Back to the Netherlands
Coming back is not a formality
You are Dutch, you speak the language, you know the country. And yet administratively you almost start again: registering within five days, health insurance that works back to your arrival, a driving licence that is worth nothing after 185 days, and a partner to whom an income requirement applies. The return plan puts it in order, on your arrival date.
€ 79 one-offOne-off, no subscription.
What returners do not see coming
The appointment, not the five days
You must register within five days, but municipalities have waiting times. The government itself advises making the appointment weeks before you leave. Without registration no bank, no DigiD, no allowances and no customs exemption.
Your partner without an EU passport
Ordinary family migration applies to them: an income requirement of € 2,337 gross per month (second half of 2026) with a contract that runs another year. Whoever comes back without a Dutch job cannot have their partner come over right away.
Your AOW gap stays
Two per cent per missed year. Voluntary insurance had to be arranged within a year of leaving, and buying in is only for those who were never insured before.
No unemployment benefit from the Netherlands
If you worked for a foreign employer, you apply for the benefit in that country. Request form U1 before you leave.
Your old licence is worth gold
Obtained in the Netherlands after July 1985 and later exchanged? Then you can exchange it back. Otherwise a licence from outside the EU is invalid after 185 days.
You legalise certificates over there
You only get an apostille on your child's birth certificate in the country of issue. Once here, that is a trip back.
Sources: NederlandWereldwijd, IND, Rijksoverheid, UWV; checked on 19 September 2026.
This is what a step looks like
This is one of the steps, at full size, for someone arriving on 1 March 2027. The plan works out the final day from your own arrival date, including the steps that already have to happen weeks before you leave.
By 6 March 2027 at the latest
Register with the municipality: within five days
If you stay longer than four months, you register within five days of arrival with the municipality where you will live. Bring: valid identification and proof of occupancy (rental contract, deed of purchase or a statement of consent from the main occupant), and the certificates the municipality asked for. If you come from Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten or the Caribbean Netherlands, the municipality also wants to see proof of deregistration.
Pitfall: The municipality may ask for extra proof that you are Dutch. A passport is not always enough.
What you get
- Up to 34 steps in five phases, of which you only see what applies to you: with or without a partner, children, car, pet, and from inside or outside the EU.
- For every step with a deadline the final day, worked out from your arrival date, including the steps that have to happen weeks before you leave.
- Per step the pitfall and the official source, so you can check it.
- Tick off, and at the top always what comes first. You can print it too.
The government has a step-by-step plan too
NederlandWereldwijd has a free overview in seven steps, and that is a good start. The return plan does what an overview cannot: it leaves out what does not apply to you, works out the deadlines on your date, and adds the pitfalls that are in the footnotes.
Your details stay on your own device
The plan is made in your own browser. What you enter and tick off does not reach our server.
Good to know
- Does this apply to every country I come from?
- Yes. The plan is about the Dutch side, and that is the same for everyone. The distinction that counts is whether you come from inside or outside the EU, and the plan asks about that.
- I do not have a Dutch passport.
- Then this plan is not for you: for those who are not Dutch, returning starts with the IND.
- Is this advice?
- These are the rules with their source, put on your date. For your tax position and for your partner's application, a tax adviser and an immigration lawyer remain the proper route.
- How do I get in?
- After your payment you receive an email. Logging in works without a password, with a link sent to your email address.
The return plan
€ 79 one-off
One-off, no subscription.
Ready to begin?
Forty-four journeys are fully ready — Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, United States, Suriname, China, Dubai, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Turkey, Morocco, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand: your step-by-step plan, your documents and your costs in one place, with the timing watched. Pay once, and it's yours.