Health insurance on a world trip: keep, top up or replace
If you stay registered and are away for less than a year, you keep your basic insurance, but abroad it pays at most the Dutch rate. If you deregister, it stops and you arrange international health insurance yourself.
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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 you stay registered in the Netherlands and are away for less than a year, you keep your basic insurance. Abroad, though, it pays at most what the care costs in the Netherlands, and repatriation isn't included. If you deregister, your Dutch health insurance stops and you arrange international health insurance yourself. Which of the two applies to you depends on the eight-month rule.
Do I stay insured if I stay registered?
Yes, if your trip is shorter than a year. The Rijksoverheid (Dutch central government) writes (in translation): "For trips shorter than 1 year you stay insured under Dutch legislation. You can then keep your health insurance."
Behind this is the Wlz, the Long-term Care Act. Anyone insured under it must have health insurance. According to the SVB (Social Insurance Bank), the Wlz usually doesn't change when you go on a world trip. If you want certainty beforehand, ask the SVB for a Wlz assessment. For a trip of more than six months that's no unnecessary luxury.
What does my basic insurance cover abroad?
You're reimbursed what the treatment costs in the Netherlands, no more. The Rijksoverheid: the reimbursement is never higher than the amount care providers in the Netherlands may charge. In countries with expensive care you pay the difference yourself. And repatriation to the Netherlands isn't part of the basic insurance.
| Situation | What your basic insurance does | What you arrange on top |
|---|---|---|
| Registered, trip shorter than a year | reimburses up to the Dutch rate | supplementary or travel insurance for the difference and repatriation |
| Registered, trip longer than a year | not certain; let the SVB assess it | Wlz assessment, and a plan B |
| Deregistered | stops | international health insurance |
| Registered, working only abroad for three months or longer | can stop, except with an employer in the Netherlands | check with the SVB |
A continuous travel insurance almost always has a maximum trip length per trip, often a few months. For a trip of a year it then only covers the start. Check the policy on this point before you leave.
What if I start working on the road?
Then everything can change, even if you stay registered. The Decree extending and restricting the group of insured persons under national insurance says: anyone who lives in the Netherlands and works only outside the Netherlands for three months or longer without a break is not insured. Unless you work for an employer who lives or is established in the Netherlands.
So for an employee of a Dutch company usually nothing changes. For a self-employed person or someone with a foreign client it does. More on that in digital nomad: tax and insurance.
What if I deregister?
Anyone who deregisters because they're away longer than eight months usually no longer lives in the Netherlands. Then you're no longer Wlz-insured, and according to the CAK (the agency that handles uninsured people) you no longer need Dutch health insurance. You cancel it as of the day of departure. How to do that without a gap is in cancelling your health insurance without a gap.
International health insurance takes its place. There's no government rule for that; you choose yourself. What to look out for:
- The area of cover. The whole world, or excluding America and Canada, where care is so expensive that it often costs extra.
- Acceptance. An international insurer may ask about your health and can exclude something. So apply for the policy in good time, at least three months before departure.
- The start date. Have the new policy start on the day the old one stops.
- Returning to the Netherlands. Does the policy cover care when you're temporarily back?
- Repatriation. Is transport home or to a good hospital included?
A travel insurance is no replacement: it usually assumes you're insured in the Netherlands.
And when I come back?
If you come back to live in the Netherlands, you take out health insurance again within four months of arrival. If you do so in time, it takes effect retroactively from the day you became obliged to insure again. If you wait longer, you risk the CAK sending you a letter.
What does it cost?
That depends on your age, your health and where you travel. Anyone who stays registered only pays a top-up on their usual premium. Anyone who deregisters pays an international premium, which for a family quickly turns out higher than the Dutch one. The calculator for life on the road gives a range for your situation.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.2: 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 2.2 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.
- NederlandWereldwijd — back to the Netherlands: health insurance within 4 months of arrival — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- Health Insurance Act, article 5 — the insurance applies retroactively if you take it out within four months — wetten.overheid.nl
- Rijksoverheid — care while travelling, under 1 year you stay insured — rijksoverheid.nl
- SVB — the Wlz when you go on a world trip — svb.nl
- Health Insurance Act, article 2 — whoever is Wlz-insured must take out insurance — wetten.overheid.nl
- Decree extending and restricting the group of insured persons under national insurance 1999, article 12 — three months of work only outside the Netherlands — wetten.overheid.nl
- CAK — not Wlz-insured, then no Dutch health insurance needed — hetcak.nl
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