Poland · administrative route
Emigrating to Poland
As an EU citizen nobody stops you, and that's exactly why everyone misses the two clocks: the address registration at the municipality within thirty days, which gives you the PESEL, and the registration of your right of residence with the voivode no later than the day after three months. On top of that one lesson most Dutch-language pages haven't processed yet: since 30 April 2022 the treaty is a source-state treaty — the Netherlands taxes your pension and your AOW, Poland credits, and a wage tax exemption no longer exists. This page shows how it really works.
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- Kind of journey
- Administrative — two registrations, no visa
- The clocks
- 30 days for the address, the day after 3 months for the right of residence
- Note
- The Netherlands taxes pension and AOW; Poland credits
Last updated: September 2026
The journey
Five phases, from the two clocks to the hectare limit
A route of clocks you have to start yourself. Thirty days after moving in for the address registration, the day after three months for the right of residence, twelve months to bring the car in duty-free and thirty days to register it as soon as it's there. Plus the treaty of 2002 with the protocol of 2020, which put the taxing back with the Netherlands — and tied the government pension to your nationality.
- 1
Orientation
Two registrations, and a treaty that's still pre-2022 online
Three months you may be there freely; living starts with two registrations at two counters. In this phase you learn what most pages get wrong: the protocol of 2020 made the treaty a source-state treaty, so the Netherlands taxes your occupational pension and your AOW and Poland credits — a wage tax exemption as with Spain no longer exists here. And healthcare for pensioners runs through the CAK to the NFZ. Explore the region in January, not in July: the winter and the language are settlement factors here.
- 2
Closing the Netherlands
Don't apply for an exemption, arrange the credit
The familiar list with one reversed lesson. Where with the southern routes you apply for the wage tax exemption, here you don't: the Netherlands may tax, and Poland deducts the Dutch tax from its own at twelve percent up to 120,000 złoty and thirty-two above. Whoever is also Polish sees their government pension go to Poland instead. Further: the S1 at the CAK six weeks before departure, the SVB in time, and the eight-month rule as a real option a day's drive away.
- 3
The move
No customs, but two clocks for the car
By road, without customs and without an inventory. The car comes along without excise duty if five conditions hold at once — own use, yours for six months, brought in within twelve months, not sold for twelve months, and demonstrable. But since 2024 the registration must be lodged within thirty days of entry, on pain of 500 złoty: a year to decide, a month as soon as you've decided. The pet needs only chip, jab and the EU pet passport.
- 4
Registration in Poland
First the address, because that's where the PESEL comes from
The order is fixed. First the zameldowanie at the municipality, within thirty days of moving in, with the proof of your right to the home — and there you get the PESEL, which bank, NFZ, tax and school hang on. Then the rejestracja pobytu with the voivode, no later than the day after three months, with your ground of residence and with own means comprehensive insurance: for pensioners that's the S1. And then register the S1 itself with the NFZ, because the form in your drawer is no insurance.
- 5
Arrival
The licence stays, the land decides
An EU driving licence doesn't need exchanging — the hundred-and-eighty-five-day deadline going round applies to licences from outside the EU. Buying is allowed as an EU citizen without a permit, except in the border zone and on agricultural land: below 0.3 hectares the act doesn't apply, up to one hectare anyone may, above that only a farmer or whoever gets consent from the KOWR. So a house with two hectares around it is agricultural land. And after five years you apply for permanent residence.
Look inside
This is what one step of your plan looks like
Not a brochure but the real thing: this is one of the steps of the Poland journey, exactly as it appears in your personal step-by-step plan — with the deadlines, the counters and the sources.
Step 2.3 of your plan
Know where you'll pay tax — and don't apply for an exemption
- Lead time
- one good conversation with a tax adviser who knows both countries
- Costs
- adviser's hours — depending on your situation
Since the protocol of 2020 this is a source-state treaty. Article 18 says that pensions and annuities arising in the Netherlands, and payments under Dutch social security legislation, may be taxed in the Netherlands. So the Netherlands simply withholds, and that is no mistake you fix with a form.
Poland taxes alongside as the country of residence, at twelve percent up to 120,000 złoty and thirty-two percent above, with a tax-free allowance of 30,000 złoty — and deducts the Dutch tax from the Polish. If you pay more in the Netherlands than Poland would charge, nothing remains in Poland; if you pay less, Poland tops up. Have that worked out on your amounts, because the difference sits in the rates of two countries at once.
This is step 2.3 of 29. The other 28 are ready for you — each with the same sources, the same counters and a planning that watches your dates.
See all 29 steps for PolandWhat it costs
A rough indication for your situation
A few short questions, and you get a range instead of an amount. That's deliberate: an exact figure would suggest a precision nobody has.
Count on a total of
€ 1.700 – € 4.600
Where does that difference come from?
- The first months€ 1.600 – € 4.000
Below you'll find per item where the upper and the lower limit come from.
- Aanvraag en papieren
- € 30 – € 200
- De verhuizing
- € 40 – € 250
- De eerste maanden
- € 1.600 – € 4.200
Every item, one by onePer item the amount, the source and whether it's a rate or an estimate
Aanvraag en papieren
- Address registration, PESEL and residence registration€ 0 – € 25
- Certificates, model forms and the sworn translator(estimate)€ 30 – € 150
De verhuizing
- The journey(estimate)€ 40 – € 250
De eerste maanden
- The first months(estimate)€ 1.600 – € 4.000
Deposit and first rent, furnishing what didn't come along, and the months in which you still run double. Renting sits well below Dutch levels outside Warsaw and Kraków; in the centre of those two cities no longer. Count the winter in: heating is a real item in a country where the cold lasts for weeks.
- Bank, phone and the first counters(estimate)€ 40 – € 200
And if you buy a house?
This calculation assumes renting: the first months include deposit and rent in advance.
If you buy, count on 3 to 5% of the purchase price on top of this amount. On a home of € 250,000 that's € 7.500 to € 12.500.
Transfer tax on existing buildings, the notary and the entry in the land registry. As an EU citizen you need no permit from the minister — the question here isn't whether you may buy, but what.
Note: buying isn't simply allowed here
Agricultural land falls under the act on shaping the agricultural system: below 0.3 hectares that act doesn't apply, up to one hectare anyone may buy, and from one hectare only a farmer or whoever gets prior consent from the KOWR. A house in the countryside with a few hectares around it is therefore not a home but agricultural land. Have the notary check the designation and the surface area in the land registry before you sign.
An order of magnitude based on averages, not a quote. The real amounts depend on your occupation, your route, the season and dozens of choices you still have to make.
Rates checked on 11 September 2026.
Your complete, personal cost picture — with your route, your documents and your deadlines — you get in Vertrekklaar.
That was the move. And once you live there?
Who may tax your pension once you live in Poland, is there a favourable regime, and how do you become insured? That depends on where your income comes from. Tick it and you see which rules apply to you — with the source.
See the financial conditionsThe departure guide
Five mails, and you see your whole journey
Not ready to start yet? Then we'll send you the departure guide for Poland: five mails in a week and a half, with the order, the pitfalls and the real costs. After that one question about where your plans stand, and beyond that only a short update when something in Poland really changes — at most one a month, no newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
Read on
The knowledge base on Poland
Per phase, the articles that are already there. They're written from the same journey and go deeper than what fits above.
Orientation
- 3 min
AOW, pension and tax in Poland: the treaty was reversed in 2022
The treaty of 2002 placed your pension with Poland. The protocol that entered into force on 30 April 2022 reversed that: the Netherlands may tax your occupational pension and your AOW, and Poland credits the Dutch tax against its own. A wage tax exemption no longer exists here. And your government pension follows your nationality.
Updated 11 September 2026
- 3 min
Healthcare in Poland: from the CAK's S1 to the NFZ
Poland is a treaty country. With a Dutch statutory pension you apply for an S1 form at the CAK, register it at the NFZ office of your province, and are treated as if you were insured there. The Netherlands pays, you pay the treaty contribution, and Poland charges you no premium of its own. The form in your drawer is not yet insurance.
Updated 11 September 2026
Leaving the Netherlands — for every destination
- 2 min
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.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
The protective assessment: the bill that travels with you, and that never expires for one item
On emigration the Netherlands imposes an assessment on your pension, your annuity and your substantial shareholding that you don't have to pay — as long as you do nothing that makes it collectable. For pension and annuity it usually lapses after ten years. For a substantial shareholding it doesn't: that one remains valid indefinitely.
Updated 27 August 2026
- 2 min
Emigrating with children after a divorce: the consent that comes before everything
With joint custody you can't just go abroad with the children — you need the consent of the other parent, or substitute consent from the court. What the court weighs, and why leaving without consent is legally child abduction.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
Emigrating on early retirement: the CAK route is expected to close as of 1 November 2026
Whoever moves to the EU or Switzerland with a Dutch pension arranges their healthcare via the CAK. That door is closing to a crack: as expected, from 1 November only new applicants with AOW, Anw, WAO, WIA or Wajong will be admitted. Early retirement and RVU fall outside it — whoever is already a customer keeps their rights.
Updated 16 August 2026
- 2 min
The M form: the tax return for the year in which you emigrated
For the year of your departure you lived partly inside and partly outside the Netherlands, and a separate return goes with that. Nowadays it can be done online — but you have to think of it yourself, because an invitation rarely comes by itself.
Updated 9 August 2026
- 2 min
Your AOW accrual stops on departure — and you have one year to repair that
Every year outside the Netherlands costs you 2% AOW (the Dutch state pension), for life. The SVB has a voluntary continuation that closes that gap — but signing up is only possible in the first year after departure, and almost everyone misses that deadline.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
Your Dutch pension abroad: what comes along, and who levies
The AOW (the Dutch state pension) travels fully to the EU and to Australia — the latter thanks to a treaty from 2001. Your company pension too, but *where* you pay on it depends on the tax treaty, and the exemption you arrange yourself.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
Cancelling your health insurance without a gap
Your Dutch basic insurance is tied to living or working in the Netherlands and stops being a given on emigration. The art is to have the end date match your new cover — and to know which route belongs to your situation.
Updated 28 August 2026
- 2 min
Taking medicines across the border: certificates, supply and the 90-day ceiling
For medicines under the Opium Act you need a certificate — and the Dutch system only carries you for three months. What you arrange with the CAK, what Australia wants to see at the border, and why finding a local doctor simply belongs to your first weeks.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 10 min
Partner comes along without a job of their own: deregistering, healthcare, AOW and the house
Your partner has a job, a visa or a right of residence there; you come along without a job of your own. Administratively you're then no passenger: the deregistration, the end of your health insurance and your AOW accrual apply to you separately. What you get back if you arrange it well, what it costs if you let it slide — and when "just staying registered" is allowed after all.
Updated 9 September 2026
- 2 min
Stopping allowances on emigration: do it yourself, and in time
Housing allowance, healthcare allowance, childcare allowance and child budget don't stop by themselves on the day you leave. Whoever lets them run gets a reclaim months later — this is what you arrange per allowance.
Updated 9 August 2026
- 3 min
Deregistering with the municipality: when exactly, and what stops then
Deregistering from the BRP is only possible from five days before departure, and is compulsory as soon as you're away for more than eight months a year. What stops at that moment, what stays, and which piece of paper you have to ask for right away.
Updated 9 August 2026
- 6 min
When does your pension stay taxed in the Netherlands? The three pots and the three conditions
"Your pension is taxed in your new country of residence" is right by approximation and not in the details. Your AOW, your company pension and your government pension each follow a rule of their own, and with the company pension the Netherlands can still levy if three conditions apply at once. This article explains which three, and which four questions you have to answer for your own situation.
Updated 27 August 2026
Ready to begin?
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