Knowledge base
Everything we know is simply online
Per country and per phase, in the order you need it. Every article says when it was last checked — because outdated information is the real problem in this niche. The articles themselves are in Dutch for now.
258 articles
Australia
19
- Orientation4 min
The three visa routes to Australia, explained
189, 190 or 491 — which one fits you determines your whole journey. And why the difference between "may take part" and "gets invited" costs most people time and money.
Updated 6 August 2026
- Orientation2 min
The skills assessment: who assesses your occupation, and why that step has to come first
Before Australia looks at your visa application, an assessing authority must establish that you really master your occupation. This is the longest processing time in the preparation phase — and therefore the step you start first.
Updated 9 August 2026
- Orientation3 min
The points system: how to calculate your Australian score
Age, English, work experience and education — the points system decides whether you get an invitation. This is how you add up your score, and this is the difference between being allowed to take part and being invited.
Updated 9 August 2026
- Orientation2 min
Is your occupation on the list? This is how you look it up
Without an occupation on the skilled occupation list there is no route — this is the very first check of the whole journey. How the lists work, why your job title doesn't count, and what else the list tells you.
Updated 9 August 2026
- Orientation3 min
When you need a migration adviser — and when you don't
For the ordinary journey an adviser is not compulsory, and the organising you can do yourself. But there are situations in which you bring one in without hesitation. The honest distinction, plus how to recognise a registered adviser.
Updated 9 August 2026
- Documents3 min
Apostille and legalisation: which document needs what
An apostille is a stamp from the court that makes your document valid abroad. When you need one, when you specifically don't — and why within the EU you're usually done without.
Updated 9 August 2026
- Documents3 min
The medical examination: why you shouldn't do it too early
The examination for your Australian visa is valid for twelve months, must be done by a designated panel physician, and applies to the whole family. The art is not passing it — the art is doing it at the right moment.
Updated 9 August 2026
- Documents3 min
Police certificates: why timing is everything here
They take 4 to 12 weeks and they are valid for only 12 months. Applying too early is just as expensive as too late — this is where careful planning pays off.
Updated 6 August 2026
- Language test3 min
IELTS or PTE — which test suits you?
The language test is the biggest points dial you can turn yourself: the difference between minimum and top score is 20 points. Both tests are accepted, but they reward different things.
Updated 6 August 2026
- Lodging4 min
AOW, pension and tax in Australia: everything moves to the state of residence — except your ABP
Australia is a treaty country, so your AOW (the Dutch state pension) comes fully along — and the tax treaty from 1976 sends both your AOW and your company pension to the Australian tax office. Only a government pension stays Dutch. On the Australian side your pension counts as ordinary income (with a tax-free UPP part), and the Age Pension is a test, not an accrual.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Lodging5 min
The 60-day clock: what must be ready before your invitation comes
If you receive an invitation for a skilled visa, you have sixty days to submit your application. You can no longer change your details then, and whoever lets an invitation lapse twice disappears from the system altogether.
Updated 8 August 2026
- Lodging2 min
The visa fees: what a family pays at submission
The fees for a skilled visa you pay per person, directly to the Australian government — and they are indexed every year on 1 July. The current amounts, what a family adds up to, and why you can't save on this.
Updated 9 August 2026
- Lodging3 min
State nomination: the 190 and 491 routes, explained
If you're short of points for the independent route, an Australian state can nominate you — for 5 or 15 extra points. How the nomination works, what states expect of you and why this is the least predictable part of the journey.
Updated 9 August 2026
- Move & arrival2 min
Buying a house in Australia: without PR the existing housing market is closed until mid-2029
Australia has banned the purchase of existing homes by foreign persons — including temporary visa holders — and that ban has been extended in the 2026-27 budget to 30 June 2029. Permanent residents and New Zealanders are exempt; new builds are sometimes possible with approval. And even *with* fresh PR you take care: states such as New South Wales charge 9% extra for whoever hasn't yet lived 200 days in Australia.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Move & arrival2 min
Renting in Australia: winning the application without an Australian history
Renting is done the Australian way: you apply. Without a local rental history that feels hopeless, but the rules protect you more than you think — the bond is capped and lodged with the state, savings count as evidence, and what you may and may not offer differs per state.
Updated 11 August 2026
- Move & arrival3 min
Your first two weeks in Australia, in order
SIM card, bank account, tax number, Medicare — the registrations of your first weeks interlock, and whoever knows the order is done in days where others lose weeks.
Updated 21 August 2026
- Move & arrival2 min
Your driving licence in Australia: the Netherlands is on the right list — but the clock ticks per state
As a Dutch citizen you exchange your driving licence without a theory or practical test — the Netherlands is on the recognised list. What does differ per state: the deadline (NSW three months after PR, Victoria six months after arrival) and the translation requirement almost everyone misjudges.
Updated 11 August 2026
- Move & arrival3 min
Medicare for Dutch citizens: what it covers, and the deadline migrants miss
As a PR holder — or even as a PR applicant — you simply get into Medicare. What almost nobody knows: the Netherlands has a healthcare agreement with Australia that bridges your landing, and a 12-month deadline is ticking for whoever wants to avoid a loading on their private insurance.
Updated 11 August 2026
- Move & arrival2 min
Going to school in Australia: free for PR families, expensive for whoever comes too early
With permanent residency you enrol your children like any Australian family: free, with voluntary contributions. But whoever travels ahead on a temporary visa pays thousands of dollars in school fees per child per year in some states — and that belongs in the planning, not in the surprise.
Updated 11 August 2026
Spain
18
- Orientation3 min
The Beckham regime: 24% flat tax, six years long — and why it isn't for pensioners
Whoever moves to Spain to work or run a business there can opt for the regime of article 93: taxed as a non-resident, 24% on your Spanish employment income up to € 600,000, and your foreign income largely stays out of reach. The condition that excludes most Dutch emigrants: you have to come to work.
Updated 27 August 2026
- Orientation3 min
The income and health-cover requirement: what Spain wants to see before you may stay
Whoever stays longer than three months and doesn't work in Spain has to demonstrate two things — sufficient means and full health cover. What exactly is tested, which evidence counts, and why there's no amount here.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Orientation4 min
Being allowed to stay is not the same as being sorted
As a Dutch citizen you may live in Spain without a visa. That's exactly why people underestimate this process: there's no authority that stops you, and so nobody who tells you what you have to arrange.
Updated 21 August 2026
- Orientation3 min
Why you don't buy a house in your first year
The most expensive mistake in any emigration isn't a forgotten form but a purchase made too early: a house bought before you knew the country, the neighbourhood and your own new life. Rent first — this is why that order is fixed.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
Applying for the NIE from the Netherlands
You can already arrange your Spanish identification number at the consulate in the Netherlands. Whoever does so doesn't lose their first weeks in Spain to securing an appointment.
Updated 6 August 2026
- The move2 min
Taking your car to Spain: driving in is fine, keeping on driving isn't automatic
You drive into Spain without any formalities — but as soon as you live there, the car has to go onto Spanish plates, and that deadline is short. What the conversion requires, what it costs, and when selling is the smarter route.
Updated 9 August 2026
- The move3 min
Taking your pet to Spain: chip, jab, passport — and 21 days of patience
Within the EU your dog or cat simply travels with you, without quarantine. There are only three requirements, and one of them has a waiting period that can shift your departure date if you start too late.
Updated 9 August 2026
- The move4 min
Your household contents to Spain: full load, part load or sell
Spain is reachable by road, and that gives options a shipment doesn't have. The difference between the cheapest and the most expensive route runs into thousands of euros — and the cheapest isn't always the wisest.
Updated 8 August 2026
- Registration in Spain3 min
Cita previa: getting an appointment when there are none
Almost every Spanish counter works by appointment, and in popular regions there never seem to be any. What's really going on, what helps in practice — and when a gestor is worth the money.
Updated 9 August 2026
- Registration in Spain4 min
Empadronamiento: the registration everything else hangs on
Your registration at the Spanish town hall is free, takes a quarter of an hour, and is the condition for your health card, your children's school and your registration certificate. Yet it's the step people get stuck on the longest.
Updated 8 August 2026
- Registration in Spain4 min
The green registration certificate: what you bring to the appointment
If you stay in Spain longer than three months, you're obliged to register. The certificate costs € 12 and is a matter of one appointment — provided you come with the right papers. This is what's asked of you.
Updated 8 August 2026
- Registration in Spain2 min
Renting in Spain: five years of protection, one month's deposit, and the costs the landlord bears
Spanish tenancy law protects you better than its reputation: five years of security of tenure, a deposit capped by law, and since 2023 the agency fees are the landlord's. Plus the scam signals you need all the more as a foreigner.
Updated 11 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Becoming an autónomo in Spain: since 2023 your contribution hangs on your real income
In 2023 Spain moved away from the fixed monthly contribution for the self-employed. You now pay according to your expected net profit, in bands — and after the year ends it's settled against what you actually earned. Estimating too low means paying extra, estimating too high means getting money back.
Updated 27 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
The Spanish healthcare system: three routes in, and one safety net that costs money
Whoever works in Spain is automatically in public healthcare, pensioners come in with the S1 — and since 2018 legal residents without work have access too. For whoever falls under nothing there's the convenio especial: € 60 a month, with one important exception.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival4 min
Buying a house in Spain: there's no notary who arranges everything for you
In the Netherlands the notary handles the whole transfer: tax, land registry, done. In Spain the notario only signs the deed — the transfer tax, the municipal notification and the entry in the property register are afterwards *your* counters, each with its own deadline. Whoever knows that hires a gestor for it; whoever doesn't finds out when something goes wrong.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
Your driving licence in Spain: the two-year myth, and what's really required
"After two years you have to exchange it" — for Dutch citizens that isn't true: that rule only applies to licences that are (almost) indefinitely valid. Your licence simply stays valid until the expiry date; *then* you renew in Spain, with a medical.
Updated 11 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
Going to school in Spain: three kinds of school, and an address that chooses
Público, concertado or privado — and an admission in which your home address weighs heaviest. How enrolment works, what happens if you arrive outside the regular period, and how schools take in children without Spanish.
Updated 11 August 2026
- Arrival4 min
Where do you pay tax when you live in Spain?
Almost everyone thinks it's about 183 days. That's not right: the Dutch Belastingdienst looks at your actual circumstances, and you can be in Spain for well over half a year and still live in the Netherlands for tax purposes.
Updated 27 August 2026
Portugal
6
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
Tax in Portugal: the paradise is closed (and what does apply)
The famous NHR regime has been closed to newcomers since 2024. Its successor (IFICI) is for a narrow group of professions — most Dutch emigrants simply fall under the normal Portuguese rates. What that means, before you decide.
Updated 10 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands2 min
Arranging the NIF before you leave: the opening move of your Portuguese process
Without a NIF — the Portuguese tax number — no bank account, no rental contract, no contracts. As an EU citizen you can already apply for it from the Netherlands, without the tax representative that commercial services make you pay for.
Updated 10 August 2026
- The move3 min
Taking your car to Portugal: the ISV exemption that saves thousands of euros
Portugal levies a hefty import tax (ISV) on cars — but whoever moves can get full exemption. The conditions are precise, the deadlines hard, and whoever knows them takes their car along almost for free.
Updated 10 August 2026
- Registration in Portugal3 min
The CRUE: the registration at the câmara that's mandatory after three months
After three months in Portugal you have 30 days to register — not at an immigration office, but at the town hall. What it costs, what you bring, and the fine almost nobody knows about.
Updated 10 August 2026
- Registration in Portugal3 min
NISS and número de utente: the two numbers that carry your Portuguese life
After the NIF come two more numbers: the NISS for work and social security, the número de utente for healthcare. Who applies for them, where, and the route pensioners take through the CAK — with a counter that arranges three numbers in one go.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Buying a house in Portugal: first pay the tax yourself, then everything in one go at Casa Pronta
Portugal sits exactly between the Netherlands and Spain. The taxes — the IMT and the stamp duty of 0.8% — *you* as buyer pay before the transfer. But after that the government has something almost no country has: the Balcão Casa Pronta, one counter where the deed of sale and the entry in the register happen in one appointment. Then comes the annual IMI.
Updated 28 August 2026
France
6
- Closing the Netherlands2 min
Tax in France: no favourable regime, but a system that helps families
France has no little tax paradise for newcomers — the only favourable regime is for employees brought in by a French company. What there is instead: a system that calculates per household, and a first return that only comes the year after your arrival.
Updated 11 August 2026
- The move3 min
Taking your car to France: the carte grise is manageable, the malus isn't
Within a month your car has to be on French plates, entirely digitally. The procedure is doable — but unlike in Spain and Portugal there's *no* relocation exemption for the CO2 levy. So do the sums before the lorry sets off, not after.
Updated 11 August 2026
- Getting the basics in order in France4 min
The CPAM and the number you wait months for: start the clock on day one
French healthcare only knows you once you report. For non-workers the entitlement begins after three months of residence, and after that the processing runs on for weeks to months. Whoever starts the registration straight away suffers least from it.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Getting the basics in order in France2 min
The justificatif de domicile: the paper all of France asks for
No registration, no residence card — and yet *every* French counter asks for proof that you live where you live. What counts as proof, how fresh it has to be (that differs per counter), and how you start the chain on day one.
Updated 11 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Buying a house in France: the notaire arranges almost everything — these are the three differences
Of all destinations, France resembles the Netherlands most here: the notaire collects the taxes, registers the transfer and you walk out as the owner. The differences are in the bill (count on 7 to 8% for existing property), your ten days of statutory cooling-off after the preliminary contract, and the taxe foncière that comes every year after that.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
Médecin traitant and mutuelle: the two choices that keep your French healthcare affordable
Whoever doesn't declare a GP in France is structurally reimbursed less — from 19 to 8.40 euros on a consultation of 30. And almost everyone (96%) has a mutuelle alongside the basic insurance. How both work, and when you arrange them.
Updated 28 August 2026
Curaçao
6
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
Tax and the penshonado scheme: the two-month clock nobody knows about
Your AOW (the Dutch state pension) travels to Curaçao in full — including the single person's rate. And for pensioners there's the penshonado scheme: 10% on your foreign income, provided you make the request within two months of registration and buy a home within eighteen months. Whoever misses the clocks pays the full rate.
Updated 7 September 2026
- The move2 min
The container to Curaçao: what the crossing costs, and how the exemption works
Your household contents cross the ocean by sea container — count on weeks of sailing time and thousands of euros. Customs grants an exemption from import taxes for used household goods, but only whoever knows the conditions (six months of ownership, an inventory list with values, declaration within six months) benefits from it.
Updated 12 August 2026
- The move2 min
Your car to Curaçao: one exemption, twelve months of ownership, otherwise the full rate
One passenger car per family may come along tax-free — provided it was in your possession and use for twelve months before shipment. Whoever falls outside that pays import levies that usually tip the sum towards: buy there.
Updated 12 August 2026
- Registration on Curaçao2 min
The declaration by operation of law: you may live on Curaçao — but have it recorded
Your Dutch passport gives you the right to live on Curaçao. You have that right recorded at the Toelatingsorganisatie: XCG 615, a decision period of four months — and you may simply await the decision on the island. What goes into the file, including the document that only keeps for three months.
Updated 12 August 2026
- Registration on Curaçao2 min
Kranshi and the sédula: the registration your Curaçao life hangs on
Within five days of settling you're supposed to be on the books at Kranshi — with your declaration, your tenancy agreement and a proof of deregistration from the Netherlands no older than six months. Three working days later you collect the sédula, and only then do you really exist on the island.
Updated 12 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
Buying a house on Curaçao: the notary arranges it — and the OZB is charged in bands
On Curaçao you buy through the notary, who executes the deed and settles the transfer tax on completion. After that comes the annual property tax: a banded rate of 0.4 to 0.6 per cent on the register value the Inspectie determines. And because many homes stand on long-lease land, the long-lease check is just as important here as the structural survey.
Updated 7 September 2026
England
8
- Orientation4 min
The Skilled Worker visa: how the route to England works after Brexit
No visa, no move — and the Skilled Worker visa doesn't start with a form but with a job. What the sponsor requirement means, which salary threshold applies (£41,700, or the going rate for your occupation if that is higher), and what the process really costs.
Updated 14 August 2026
- Job and visa2 min
The English language requirement has been raised to B2 — and this is how you prove it
Since 8 January 2026 the Skilled Worker visa requires level B2, no longer B1. Many sites still quote the old level. Which tests count (SELT), how long a result stays valid, and when you don't need to sit a test at all.
Updated 14 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands4 min
AOW, healthcare and pension in England: what comes along, what stops — and the treaty route almost nobody knows
The SVB says it in so many words: your AOW (the Dutch state pension) doesn't change when you move to the UK — it arrives in pounds in your British account. And for pensioners, even after Brexit, a treaty route via the CAK still simply exists, with a country-of-residence factor that sits below the Dutch premium.
Updated 28 August 2026
- The move3 min
Your car and driving licence in England: driving on the left, NOVA, and the sums to do first
Your Dutch driving licence simply stays valid in England until you turn seventy, and exchanging it needs no test. You may bring the car too — but a left-hand-drive car needs converted headlights and an extra inspection, and only then does the real arithmetic begin.
Updated 14 August 2026
- The move2 min
ToR1: the form that can save your move to England thousands of euros
Since Brexit your household goods are formally an import: without relief you pay import duty plus VAT on everything in the lorry. The Transfer of Residence relief removes that — if you apply for it before the removal company sets off.
Updated 14 August 2026
- Arrival in England3 min
Buying a house in England: nothing is certain until exchange — and read what you're actually buying
England has two surprises you need to know beforehand. An accepted offer binds nobody: only at the exchange of contracts is the purchase real, and until that day either party can walk away. And not every "purchase" is ownership: with leasehold you buy the right to live there for a fixed number of years. On top of that comes the stamp duty, with surcharges that hit emigrants in particular: 5 percentage points extra as long as your Dutch house isn't sold, and 2 percentage points for whoever isn't yet a UK resident.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival in England3 min
Renting in England: the Right to Rent check, the deposit cap and what a landlord may not ask
Before you can rent a home in England, the landlord is obliged to check your residence status — and you supply the share code for that. The deposit is capped at five weeks' rent and must go into a protection scheme; whoever knows that also spots straight away the landlords who aren't too particular about it.
Updated 14 August 2026
- Arrival in England3 min
Your first weeks in England: NIN, GP, bank and council tax in the right order
England has no population register — there is no counter where you "just register". Instead you arrange four separate things, and the order saves weeks: you may work before your National Insurance Number arrives, and the GP asks for no proof of address.
Updated 21 August 2026
Germany
6
- Orientation4 min
GKV or PKV: the German healthcare choice you can only get right once
Whoever goes to work in Germany is automatically publicly insured (GKV) — family covered free. Whoever earns above the wage threshold may go private (PKV), and that tempts with low entry premiums. But the way back is legally sealed off, and above 55 it is virtually locked.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands4 min
Tax and pension in Germany: the € 15,000 threshold that turns everything around
In almost every tax treaty the rule is: pension is taxed where you live. The treaty with Germany has an exception no other corridor knows — if your Dutch pension plus AOW comes above € 15,000 a year, the Netherlands may tax it. Whoever only discovers that at the first German tax return has a problem they could have known about.
Updated 27 August 2026
- The move3 min
Taking your car to Germany: re-registering, the HU — and money back from the Netherlands
As soon as you live in Germany, your car belongs on German plates — the route runs via insurance, inspection and the Zulassungsstelle. The good news almost nobody knows: on export the Netherlands refunds part of your BPM, and that can be hundreds to thousands of euros.
Updated 15 August 2026
- Registration in Germany3 min
The Anmeldung: the two-week clock the whole of Germany hangs on
Within two weeks of moving in you must register at the Bürgeramt — with a confirmation from your landlord that he is legally obliged to issue. Without the Anmeldung no tax number, no easy banking, no subscriptions. And watch the religion field: that one box costs 8 to 9 percent church tax.
Updated 15 August 2026
- Registration in Germany2 min
Renting in Germany: Kaltmiete, three months' deposit and who pays the agent
The German rent you see is almost never what you pay: on top of the Kaltmiete come the Nebenkosten. The deposit may legally be three months' basic rent (in three instalments), the agent is paid by whoever engaged him — and without a landlord's confirmation you can't register anywhere.
Updated 15 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Buying a house in Germany: the system protects you with sequence — and the Finanzamt holds the key
Germany has the safest purchase process of all destinations: you only pay once the Vormerkung in the Grundbuch protects you, and the seller only loses his ownership once you have paid. But the Grunderwerbsteuer differs per federal state (3.5 to 6.5%), and without proof that it has been paid, the Grundbuch doesn't register you as owner. After that comes the annual Grundsteuer.
Updated 28 August 2026
United States
8
- Orientation4 min
The five keys to America: which routes really exist?
There is no general emigration route to the United States. You need a specific key: an employer, a business of your own, extraordinary talent, family, or luck in the lottery. This is what each route demands — and why ESTA is none of them.
Updated 15 August 2026
- Your visa4 min
The E-2 visa: the American door that stands open only for Dutch citizens
Thanks to a treaty from 1957, Dutch citizens can obtain an E-2 visa: invest in a real American business and run it yourself. No employer, no lottery, no minimum amount — but a file that has to be right, an issuance fee of over two thousand dollars, and one hard limit: this is not a route to a green card.
Updated 15 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands4 min
Liable for American tax: two reporting duties, and the child born there
As soon as you live in the US, America taxes your worldwide income — including your Dutch savings and your BV. On top of that stand two reporting duties that exist side by side, not instead of each other. And whoever has a child there gives that child an American passport and a filing obligation that lasts a lifetime.
Updated 26 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands4 min
AOW, healthcare and tax in America: what comes along, what stops — and what works like this nowhere else
Thanks to the treaty, the AOW (the Dutch state pension) travels fully to the US — but as the only destination it remains taxed exclusively in the Netherlands. The notorious American WEP reduction has been abolished since 2024. And the healthcare story is hard: no treaty route, no safety net — you insure yourself.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands9 min
Coming along on an L-2: what you let go of in the Netherlands — and what you get back for it
Your partner is being transferred to the United States by the employer on an L-1. You come along on an L-2, without a job of your own, with the plan to be in the Netherlands for part of the year. The L-2 gives you more than you think: residence, the right to work, free travel. What it does *not* arrange is your Dutch administration — and that's where the knot is.
Updated 7 September 2026
- The move3 min
Your car and your household contents to America: what is allowed, and why the car had better stay behind
Your household goods come along duty-free if you had them in use for a year. Your car is another story: customs itself warns about sellers who promise that a European car is "easy to adapt", and whoever brings it anyway is tied to an export obligation within a year.
Updated 15 August 2026
- Arrival in the United States3 min
Buying a house in America: no notary, but an escrow — and three days to read everything
America has no notary as the Netherlands does: the purchase runs via a settlement agent — a title company or closing attorney — who holds the money, has the deed signed and records the documents with the county. By law you receive the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before the closing. After that your property taxes often simply run in your monthly payment, via your bank's escrow account.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival in the United States4 min
Your first weeks in America: SSN, health insurance and a credit history from zero
In America you start administratively at zero — no credit history, no health insurance, no number. The order determines how quickly you can live normally: the Social Security Number first, the insurance within sixty days, and the credit card you need to ever rent a home.
Updated 21 August 2026
Switzerland
6
- Orientation5 min
Living in Switzerland: the permit, and the Dutch advantage from 1935
No visa, but a residence permit within fourteen days — though that permit proves your right, it doesn't grant it. And Dutch citizens get permanent residence after five years where most other EU citizens have to wait ten, thanks to an exchange of notes from 1935.
Updated 15 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands4 min
AOW and pension in Switzerland: since 2021 the Netherlands withholds
Until 2021 your Dutch pension was taxed in Switzerland and the Netherlands withheld nothing. Since then that has been reversed: the Netherlands levies up to 15% on pension, annuity and AOW (the Dutch state pension) — from the first euro, with no threshold. Almost every older guide on the internet gets this wrong.
Updated 28 August 2026
- The move4 min
Your car and your household goods to Switzerland: a real customs border, and no BPM refund
Switzerland isn't in the EU, and you notice that twice. Your removal goods must be cleared through customs with a form and an inventory list. And the BPM refund that emigrants to Germany are entitled to doesn't exist here — that scheme stops at the border of the EU and the EEA.
Updated 15 August 2026
- Registration in Switzerland5 min
Swiss health insurance: three months' thinking time that is no postponement
You must insure yourself within three months of arrival — but the cover starts retroactively on your arrival date, and so do the premiums. Waiting saves nothing. Count on a fixed premium per person, for your children too, without any employer contribution.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Buying a house in Switzerland: first the Lex Koller question — are you allowed to buy yet?
In Switzerland a house purchase doesn't begin with the viewing but with one legal question: do you already live there? Whoever as an EU citizen genuinely lives in Switzerland buys freely; whoever wants to buy something from the Netherlands in advance falls under the permit requirement of the Lex Koller. After that the canton determines almost everything: the notary, the costs and the Handänderungssteuer. And for tax purposes your own home still counts, for now, as notional income — the Eigenmietwert.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Your first year in Switzerland: three clocks and a language choice
In Switzerland, arrival isn't the end of the paperwork but the start of three deadlines: twelve months for your driving licence and your number plates, ten days for your dog, and a broadcasting bill that arrives by itself once you're registered. Plus the decision that has no deadline but determines the most: in which language your children go to school.
Updated 23 August 2026
Canada
6
- Orientation4 min
Express Entry and your CRS score: why French is the biggest lever you pull yourself
Canada ranks you on points and invites the top. Two things many sites still have wrong: the points for a job offer were abolished in March 2025, and French yields up to 50 extra points — with French-language draws that close a hundred points lower than the ordinary ones.
Updated 16 August 2026
- Orientation3 min
Working holiday in Canada: the route for whoever is under 31 — with a quota of 480
The Netherlands has a youth mobility agreement with Canada, and that gives access to a year of work with an open work permit. Two hard limits: you have to be 18 to 30 inclusive, and the Dutch quota is small — 480 places, allocated by lottery, and usually used up by spring.
Updated 16 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands4 min
AOW, pension and tax in Canada: 15% stays in the Netherlands, and what you must record on day one
Canada is a treaty country, so your AOW goes with you in full — as a single person you keep the full 70%. But the Netherlands withholds up to 15% on your pension, and the deductions that EU emigrants keep don't apply here. One action on your day of arrival can save thousands of euros later.
Updated 7 September 2026
- The move4 min
Your household contents, your car and your dog to Canada: one list that determines everything
Your household goods come in tax-free, but only what is on your arrival list — forgotten items you simply pay for later. Your car is another story: a European car plainly isn't allowed into Canada, and there is no exception for emigrants. Your dog is allowed, with one document.
Updated 16 August 2026
- Arrival in Canada2 min
Buying a house in Canada: until January 2027 your residence status is the key
Canada prohibits the purchase of homes by whoever isn't a citizen or permanent resident — the ban has been extended to 1 January 2027. For emigrants the opening lies in the exceptions: a work permit with at least 183 days' validity left gives room to buy. After that the province determines the bill, with Ontario as the example: land transfer tax, a rebate for first-time buyers — and 25% extra for whoever doesn't have PR.
Updated 7 September 2026
- Arrival in Canada5 min
Your first weeks in Canada: SIN, health card and a driving licence that works out differently per province
Canada is federal as far as your status is concerned, but provincial in almost everything you arrange after that. Your health insurance, your driving licence and your deposit differ per province — and the driving licence in particular holds a surprise: the Netherlands is on the exchange list of BC and Alberta, but not on Ontario's.
Updated 21 August 2026
New Zealand
8
- Orientation5 min
The four routes to New Zealand: why everything here starts with a job
New Zealand doesn't rank you and doesn't make you enter a draw: six points is a threshold, and you hear straight after submitting whether you are over it. But almost every door starts with an employer accredited by Immigration New Zealand — and that makes the order different from Canada and Australia.
Updated 16 August 2026
- Job and visa4 min
The Green List: the difference between immediate residence and two years of waiting
New Zealand keeps a list of occupations it needs people for, in two tiers. If your role is on tier 1, you get residence straight away with a job offer; if it is on tier 2, you work for 24 months first. So it pays to read that list before you start applying for jobs.
Updated 16 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands5 min
AOW, pension and tax in New Zealand: who levies what, and what comes off
New Zealand is a treaty country, so your AOW travels with you in full. But it stays taxed in the Netherlands as long as you are a Dutch citizen, while your private pension is precisely not — and as soon as you become entitled to NZ Super, your AOW is deducted from it dollar for dollar.
Updated 16 August 2026
- The move5 min
Household goods, car and pet to New Zealand: the strictest border in the world
Your household goods come in tax-free, but only if you owned and used them yourself — and everything has to be literally clean. Your car stays here, because New Zealand drives on the left. And for your dog or cat you start six months in advance, with ten days of quarantine at the end.
Updated 16 August 2026
- Arrival in New Zealand5 min
Your first weeks in New Zealand: bank account, IRD number and 45% if you're late
The order is more binding here than elsewhere: without a New Zealand bank account no IRD number, and without an IRD number your employer withholds 45% of your wages. Besides that: you exchange your driving licence without a test, and your choice of school hangs on your postcode.
Updated 21 August 2026
- Arrival in New Zealand4 min
Four years in which New Zealand doesn't tax your foreign income
Whoever becomes a tax resident of New Zealand for the first time automatically gets forty-eight months of exemption on almost all of their foreign income. You don't have to apply for anything, you get it only once — and a single application can end it in one stroke.
Updated 16 August 2026
- Arrival in New Zealand4 min
Why you are not allowed to buy a house in New Zealand straight away
Since 2018 foreigners have not been allowed to buy an existing home in New Zealand. On a work visa it isn't possible at all; with a resident visa only after you have lived there for twelve months — or earlier, with paid consent. That is not advice but a law, and you plan your first year around it.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Arrival in New Zealand4 min
Healthcare in New Zealand: no CAK route, but ACC
New Zealand is not on the treaty country list, so you arrange your healthcare yourself. Whether you are entitled to the public system hangs on your visa — and besides that there is ACC, which covers every accident, visitors' included, in exchange for the right to sue.
Updated 16 August 2026
Estonia
6
- Orientation2 min
e-Residency is not emigration: what the Estonian digital identity does and doesn't arrange
Estonia sells worldwide a digital identity with which you run an Estonian company remotely. A splendid product — but it gives no right of residence, no health insurance and no tax residence. Whoever really moves to Estonia doesn't need e-Residency and gets more from the ordinary ID card.
Updated 19 August 2026
- The move2 min
Your car to Estonia: the 2025 tax the old guides don't know about
Until 2025 Estonia was the only EU country without a car tax. That is over: there is now a one-off registration fee and an annual motor vehicle tax, both built up from a base amount, CO₂ and weight. Against that stands the Dutch BPM refund — and that sum often comes out in your favour, provided you do it beforehand.
Updated 19 August 2026
- Registration in Estonia2 min
The Estonian ID card: one counter visit, and after that everything is logging in
The order that carries the Estonian journey: register your residence within fourteen days (free, gives five years' right of residence), then within a month apply for the ID card at the PPA. That card is no mere pass but the key to almost every service — from tax return to prescriptions.
Updated 19 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Tax in Estonia: the 22% flat tax, and the increase that never came
Estonia levies a flat tax of 22% on income, with since 2026 a tax-free allowance of € 700 per month for everyone. The planned increase to 24% was scrapped at the end of 2025 — guides that quote that rate were too early. And the year of emigration itself has two returns: the Estonian one and the Dutch M return.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
Buying a house in Estonia: no transfer tax, one notary, one registration
Estonia keeps the house purchase small: the sale goes through the notary, who also arranges the entry in the kinnistusraamat — and only with that entry are you the owner. The cost list contains only the statutory notary fee and a modest riigilõiv; a transfer tax such as elsewhere in Europe is not among them. After that you pay annually only maamaks on the land, with a municipal discount for the land under your own home.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
Your first weeks in Estonia: the order that makes everything easy
In Estonia one order determines how heavy your first weeks are: home, residence registration, ID card — and after that almost everything is logging in. Plus the two deadlines you must not miss: fourteen days for your address, five working days for the car.
Updated 28 August 2026
Denmark
7
- The move3 min
Your car to Denmark: the tax that changes everything
On import Denmark levies the full registration tax on the Danish market value of your car — 25%, 85% and 150% per bracket, plus a CO₂ surcharge. A relocation exemption doesn't exist, not even for EU immigrants. Against that stands the Dutch BPM refund, but it almost never covers the Danish levy. This is how you do the sum — and this is how you know why selling usually wins.
Updated 20 August 2026
- Registration in Denmark3 min
CPR, MitID and Digital Post: the order that opens everything
In Denmark everything hangs on one number. The CPR number opens healthcare, the bank, tax and school — but the number itself waits for a residential address and for the EU residence document from SIRI. This is how the chain works, in the order that cannot be otherwise, and with the duty to read that the Netherlands doesn't know.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Registration in Denmark3 min
Your first weeks in Denmark: the order, the money and the pitfalls
Home, residence document, CPR, MitID, tax card — the Danish chain has a fixed order, and three money matters you want to know in advance: the deposit of up to six months' rent, the emergency rate of 8% + 55% if your tax card isn't sorted, and the trick that your Dutch account can temporarily be your NemKonto.
Updated 21 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Tax in Denmark: high, but predictable
The Danish system is higher than the Dutch one, but holds no surprises for whoever sets the advance assessment right: 8% AM-bidrag on everything, then state and municipal tax. Meanwhile the Netherlands keeps taxing your AOW and pension — the treaty of 1996 tipped to source-state taxation in 2018, and old guides still tell the old story.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
Buying a house in Denmark: a cooling-off period exists — but it costs 1 per cent
Denmark regulates the home purchase with three peculiarities you need to know: as an EU citizen you may buy a year-round home without a permit as soon as you really live there (a holiday home not), after the purchase agreement you have six working days' cooling-off but withdrawing costs 1% of the purchase price, and the registration runs entirely digitally via the tinglysning. After that the tax office collects the two property taxes automatically along with your monthly tax.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Working in Denmark: the a-kasse and the system without a minimum wage
Danish unemployment insurance is voluntary: no a-kasse membership, no benefit. Whoever wants their Dutch insurance years to count has only eight weeks after leaving. And there is no statutory minimum wage — wages are set in collective agreements, and that changes what you look at in a job offer.
Updated 20 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
Healthcare in Denmark: free GP, expensive dentist
The Danish healthcare system has no premium, no excess and no policy: whoever is registered is covered. But the system cuts differently from the Dutch one in three places — the dentist you largely pay yourself, medicines run via a ladder system, and physio is only subsidised with a referral. What that means, and what Sygeforsikring danmark has to do with it.
Updated 20 August 2026
Sweden
7
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
AOW and pension in Sweden: the treaty is about to tip — but not yet
Under the treaty of 1991 your occupational pension and annuity are taxed exclusively in Sweden; AOW and government pension remain Dutch. But on 24 June 2026 both countries signed a new treaty that pulls all Dutch pensions back to the source state — not yet in force, but it is the direction. Plus the country-of-residence factor that jumped from 0.78 to 1.0 in four years.
Updated 28 August 2026
- The move3 min
Your car to Sweden: cheap, with three bits of small print
Sweden levies no registration tax on import — the opposite of Denmark — and with the Dutch BPM refund on top the sum almost always comes out positive. But there are three bits of small print: the 7-day rule on foreign plates, the VAT on cars that count as new, and the malus that hangs on the first registration — worldwide, not on the Swedish registration.
Updated 20 August 2026
- Registration in Sweden3 min
Personnummer and BankID: the Swedish chain, and where it jams
Sweden asks for no registration at all with the immigration service — that was abolished in 2014. The real gate is the folkbokföring at Skatteverket: the personnummer on which healthcare, bank and almost all of digital life hang. The chain has one notorious jam: BankID requires a personnummer and a Swedish bank, and the bank wants to see identification first. This is how you walk it in the right order.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Registration in Sweden3 min
Housing in Sweden: the queue, the second-hand market and the rules
In Stockholm almost 900,000 people are in the housing queue, and the average waiting time is nine years. So newcomers almost always start on the second-hand market — legal and workable, provided you know the rules: permission is mandatory, trading in contracts is a criminal offence, and excessive sublet rent can be reclaimed. Plus: what a bostadsrätt actually is, for whoever wants to buy.
Updated 20 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Buying a house in Sweden: nothing counts until the signature — and sometimes you buy not a house but a share
Sweden is the mirror image of Belgium: a bid, a handshake or a won bidding war binds nobody — only the written köpekontrakt, signed by both parties, makes the purchase real. And whoever buys a flat usually buys not property but a share in a bostadsrättsförening, with quite different rules and costs. For a real fastighet: lagfart within three months and 1.5% stämpelskatt.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Working in Sweden: the a-kassa was rebuilt in 2025, and that affects you
Swedish unemployment insurance is voluntary, and since 1 October 2025 entirely new: income-based, with a benefit that hangs on how long you've been a member — 80% after a year of membership, 60% after six months, 50% without. Carrying over Dutch years is possible, but only after you've worked insured in Sweden. Plus: no minimum wage, but collective agreements that arrange everything, and the pension that runs along by itself.
Updated 20 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Healthcare in Sweden: you pay per visit, up to the ceiling
No premium, no policy, no excess — but a co-payment per visit, and for Dutch people that takes some getting used to. The system is protected by ceilings: a good SEK 1,400 a year for care, 3,800 for medicines. From the age of twenty the dentist is largely on you. This is how it works, with the 2026 amounts.
Updated 28 August 2026
Norway
7
- Closing the Netherlands2 min
AOW and pension in Norway: the Netherlands taxes, since 2014
The treaty with Norway tipped in 2013: since then the Netherlands taxes AOW, occupational pension and annuity that come from the Netherlands — and old guides still tell the old residence-state story. Norway meanwhile counts your worldwide income and gives credit. Plus the country-of-residence factor that is capped at the Dutch maximum.
Updated 28 August 2026
- The move3 min
The Norwegian border: what your removal van passes for free — and what never
Norway is EEA but stands outside the EU customs union: the border is real. Your household goods pass tax-free as removal goods — provided with the right declaration and an inventory list, through the red zone. Alcohol is never removal goods, new things aren't either, and whoever sends the mover across the border without papers brings the van to a standstill.
Updated 21 August 2026
- The move3 min
Your car to Norway: the engangsavgift, and why old is gold
No relocation exemption: whoever brings their car pays the engangsavgift (weight plus CO₂) and 25% VAT. But the age deduction pushes the bill down considerably, the NOx component has been abolished from 2026, and the Dutch BPM refund stands against it — so an old car often does win the sum and a young one doesn't. Plus: the thirty days, and what electric still yields.
Updated 21 August 2026
- Registration in Norway3 min
Fødselsnummer, MinID and BankID: the Norwegian chain
Norway has two registrations: the police are done while you stand there, but the fødselsnummer from Skatteetaten can take up to twenty-five weeks — and GP, bank and BankID wait for it. This is how the chain works, why the police's new ID card opens the bank door, and how MinID bridges the waiting time.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
Buying a house in Norway: the budrunde is binding — whoever texts the highest has bought
In Norway you buy a house in a bidding round via the estate agent, and a bid is legally binding as soon as the seller knows of it — it cannot be withdrawn, and there is no cooling-off period. If your bid wins, the purchase is concluded. After that the type of home makes a difference of thousands of euros: a selveierbolig costs 2.5% dokumentavgift, a borettslag share nothing. And the eiendomsskatt? That exists only in municipalities that want it.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
PAYE or ordinary tax: the choice that shapes your first Norwegian year
In Norway newcomers automatically fall into the PAYE scheme: a flat 25% including contributions, without a tax return and without deductions. For most starters that's favourable — but not for everyone, and whoever falls outside it only notices afterwards. The good news: you may still switch up to three years later.
Updated 21 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Healthcare in Norway: paying per visit, until the frikort comes
The Norwegian system has no premium and no policy, but it does have a co-payment per visit — up to the hard ceiling of NOK 3,278 a year, after which the frikort comes by itself. Children are free everywhere, the dentist for adults is free nowhere, and medicines on a blue prescription have become more expensive from 2026. The amounts, and what to do with them.
Updated 28 August 2026
Dubai
6
- Your visa3 min
The visa routes to Dubai: employer, gold, green or income
No points and no lottery: the UAE right of residence hangs on what you bring. The employer route is the standard, the Golden Visa (10 years) asks for AED 2 million in property or a salary from 30,000 a month, the Green Visa runs on your own income, and there's a route for remote workers and the over-55s. Plus what does not exist: permanent residence.
Updated 21 August 2026
- Your visa2 min
Documents for Dubai: the legalisation chain explained
The UAE is not an apostille country, so the single stamp that suffices within Europe doesn't exist here. Every certificate goes through a chain: any pre-legalisation, the Consulair Dienstencentrum in The Hague (€ 10 per document), and the UAE embassy. Which documents you need, in which order the stamps go, and why you do this before departure.
Updated 21 August 2026
- Your visa2 min
Schools in Dubai: everything is private, and this is how you choose
For expat children there is no public education in Dubai: everything runs through private schools under the supervision of the KHDA, with seventeen curricula side by side. The good news: the fees are regulated, for 2026-27 even frozen, and the "registration fee" is legally an advance that is offset against the fees. This is how you choose a school — and how you prevent your neighbourhood from choosing the school instead of the other way round.
Updated 7 September 2026
- Arrival in Dubai3 min
No pension in Dubai: the gratuity, the AOW trap and what you have to do yourself
The state portal says it literally: there is no pension scheme for expats. The end-of-service gratuity is capped at two years' salary, your AOW (the Dutch state pension) accrual stops, and single people see their AOW in the UAE fall back to half — irreparably, because it hangs on the country of residence. The zero-tax trade only works for whoever puts the difference aside themselves.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Arrival in Dubai2 min
Buying a house in Dubai: freehold in the designated zones, 4% at the DLD — and after that no tax, but a fee
In Dubai you buy full ownership as a foreigner, but only in the designated freehold areas. The transfer runs through a Registration Trustee office of the Dubai Land Department, with a 4% registration fee on the sale price and a digital title deed as proof. There's no annual property tax — there is the housing fee of 5% of the rental value that runs monthly through your DEWA account, and for apartments the service charges.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival in Dubai3 min
Renting in Dubai: cheques, Ejari and the RERA index
Dubai rents in advance: the legal standard is a year's rent in at most four instalments up front, in practice cheques. Against that stand two protections newcomers rarely know: the compulsory Ejari registration that activates your tenancy rights, and the RERA index that reins in rent increases. Plus the items that come on top of the rent — from housing fee to DEWA deposit.
Updated 21 August 2026
Japan
6
- Job and visa3 min
The work visa for Japan: first the job, then the COE
Japan selects not with points but with a sponsor: your employer applies for your Certificate of Eligibility in Japan, and after that the visa in The Hague is a week's work. The points system does exist — as a bonus that brings your waiting time for permanent residence down from ten years to three or even one.
Updated 21 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands4 min
AOW, pension and tax in Japan: the treaty that changes everything
Japan is a treaty country, and that makes a difference: your AOW (the Dutch state pension) goes with you in full — including the single person's rate of 70% — and your Dutch and Japanese pension years are added together. The pitfalls lie elsewhere: the choice between the Japanese contribution refund and the treaty, and a tax treaty with a clause that hangs on your transfers.
Updated 7 September 2026
- The move2 min
Taking your pet to Japan: the 180 days that set your departure date
Japan doesn't count the Netherlands among the rabies-free countries, and that means a fixed chain: chip, two rabies vaccinations, a titre test — and then 180 days of waiting, counted from the blood sample. Whoever starts too late pays the difference in quarantine days. This is the step you plan *first*, even before your own departure date.
Updated 21 August 2026
- Arrival in Japan2 min
Buying a house in Japan: anyone may — but the tax bill arrives once you've forgotten it
Japan has no permit system for foreign home buyers: no visa requirement, no approval as in Australia or Switzerland. The purchase runs via a licensed estate agent and a registration lawyer. The pitfall lies in the taxes: the one-off acquisition tax of 3% is assessed by the prefecture months after the purchase, and after that come the annual fixed asset tax of 1.4% and the city planning tax of 0.3% — for whoever is the owner on 1 January.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival in Japan2 min
Renting in Japan: reikin, deposit, the guarantor — and the route around it
A Japanese tenancy agreement asks for four to six months' rent up front: key money you never see again, deposit, commission and a compulsory guarantee company. There is one semi-public landlord that scraps all of that — and it's precisely for newcomers without a Japanese guarantor that it's interesting.
Updated 21 August 2026
- Arrival in Japan2 min
Your first weeks in Japan: the card, the fourteen days and the six-month rule
You get the residence card at the airport already, and after that everything hooks together: within fourteen days to the municipal office, then My Number, then the bank — where you're on the books as a "non-resident" for the first six months. Whoever knows the order is sorted in two weeks.
Updated 21 August 2026
China
6
- Job and visa3 min
The work permit for China: the threshold, the class and the chain
China doesn't select with a pool but with a threshold: a bachelor's plus two years of work experience — or sixty points — makes you class B, and your employer files the application. The PU letter no longer exists, the double legalisation has been replaced by one apostille, and the work permit card has been digital since the end of 2024.
Updated 21 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
AOW, pension and tax in China: the treaty that doesn't quite do enough
China is on the SVB's list of treaty countries — and yet the AOW (the Dutch state pension) for single people drops there to 50%, because the treaty doesn't arrange export. What it does arrange: posting. Plus the tax treaty that lets the Netherlands levy, and the Chinese six-year rule with its 30-day reset.
Updated 21 August 2026
- The move3 min
Your pet to China: the titre route past quarantine
The Netherlands isn't on the Chinese list of designated countries, so the default is thirty days of quarantine — but with a chip, vaccination and a titre test at the recognised lab in Lelystad your dog or cat is released immediately on arrival. The rules: one animal per person, and mind Beijing's dog rules.
Updated 21 August 2026
- Arrival in China2 min
Buying a house in China: only after a year, one home — and the land stays the state's
China lets foreigners buy only after at least a year of working or studying in the country, and then one home for their own use — cities add requirements of their own on top. What you buy, moreover, is never the land: that stays the state's, you buy the building on a land-use right of seventy years. The deed tax has been mild since December 2024: 1% up to and including 140 square metres, above that 1.5%.
Updated 7 September 2026
- Arrival in China3 min
Internet, WeChat and paying: digital life in China, honestly
Google, WhatsApp and Instagram don't work in China, and that's not a fault but policy. Daily life runs on WeChat and Alipay — your contact with the Netherlands shifts there too. What that means in practice, what employers arrange, and where the law stands.
Updated 21 August 2026
- Arrival in China3 min
Your first weeks in China: three clocks and one order
Within 24 hours to the police, within 15 days the work permit, within 30 days the residence permit — and after that everything builds in one order: SIM card, bank account, payment apps. The registration slip from day one is the key at every step.
Updated 21 August 2026
Aruba
6
- Orientation3 min
Aruban admission: five years of permits, then by operation of law
Unlike on Curaçao, a European Dutch citizen on Aruba gets no declaration by operation of law on arrival: for the first five years you simply require a permit, with an annual renewal. How the staircase works — five years of permits, then by operation of law, after ten years free — and which softeners apply to Dutch citizens.
Updated 22 August 2026
- Orientation3 min
Working and earning on Aruba: florin, cessantia and the zero band
The Aruban labour market runs on tourism, the minimum wage has been an hourly wage of Afl. 11.58 since 2026, and on dismissal through no fault of your own there is a statutory payment: the cessantia. What a Dutch employee needs to know about pay, tax, illness and the premiums that come off your payslip.
Updated 22 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
AOW, pension and tax on Aruba: what the Kingdom does arrange
Aruba is the mildest destination outside Europe for your old age: the AOW goes with you in full — including the single-person rate and the partner allowance — and the old Kingdom arrangement assigns the taxation of AOW and pension to Aruba. What stops, what travels with you, and why the penshonado scheme is being looked for on the wrong island.
Updated 28 August 2026
- The move2 min
The container to Aruba: exemption, border BBO and the six-month rule
Aruba is its own customs territory — but whoever prepares the removal goods exemption properly pays no import duties and no 7% border tax. How the exemption works, why the container only sails once you are registered, and the six-month rule that decides whether the car comes along.
Updated 7 September 2026
- Registration on Aruba3 min
Your first weeks on Aruba: Censo, cedula and the 30-day window
The chain after landing is fixed: register with Censo, collect the cedula, and within thirty days go to the AZV — that window determines whether your health insurance covers you retroactively or not. Plus the rule almost nobody knows: your Dutch driving licence is invalid on Aruba as soon as you live there.
Updated 22 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
Buying a house on Aruba: the familiar notary process — with a kink in the tax at 250,000 florin
Buying on Aruba feels Dutch: the notary executes the deed, settles the transfer tax and handles the registration. The bill has one peculiarity: 3% transfer tax up to and including Afl. 250,000 and 6% on everything above — so the value of your house determines which half you fall into. After that, whoever is the owner on 1 January pays annual land tax.
Updated 28 August 2026
Belgium
6
- Orientation3 min
Working and earning in Belgium: double holiday pay, the index and the real net salary
The Belgian gross salary lies in two directions: the tax burden is higher than Dutch people expect, but against that stands a package that appears nowhere on the payslip in the vacancy — double holiday pay, an end-of-year bonus, meal vouchers and the automatic index. Plus the pitfall of your first year: you accrue holiday entitlements in the year before.
Updated 27 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands4 min
AOW, pension and tax in Belgium: the treaty and the € 25,000 threshold
Within the EU your AOW goes with you in full, and the accrual even continues if you keep working in the Netherlands. The real story is in the tax treaty: the notorious € 25,000 threshold in the pension article, the mortgage-interest relief you can keep as a cross-border worker — and the new treaty from 2023 that is still not in force.
Updated 27 August 2026
- The move3 min
Taking your car to Belgium: BPM refunded, BIV to pay — and check the LEZ first
When you move to Belgium you get the remaining BPM back from the Netherlands — provided you are registered in Belgium within thirteen weeks. Against that stands the BIV, which each region calculates completely differently, and three low-emission zones where every Dutch number plate has to register in advance. The chain from RDW to number plate, in the right order.
Updated 22 August 2026
- Registration in Belgium3 min
Settling in Belgium: bijlage 19, the neighbourhood officer and the complete file
Free movement doesn't mean nothing is required: whoever stays in Belgium for more than three months registers with the municipality, gets a visit from the neighbourhood police officer and then collects the EU card. Since September 2025 the bar is higher: the application is only accepted with the complete file of evidence. This is how the chain runs — and how you get through it in one go.
Updated 22 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
The mutualiteit, the remgeld and the S1: how healthcare works for Dutch residents of Belgium
Where you are insured depends not on where you live but on where you work: cross-border workers keep their Dutch insurance including the healthcare allowance, whoever works in Belgium chooses a health fund, and pensioners go through the CAK with a country-of-residence factor. Plus the remgeld, the global medical file and the hospitalisation insurance that everyone takes out alongside.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Buying a house in Belgium: the compromis binds at once, and your region sets your tax
The Belgian buying process resembles the Dutch one — the notary handles the deed, the tax and the registration — but with two catches. The compromis is binding immediately: sold is sold, even before a notary is involved. And the registration tax depends on the region: 2% in Flanders, 3% in Wallonia, in Brussels 12.5% with an exemption on the first € 200,000 — each time on conditions that your Dutch owner-occupied home can spoil.
Updated 28 August 2026
Finland
6
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
AOW and pension in Finland: the treaty with the 20% rule
The tax treaty with Finland dates from 1995 and calculates differently from the newer treaties: the AOW remains taxed exclusively in the Netherlands, but on your occupational pension the Netherlands may keep up to 20 per cent source tax — alongside the Finnish tax as country of residence. What that means for your net monthly income, and which registrations around your pension you have to arrange yourself.
Updated 28 August 2026
- The move3 min
Your car to Finland: the exemption that no longer exists
Finland levies car tax at the first registration, and the relocation exemption was already abolished in 2015 — which many sites still miss. How the autovero calculates, why an electric car stands at 0%, and the three clocks that determine the procedure: five days, three months and thirteen weeks.
Updated 22 August 2026
- Registration in Finland3 min
Henkilötunnus and kotikunta: the number is not the gate
Nowadays you get the Finnish personal identity code almost by itself — but it opens nothing. Access to healthcare, school and municipal services hangs on the kotikunta, a separate registration with DVV. How the chain runs from Migri to DVV, where the digital catch-22 sits, and how you break it with an ID card from the police.
Updated 22 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
Buying a house in Finland: usually you buy shares — and that is your fiscal luck
A Finnish flat is almost never real property: you buy shares in an asunto-osakeyhtiö, the housing company that owns the building. That saves half the transfer tax (1.5% instead of 3%) and the whole land registry process. If you do buy a real house with land, the rule is: first pay the varainsiirtovero, then apply for lainhuuto within six months. The old exemption for the first owner-occupied home no longer exists since 2024 — don't fall for outdated advice.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Working in Finland: the fund, the collective agreement and the 60% trap
Three things shape your first working months in Finland: the verokortti that prevents a withholding of 60 per cent, the fund membership you have to arrange within one month to keep your Dutch WW years, and the collective-agreement system that guards wages even without a statutory minimum wage. Plus the reassurance: the employer pension runs by law here, by itself.
Updated 22 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Healthcare in Finland: three ceilings and a card that comes by itself
Finnish healthcare has two keys that are often confused: the kotikunta opens the health centre, the Kela card takes care of the pharmacy. Above that hang three statutory annual ceilings that together form your maximum healthcare risk. How the system works, what it costs in 2026, and which amounts circulate online out of date.
Updated 28 August 2026
Italy
6
- Orientation3 min
Working in Italy: the collective agreement is your minimum wage, and two regimes cut your tax
Italy has no statutory minimum wage — your CCNL determines pay, thirteenth and fourteenth month. INPS runs automatically, your Dutch unemployment-insurance years count via the U1 form, and two tax regimes are waiting: 50% exemption for qualified newcomers in employment, and a flat tax of 15% or even 5% for the self-employed.
Updated 22 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands4 min
AOW and pension in Italy: everything to the state of residence — and the 7% regime
The tax treaty of 1990 assigns AOW and private pension exclusively to Italy — the Netherlands must exempt them in full, without thresholds. And whoever moves to a southern Italian municipality of up to 30,000 inhabitants can opt for ten tax years of 7% on all their foreign income. Only the government pension stays Dutch.
Updated 7 September 2026
- The move3 min
Your car to Italy: three months, two clocks and no registration tax
Italy levies no registration tax on import — the re-registration costs around € 500-700 and the Dutch BPM refund covers that comfortably. But two clocks are running that you have to start in the right order: the Italian three months after residenza, and the Dutch thirteen weeks after the export notification. Whoever starts them the wrong way round lets hundreds of euros lapse.
Updated 22 August 2026
- Registration in Italy3 min
Residenza and codice fiscale: the Italian order that determines everything
Italy has no permit for EU citizens, but a chain: codice fiscale, home, residenza, health card — in *that* order, because each step is the ticket to the next. The registration itself takes two working days; after that the vigile comes round. And the digital key (SPID) you only get once you know the order.
Updated 22 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Buying a house in Italy: the notaio does a lot — but three choices determine your bill
At first sight Italy looks like the Netherlands: the notaio checks, collects the taxes and registers your ownership. The difference lies in what *you* choose beforehand: taxation on the cadastral value (prezzo-valore), whether or not to take the prima-casa benefit with its 18-month deadline, and buying from a private individual or a builder. Those choices make a difference of thousands of euros.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Healthcare in Italy: the ticket, the classes and the exemptions
GP and hospital are free, for a specialist and diagnostics you pay the ticket of at most € 36.15 per prescription — and the priority class on that prescription determines, bindingly, how long you may have to wait. Whoever knows the classes, the exemptions and the intramoenia route gets out of the Italian system what's in it.
Updated 28 August 2026
Greece
8
- Orientation3 min
Your house, your dividends and your interest: what the Netherlands keeps levying despite the 7%
The 7% scheme covers your foreign income on the Greek side. On the Dutch side a taxing right remains: in full on a rented-out house in the Netherlands, and to a limited extent on dividends and interest from a Dutch source. "Seven per cent on everything" is therefore too rosy.
Updated 27 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands5 min
AOW, pension and the 7% scheme: fifteen years — unless you were with the ABP
Greece lets whoever moves their tax residence pay 7% on all their foreign income for fifteen years. The treaty with the Netherlands does indeed allocate AOW and occupational pension to Greece — but article 20 keeps pensions from government service in the Netherlands. For one person the scheme is worth tens of thousands of euros, for another exactly nothing.
Updated 27 August 2026
- The move3 min
Your car to Greece: first the Euro standard, then the paper from the Netherlands
Greece waives the registration tax in full if you move — but only with a transfer-of-residence certificate that you have to collect from the Greek consulate in the Netherlands, before departure. And there is a harder limit that can cut everything off: cars with Euro 1, 2 or 3 are not allowed into the country.
Updated 23 August 2026
- Registration in Greece4 min
AFM, AMKA and the βεβαίωση: the Greek order that ends at the police
Greece doesn't ask for a residence permit, but it does ask for a registration certificate — and unlike in Spain or Italy, that comes from the police, not the municipality. The chain before it is strict in order: AFM, a home with a registered contract, certificate, AMKA. Whoever reverses it stands at the counter every time without the paper they ask for.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Registration in Greece3 min
Living and renting in Greece: the contract only counts once the landlord declares it
A Greek rental contract is only a usable piece of evidence once the landlord has declared it electronically with AADE — and without that proof you get no registration certificate from the police. Besides that: what rents do between Athens and the interior, what changes on an island, and what ENFIA costs if you buy.
Updated 23 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Buying a house in Greece: first the tax, then the notary — and only done at the land registry
In Greece you pay the transfer tax of 3% before the notary may execute the deed, and you are only truly the owner once the deed is registered with the Ktimatologio — which via the digital counter akinita.gov.gr can now be done in one working day. For whoever is really going to live there, there is an exemption up to € 200,000 to € 250,000, with a two-year settlement requirement. After that come the E9 return and the annual ENFIA.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Working in Greece: fourteen months' pay, and a deemed income if you go self-employed
Greek employment contracts have a thirteenth and fourteenth month, so compare annual amounts and not monthly amounts. If you go self-employed, the tax authority assumes you earn at least the minimum wage — even if you don't. And the brackets climb from 9% to 44% faster than you think.
Updated 27 August 2026
- Arrival4 min
Healthcare in Greece: EOPYY, the co-payment and the distance that is invisible on holiday
With an S1 from the CAK you join EOPYY, the Greek health fund — but via e-EFKA and with an EU-AMKA, not with the ordinary AMKA from the KEP. After that you pay a contribution per prescription, and something counts that you never notice as a tourist: how far away the nearest hospital is.
Updated 28 August 2026
Thailand
5
- Your visa3 min
The visa routes to Thailand: O-A, O-X and the Non-O side by side
Three routes matter for Dutch pensioners, and they differ mainly in where your money has to be and how often you have to go back to the counter. Plus the mistake everyone makes at least once: the validity of your visa is not the same as the date your stay ends.
Updated 24 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands5 min
AOW, pension and tax in Thailand: the treaty helps, the treaty list doesn't
The tax treaty of 1975 assigns your occupational pension to Thailand; an ABP pension from government service remains Dutch. But the SVB's treaty list is something else, and Thailand isn't on it — with consequences for the survivor's benefit that you have to repair within a year of departure. And since 2024 foreign income that you bring into Thailand is simply taxed.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
Healthcare in Thailand: there is no treaty route, and that is the real risk
Within the EU you slot into the local system with an S1. To Thailand that route doesn't exist: your basic insurance stops on deregistration and you buy a policy yourself. Thai private healthcare is good and cheap — but the premium hangs on your age, existing conditions are excluded, and above a certain age nobody will take you on as a new customer any more.
Updated 24 August 2026
- Arrival in Thailand4 min
The four clocks of your Thai stay — and none of the four warns you
The annual extension, the ninety-day report, the re-entry permit and the 180 days that make you a tax resident. Four deadlines with different lengths, different counters and different reasons to reset. The re-entry permit is the most expensive avoidable mistake: without it your stay loses its validity the moment you leave the country.
Updated 24 August 2026
- Arrival in Thailand3 min
Living and buying in Thailand: no land in your own name, but a flat is possible
As a foreigner you cannot own land in Thailand — so no house with a garden in your own name. A flat in a condominium is possible, as long as no more than 49 percent of the building is in foreign hands. The constructions that get around that ban are common and legally vulnerable.
Updated 29 August 2026
Bonaire
6
- Orientation3 min
Working on Bonaire: free, but without a safety net
Dutch citizens may work freely on Bonaire, and the minimum wage has been raised substantially. But there is no unemployment insurance, onderstand requires five years' residence, and a pension is a negotiating point outside the public sector. The honest story about working on an island without a backstop.
Updated 23 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
AOW, AOV and the BES taxes: what stops and what travels with you
Whoever moves to Bonaire stops building up AOW — for the SVB the Caribbean part of the Kingdom counts as abroad. But the AOW already built up travels along at the full rate, Bonaire as the country of residence taxes it at the milder BES rate, and box 3 doesn't exist there. The pension sum of the friendliest tax move within the Kingdom.
Updated 23 August 2026
- The move3 min
Your car to Bonaire: the twelve-month rule
The removal-goods exemption on Bonaire also applies to the car — but with a stricter requirement: twelve months of ownership and use. Whoever falls short pays 25% on value plus freight, and the Dutch BPM refund doesn't exist outside the EU. The whole sum, including the diesel trap in the road tax.
Updated 23 August 2026
- Registration on Bonaire3 min
Moving to Bonaire: the emigration within your own country
Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands — and yet an admission act applies there, for Dutch citizens too. How the declaration by operation of law works, why the registration clock then counts only five days, and what has changed with the BSN since November 2025.
Updated 23 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
Buying a house on Bonaire: 5% at purchase — and after that living there yourself makes the difference
Bonaire is the Caribbean Netherlands, and you notice it at purchase: a Dutch notary, a transfer tax of 5% via the deed, and a tax office that is simply called belastingdienst-cn.nl. After that one question counts: do you live there yourself? The owner-occupied home is exempt from the property tax that second homes and rented-out property do pay every year.
Updated 7 September 2026
- Arrival2 min
Healthcare on Bonaire: one hospital, and the plane tickets are in the package
On Bonaire you are insured by operation of law as a resident — without a premium, without an excess. What the island can't do, the insurance arranges with medical referrals abroad to Curaçao, Colombia or the Netherlands, including tickets and accommodation. The flip side: a dental package that is virtually empty from the age of eighteen, and a transition gap you have to insure yourself.
Updated 7 September 2026
Austria
6
- Orientation3 min
Working in Austria: the fourteenth month and the six percent
An Austrian salary can't be compared one-to-one with a Dutch one: virtually every collective agreement pays fourteen months, and two of those are taxed at six percent. How that adds up, what else the collective agreement arranges for you, and how your Dutch unemployment-insurance years count.
Updated 28 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
AOW and pensions in Austria: the treaty of 1970
The tax treaty with Austria is the oldest and the friendliest of the classic pension destinations: your occupational pension is taxed exclusively in Austria — no threshold amount, no withholding at source, and no renegotiation in sight. What does and doesn't travel with you, and why the country-of-residence factor here nudges up against one.
Updated 28 August 2026
- The move3 min
Your car to Austria: no exemption, but an old rate
The most stubborn myth of this route: "as removal goods your car is NoVA-free". Incorrect — but there are three real softeners: the 0% rate for electric, the old NoVA regime for older cars, and the Dutch BPM refund. Plus the clock that decides everything: one month on Dutch plates.
Updated 23 August 2026
- Registration in Austria3 min
The Meldezettel and the four-month clock: how the Austrian chain works
Austria asks EU citizens not for a permit but for punctuality: three days for the Meldezettel after moving in, four months for the Anmeldebescheinigung — and that last clock already starts at the border. How the chain runs, what your landlord's signature has to do with it, and why the fee is suddenly € 44.
Updated 23 August 2026
- Registration in Austria3 min
Living in Austria: Richtwert, Befristung and the six-month deposit
The Austrian rental market has rules that sit just differently from everywhere else: a deposit that may run to six months, fixed-term contracts of at least five years with a 25% statutory discount in old buildings, an estate agent paid by the landlord since 2023 — and rent increases capped at one percent in 2026.
Updated 23 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
Buying a house in Austria: clear percentages — and you only own it at the Grundbuch
Austria works with fixed, predictable percentages on a purchase: 3.5% Grunderwerbsteuer and 1.1% registration fee, paid over by the lawyer or notary who draws up the contract. As an EU citizen you buy without approval, where third-country nationals have to go past the Grundverkehrsbehörde. And just as in Germany: the signature doesn't yet make you the owner — the entry in the Grundbuch does.
Updated 28 August 2026
Croatia
5
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
AOW, pension and tax in Croatia: the treaty divides, and Croatia halves
The treaty from 2000 pulls your income apart: the AOW stays taxed in the Netherlands, your occupational pension becomes exclusively Croatian — and Croatia halves the tax on pension income. Plus the peculiarity that almost nobody knows: since 2024 your municipality sets your rate.
Updated 29 August 2026
- The move3 min
Your car to Croatia: the tax for which no exemption exists
Almost every EU country waives the registration tax if you move with your own car. Not Croatia — gov.hr says it explicitly: you pay the PPMV on your removal car too. That's why this corridor starts with a sum, and with a clock of fifteen days that runs from the border.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Registration in Croatia3 min
OIB, form 1b and registering with the police: the Croatian order
Croatia doesn't ask for a permit but for an order, and it begins with one number: the OIB, which you arrange free of charge and from the Netherlands. Then the home, and then the registration — not at the municipality but at the police, with form 1b and a clock of three months plus eight days.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Registration in Croatia3 min
Living and renting in Croatia: the coastal market that vanishes in summer
In Zagreb you rent a one-bedroom flat for around € 775, in Split around € 890 — but on the coast you compete with holiday lets and annual contracts are scarce. Plus: why the counter wants to see a notarially certified contract, and what buying really costs.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Arrival3 min
Healthcare in Croatia: HZZO, the twelve-month back-charge and the dopunsko
Everyone living in Croatia falls under the compulsory insurance of HZZO, with a registration clock of eight days. Pensioners go via the CAK and the S1 form; self-payers risk a back-charge of twelve months' premium — unless they bring one letter from their Dutch insurer. And almost every Croat has a dopunsko.
Updated 29 August 2026
Malta
5
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
AOW, pension and tax in Malta: what remitting really means
Malta taxes non-domiciled residents only on what they transfer to Malta — but article 2(5) of the treaty also ties the Dutch exemption to that transfer. "Zero percent by not remitting" therefore doesn't exist: then the Netherlands keeps taxing. And the AOW and the ABP pension remain taxed in the Netherlands anyway.
Updated 29 August 2026
- The move3 min
Your car to Malta: the ToR clocks and driving on the left
The relocation exemption demands twice twenty-four months — the car in your name, you outside Malta — and has a declaration window with a 30-day deadline inside it. Without the exemption you pay registration tax on value and CO₂. And then there is driving on the left, which leaves every Dutch car permanently on the wrong side.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Registration on Malta2 min
The e-Residence document and the eID: the Maltese chain
Register within three months with Identità, online via the Expatriates Portal — and the rule that determines everything: a complete file gets a biometrics appointment within 48 working hours, a half file is not processed. After that everything hangs on the card, from eID to bank.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Registration on Malta3 min
Living and renting in Malta: the contract that must be registered
Since 2020 the landlord must register every residential rental contract with the Housing Authority within ten days — and an unregistered contract is void. Plus the deposit that is legally capped at one month, the rents from Sliema to Gozo, and the winter you only feel indoors.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
Healthcare in Malta: the Certificate of Entitlement and the S1 route
The Maltese public system is free at the point of use, with Mater Dei as the main hospital. Pensioners enter it via the CAK and the S1 form — the submission is literally an email — and receive a Certificate of Entitlement. The dentist and the waiting times are the reasons many expats add a private policy alongside.
Updated 29 August 2026
Cyprus
5
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
AOW, pension and tax in Cyprus: what the new treaty does to the 5% scheme
Until 2024 the Netherlands had no treaty with Cyprus; the new treaty has a threshold of € 15,000 — and above it the Netherlands may keep taxing your entire pension-plus-AOW. The famous 5% scheme is thereby an empty shell for most Dutch citizens. What remains: the non-dom on your assets, no inheritance tax, and a gift for small pensions.
Updated 29 August 2026
- The move2 min
Your car to Cyprus: left-hand traffic, registration and the ferry season
Within the EU no import duties — but Cyprus drives on the left, the passenger ferry from Greece sails only in summer, and after customs clearance a short registration deadline applies at the DRT. For most households, selling in the Netherlands and buying right-hand drive wins; this article gives the sum honestly.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Registration on Cyprus2 min
The MEU1 and the yellow slip: registering in Cyprus
Within four months to the immigration office of your district with form MEU1 — in person, by appointment, for € 20. But first the rental contract has to go past the tax office for a stamp, otherwise it doesn't count as proof of address. The order is half the work.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Registration on Cyprus3 min
Living and renting in Cyprus: the stamp and the title deeds
The rental contract first has to go past the tax office for a stamp, otherwise it doesn't count as proof of address. And whoever buys has to know the history of the "trapped buyers": buy with an existing title deed, have the Land Registry check it and deposit the contract within six months. Plus the widest rent spread in the eurozone — and why the north is not an option.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Arrival2 min
Healthcare in Cyprus: GeSY, the GP and the S1 route
Since 2019 Cyprus has had a universal healthcare system: GeSY, with a personal GP as gatekeeper and small, capped co-payments. Dutch pensioners get in via the CAK and the S1 form; pensioners also contribute 2.65% of their income. The dentist and the waiting times are the reason for a policy alongside it.
Updated 29 August 2026
Ireland
5
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
AOW, pension and tax in Ireland: the € 25,000 threshold and the USC exemption
The treaty from 2019 allocates pensions and AOW to Ireland — up to a total of € 25,000 per year; above that the Netherlands may tax too. The Irish side is friendlier than the rate table: the AOW is USC-free there, above seventy the PRSI lapses, and for investment income there is the remittance basis. The ABP pension stays at home.
Updated 29 August 2026
- The move3 min
Your car to Ireland: the VRT, the exemption and the seven days
Without an exemption the Irish registration tax (VRT) quickly costs thousands of euros; the Transfer of Residence exemption prevents that — with six months' ownership as the condition and a series of clocks on arrival: claim and book the inspection within seven days, register within thirty days, and don't sell for twelve months. Keep the ferry ticket.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Getting the basics in order in Ireland2 min
The PPS number and the proofs of address: the Irish order
Ireland has no registration duty and no population register — and that's why everything revolves around proofs of address no more than three months old. The PPS number can only be applied for after arrival, via MyWelfare and an in-person appointment. The official way out of the chicken-and-egg puzzle is right there on the government site: a utility bill from your host with a note on it.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Getting the basics in order in Ireland2 min
Living and renting in Ireland: the new rules of 2026
Everything you read about Rent Pressure Zones is out of date: since 1 March 2026 new rules apply nationwide — a rent cap of 2% or inflation, six-year tenancies, and a landlord who may reset to market rent when you leave voluntarily. Plus the tightest market in the EU, the RTB check and the legal limit on the deposit.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Getting the basics in order in Ireland3 min
Healthcare in Ireland: the HSE, the cards and the S1 route
Without a card you pay the GP per visit in Ireland and your medicines yourself, up to € 80 per month. The cards — medical card and GP visit card — have means tests, but the S1 route via the CAK gives pensioners a medical card without a test. That suddenly makes Ireland one of the friendliest healthcare countries on this site for that group.
Updated 29 August 2026
South Africa
5
- Your visa3 min
The visa routes to South Africa: from pension to points
Four main routes: the retired person visa of R 37,000 a month per applicant, the net-worth route of R 12 million to direct permanent residence, the remote work visa of R 650,796 a year, and the points system for whoever comes to work. Plus the two rules every route shares: Home Affairs is slow, and one day of overstay makes you "undesirable".
Updated 29 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
AOW, pension and tax in South Africa: the source-state treaty
The Netherlands keeps taxing your AOW, pension and annuity — the 2005 treaty is a source-state treaty without a threshold. But South Africa largely exempts foreign pensions, so you don't pay twice. The AOW goes with you at 100% (in rand), and the exemption that carries the sum was already up for debate once in 2025 — the key point to monitor on this corridor.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands2 min
Healthcare in South Africa: medical aid, gap cover and the age sum
There is no healthcare treaty, no S1 and no CAK: you insure yourself privately, before departure, because the visa requires it. Private healthcare in the cities is excellent — the system around it you have to learn: medical aid, designated providers, gap cover, and a premium that rises with age. Whoever plans their old age here does the age sum first.
Updated 29 August 2026
- The move2 min
Your pet to South Africa: the two-month permit
You apply for the import permit at least two months before departure, the rabies vaccination has a window of thirty days to twelve months, and with correct papers there is no quarantine for dogs and cats from the Netherlands. The most common cause of failure is banal: a chip number that is not identical on all the documents.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Arrival in South Africa2 min
Living in South Africa: neighbourhoods, estates and what buying costs
Rents are a third to half of the Dutch level and foreigners buy freely, with a transfer duty that only starts above R 1.21 million. But the first choice is not the house — it is the neighbourhood, because safety and value are hyperlocal there. Rent for six months first; you can always buy later.
Updated 29 August 2026
Indonesia
5
- Your visa3 min
The residence routes to Indonesia: KITAS, Second Home and the clocks
Visa, ITAS and the reporting duty at Dukcapil are three different things — and whoever mixes them up gets stuck at the extension. The routes in a row: the retirement KITAS with an agent as sponsor, the Second Home with its deposit of US$ 130,000, the remote worker visa that can't be extended, and the clocks that tick through all of it.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
AOW, pension and tax in Indonesia: article 19 is the lesson
The pension article sits at number 19 in this treaty, and it works the other way round from southern Europe: the Netherlands keeps taxing AOW, pension and annuity, without a threshold. The four-year expat scheme doesn't apply to retirees, the AOW does travel with you at 100%, and the protective assessment demands security outside the EU.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands2 min
Healthcare in Indonesia: the insurance, the hospitals and Singapore
No treaty, no S1, and the state system is practically closed to retirees: your healthcare is an international private policy with evacuation cover. The silent dealbreaker is called age — insurers apply entry limits and premiums rise steeply. And the plan B for complex care is called Jakarta or Singapore.
Updated 29 August 2026
- The move2 min
Your pet to Bali: the detour via Jakarta
Bali itself is closed to the direct import of dogs and cats — the island is a rabies restriction area. The route that does work runs via Jakarta: import permit in advance, titre test, a quarantine of one to two weeks and the domestic transport. Count on two to three months of preparation and thousands of euros — and read this chapter first, not last.
Updated 29 August 2026
- Arrival in Indonesia3 min
Living on Bali: annual rent, leasehold and the nominee trap
On Bali you rent by the year — paid in advance, in one go. And whoever wants to buy must know one rule that has swallowed fortunes: foreigners cannot own land, and the front-man construction has been declared void by the highest court. What does work: a leasehold of 25-30 years or a right of use in your own name.
Updated 29 August 2026
Sint Maarten
6
- Orientation3 min
Healthcare on Sint Maarten: no CAK route, a ZV for employees — and beyond that you yourself
Within the Kingdom there is no healthcare treaty: your Dutch basic insurance stops and the CAK does nothing for you. The SZV health insurance covers only employees below the wage limit — everyone else, pensioners first and foremost, insures fully privately. How the system works and why the acceptance question comes before everything.
Updated 31 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands4 min
Tax on Sint Maarten: the BRNSM, the 15% withholding tax and the island's own penshonado
Between the Netherlands and Sint Maarten it is not the old BRK that applies but the BRNSM: the Netherlands withholds up to 15% on your periodic pension and taxes your AOW without limit. On top of that the island has its own penshonado scheme of 10% — which does *not* remove the Dutch levy. Who taxes what, article by article.
Updated 30 August 2026
- The move2 min
Taking your pet to Sint Maarten: the permit first and the two clocks
No EU regime: for each animal you apply in advance for an Animal Movement Permit that is valid for thirty days, and after that two clocks tick — the rabies vaccination must be older than twenty-one days, the health certificate younger than fourteen. Whoever knows the order makes it comfortably; whoever starts too late pushes back their own departure.
Updated 30 August 2026
- The move3 min
Moving to a free port: the container, the car and the hurricane season
Sint Maarten levies no import duties — the customs circus of the neighbouring islands falls away, and even the car may come along without an ownership requirement. What remains: the sea container as the clock of your planning, the residual BPM you lose, the annual number plates and a moving calendar that plans around the hurricane season.
Updated 30 August 2026
- Registration on Sint Maarten4 min
The Declaration by Operation of Law on Sint Maarten: IBP, Census Office and the three-year certificate
As a Dutch citizen you are admitted to Sint Maarten by operation of law — but you have that right recorded at the immigration service IBP, and after that the chain of the Census Office awaits. The requirements, the fees, and the certificate rule that causes most of the delays.
Updated 30 August 2026
- Arrival7 min
Buying a house on Sint Maarten: freely for sale, but look under the ground first
As a Dutch citizen you buy on Sint Maarten without a permit or nationality requirement — the freedom is real. The sting is underneath: does the house stand on freehold land or on a long lease with a ground rent of 8% a year? Plus the buyer's costs of 5 to 6 per cent, the turnover tax on the notary's bill that nobody counts in, and the reason timeshare is a category apart on this island.
Updated 31 August 2026
Turkey
6
- Orientation4 min
Healthcare in Turkey: the CAK route that almost nobody knows
Turkey is a treaty country: pensioners with a Dutch statutory pension get access through the CAK to the Turkish state system SGK, for a treaty contribution — so no lifelong private policy. Whoever doesn't fall under it has the private-insurance requirement of the ikamet, the policy for the ikamet and after a year the voluntary state insurance.
Updated 31 August 2026
- Your visa4 min
The residence routes to Turkey: the ikamet, the neighbourhood check and the road to eight years
Ninety days you may be there freely; after that the ikamet begins — a permit you keep renewing. The routes in a row: short-term residence on a rental or on ownership, the property route with its threshold of US$ 200,000, the digital nomad — and the neighbourhood check you do before you sign a contract.
Updated 31 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands5 min
AOW, pension and tax in Turkey: article 18 in two halves
The treaty of 1986 sends your company pension exclusively to Turkey — which then exempts it — but leaves your AOW (the Dutch state pension) with the Netherlands as long as you're a Dutch national. Whoever keeps the two halves of article 18 apart knows exactly what changes net; whoever believes the forum is counting chickens.
Updated 31 August 2026
- The move7 min
Your car and your driving licence in Turkey: the blue plate and the six months
Turkey is the most expensive car country in Europe inside one of the cheapest countries — buying a car costs more there than in the Netherlands. Against that stands a scheme that virtually no Dutch site explains properly: whoever has retired abroad may bring their own car in tax-free on an MA plate. And your driving licence must be exchanged within six months.
Updated 31 August 2026
- The move2 min
Your pet to Turkey: the double titre clock
Turkey requires a rabies titre test with three months' waiting time after the blood sample — and because Turkey is a high-risk country for the EU, the same titre requirement will later apply on every visit back to the Netherlands. Whoever has the test done in the Netherlands before departure solves both clocks in one go; whoever postpones it ties their animal down for months.
Updated 30 August 2026
- Arrival in Turkey3 min
Living and buying in Turkey: tapu, DASK and the pitfalls that Spain content misses
The transfer here runs through the land registry, not through a notary; the purchase requires a recognised valuation report and an exchange certificate; and every home carries a compulsory earthquake insurance that covers less than people think. Plus the rental side: notarised contracts, annual indexation and the neighbourhood check.
Updated 30 August 2026
Panama
6
- Orientation2 min
Healthcare in Panama: the age trap you need to know before departure
No CAK route, no compulsory state healthcare: in Panama you insure fully privately — and the insurers apply entry limits that hit hard: local up to about 65, international up to about 74. Why the acceptance question comes before every irreversible step, and how the pensionado discounts cut the healthcare bill itself.
Updated 7 September 2026
- Your visa3 min
The residence routes to Panama: pensionado, the dead Friendly Nations myth and the order that works
The pensionado visa gives permanent residence from day one with a lifelong pension of US$ 1,000 a month — via a legally required lawyer. The Friendly Nations visa still exists, but not in the form the internet promises. The routes, the documents, and the order cédula → bank → driving licence.
Updated 30 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands4 min
AOW, pension and tax in Panama: why 'tax-free' is the wrong half of the story
Panama doesn't tax foreign income — that's correct. But the treaty of 2010 gives the Netherlands the right to tax your AOW (the Dutch state pension) and your pension, so the wage-tax withholding simply carries on. And outside a treaty country the single person's AOW falls back from 70% to 50%. The real sum, article by article.
Updated 31 August 2026
- The move3 min
Your pet to Panama: ten days of paperwork, forty days of home quarantine
Panama requires a health certificate with an official government endorsement issued within ten days before arrival — a tight window in your busiest week — and after that forty days of home quarantine, registered in advance. No kennel, but an obligation with a form. The calendar in a row.
Updated 31 August 2026
- Arrival in Panama3 min
Panama's pensionado discounts: law, not marketing — with the conditions attached
25% on air tickets and restaurants, 50% on hotels from Monday to Thursday, 25% on electricity, telephone and water, 20% on medicines and doctor's consultations: the discounts of Law 6 of 1987 are legally enforceable. But every discount has conditions that the lists online leave out — and two percentages doing the rounds are out of date.
Updated 31 August 2026
- Arrival in Panama8 min
Living, renting and buying in Panama: first the finca number, then the rest
In Panama two completely different things are sold as property, and the difference costs foreigners money: titled property with a finca number, or a possessory right without title that no bank will finance. Plus the rents per region, the bank account that only works after your residence permit, and the euro-dollar risk that affects your income.
Updated 31 August 2026
Suriname
6
- Orientation4 min
Healthcare in Suriname: the SZF for the basics, you yourself for the rest
Residents have a legal right to the basic care package and can turn to the State Health Insurance Fund — but the package is limited, the hospitals struggle with shortages, and for serious cases Suriname turns abroad. There is no CAK route: you arrange the evacuation cover privately, before departure.
Updated 31 August 2026
- Your right of residence4 min
The residence routes to Suriname: PSA, MKV and the misunderstanding that fills forums
The PSA document gives whoever has Surinamese roots five years of visa-free travel and the right to work — but it is not a residence status. Living begins with registration as a resident, and whoever has no roots applies for an MKV three months ahead. The two gates, the chain and the nationality warning.
Updated 31 August 2026
- Closing the Netherlands3 min
AOW, pension and tax in Suriname: the Netherlands lets go — and Suriname picks up
The treaty of 1975 is the mirror image of most faraway destinations: company pension and AOW (the Dutch state pension) are taxable exclusively in the state of residence, Suriname — you apply for the wage-tax exemption, and Suriname taxes your worldwide income at up to 38%. The AOW itself travels along at a hundred per cent. The articles, the export and the AOW gap of returnees.
Updated 30 August 2026
- The move3 min
Household goods and car to Suriname: the free exemption and the eight-year rule
Used household goods enter Suriname fully exempt — provided your residence title, CBB registration and passport stamps are in order; otherwise customs charges 35 to 40 per cent. The car falls outside the exemption, and cars older than eight years aren't even allowed into the country. The rules, the deposit arrangement and the sum.
Updated 30 August 2026
- Arrival in Suriname7 min
Money, banking and the exchange rate in Suriname: the currency stands still, prices don't
The classic reasoning — the SRD will fall anyway, so my euro will automatically become worth more — no longer holds in 2026: the rate moves by less than three per cent while prices rise almost nine per cent a year. Also: why your rent is asked in euros while the law prescribes SRD, how you open an account here, and the cash limit that is a ban and not a reporting duty.
Updated 31 August 2026
- Arrival in Suriname3 min
Land and housing in Suriname: ownership, grondhuur and the 18-month rule
In Suriname the property question isn't the price but the title: full and allodial ownership you can buy as a Dutch citizen, grondhuur (leasehold on state land) not in a personal capacity — hence the foundation construction. And grondhuur carries duties: a building obligation with a risk of revocation, and the 18-month rule that lets the right lapse to the State on death.
Updated 30 August 2026
Leaving the Netherlands
13
- Closing and deregistering2 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
- Closing and deregistering3 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
- Closing and deregistering2 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
- Closing and deregistering3 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
- Closing and deregistering2 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
- Closing and deregistering2 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
- Closing and deregistering3 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
- Closing and deregistering3 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
- Closing and deregistering2 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
- Closing and deregistering9 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 why "just staying registered" isn't an option.
Updated 7 September 2026
- Closing and deregistering2 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
- Closing and deregistering3 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
- Closing and deregistering6 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
The departure guide
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