 1 year, or if his family stays in the Netherlands. He then remains compulsorily insured through his employer.

Whether your deregistration at the municipality counts is not something the UWV says in so many words. The law does: where you live "wordt naar de omstandigheden beoordeeld" (is judged by the circumstances). Those are the same words as in the AOW, so the UWV, like the SVB, looks at your whole situation, not just at your registration. Your deregistration carries weight, but does not decide. What that means:

Leaving for more than a year, or for an indefinite period? Expect the UWV to treat you as living abroad from the day you leave. Your compulsory insurance stops that day.
Leaving for less than a year? Then you still live in the Netherlands for the UWV, even if you deregister, and you remain compulsorily insured with your Dutch employer.
Not sure yet? Then the UWV goes by what you expect when you leave. If you decide on the road to stay away longer, apply for voluntary insurance straight away.

If in doubt, ask the UWV before you leave and ask for the answer in writing. Do you live on a boat with a home port in the Netherlands? Then that boat counts as part of the Netherlands for the Ziektewet and the WW. Unlike the AOW, those acts do not add "for the crew". Whether the boat has a Dutch home port is a factual question, though: see state pension and healthcare when you live on your boat.

Can I insure myself voluntarily?

Yes, in a number of situations. According to the UWV it is possible if:

you go to work abroad for a Dutch employer, and also officially go to live abroad;
you go to work for a foreign employer, but officially keep living in the Netherlands.

Which insurance you can take out differs per country:

Where you work	Voluntary insurance available
EU, EEA or Switzerland	only the WIA; you are already compulsorily insured there, and the European rules then only allow voluntary insurance in another country for incapacity for work; the benefit in the country of work can be lower than in the Netherlands
A treaty country	in most cases Ziektewet, WW and WIA
A country without a treaty	Ziektewet, WW and WIA

Your employer can apply for the insurance for you, with the form "Aanvragen verzekering van UWV" (application for UWV insurance).

The conditions are the same for the Ziektewet, the WW and the WIA. They are in the acts themselves (Ziektewet article 64, Werkloosheidswet article 53, Wet WIA article 18). If you work outside the Netherlands for a Dutch employer and no longer live in the Netherlands, the UWV admits you if:

you have not yet reached the AOW (state pension) age;
you keep working for that employer directly after your compulsory insurance ends, for five years at most;
you were compulsorily insured for at least one uninterrupted year before that.

You apply within 13 weeks after the end of your compulsory insurance. That deadline is in all three acts (Ziektewet article 66, Werkloosheidswet article 54, Wet WIA article 19). If you are late through no fault of your own, the UWV may still treat the application as on time. The insurance starts on the day after your compulsory insurance ended, without a gap.

Do you work for a foreign employer and keep living in the Netherlands? Then the year before does not apply and there is no five-year maximum. The deadline is then 13 weeks after your first working day outside the Netherlands.

Three things to know:

You can only take out the WW together with the Ziektewet, unless your employer continues to pay your wages when you are ill.
Voluntary WW only pays out once you are back in the Netherlands.
The premium in 2026: Ziektewet 10.50 percent, WW 1.10 percent and WIA 8.59 percent of the daily wage you choose. That daily wage is at most what you would lose and at most the maximum daily wage of € 304.25. You pay a month in advance, over the number of working days in that month. At a daily wage of € 200 the three together cost about € 850 a month. The premium for the Ziektewet and the WIA is tax-deductible.

You apply for the insurance yourself with the UWV, online with DigiD or by post. Your employer can also do it for you, with the form "Aanvragen verzekering van UWV" (application for UWV insurance).

Not working on the road? Then the UWV has little to offer you. If you leave employment for a year at most and want to work again afterwards, you can insure yourself temporarily for the Ziektewet and the WIA, within 13 weeks of your last job. That is only possible if you keep living in the Netherlands. There is no such temporary insurance for the WW.

Working as a self-employed person? Then you are not an employee and so not compulsorily insured for WW, WIA and Ziektewet, not even in the Netherlands. What is possible is on the UWV site under voluntary insurance for freelancers. See also your sole proprietorship on the road.

What does this mean when I come back?

Then the WW weeks requirement counts. The law says: you qualify for WW if, in the 36 calendar weeks immediately before the first day of unemployment, you worked at least one hour per calendar week in at least 26 calendar weeks.

What that means:

You stopped working for the trip. If you come back after a year, you did not work in the 36 weeks before. You then have no WW. You only build it up again once you work here again.
You kept working on the road for your Dutch employer and stayed insured, compulsorily or voluntarily. Then those weeks simply count. Voluntary WW only pays out after your return; apply for it within a week of getting back.
You took unpaid leave. Weeks in which you did not work because of unpaid leave are left out when looking back, up to a maximum of 78 weeks. So the 36 weeks shift back.

If you worked in another EU country on the road and were insured there, that work can count if you first work here again and then become unemployed. The proof is the PD U1 form. How that works is in moving back to the Netherlands. If you already receive a benefit and want to leave, read emigrating with a benefit.

What do I check before leaving?

With your employer:

Do I stay insured for WW, WIA and Ziektewet in the countries where I will work?
Will you apply for an A1 certificate, and for which countries?
Will you take out voluntary insurance if that is needed?

With the UWV:

From the day I leave, do I live abroad for you, or still in the Netherlands?
From which day do my 13 weeks run?

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.17: 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 2.17 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.

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