Leaving the Netherlands: Top tips before you go

International relocations can be stressful and time-consuming. Proper planning, however, will help take some of that stress away, so you can start to get excited about your upcoming adventure. Here are some of our top tips.

5 months before leaving

Here is what you should do five months before leaving the country:

Contact your local government office

Before leaving the Netherlands, make sure you deregister. If you don’t contact the authorities before you move, you are likely to continue to be billed for local and national taxes.

Inform your landlord

Give your landlord enough time to find another tenant for the property. If you own a house and intend to sell it, start the process at least six months before your departure date.

Contact your service providers

Arrange to have your phone disconnected by the time you leave and cancel the contract with your internet provider. Fix a cancellation date for the electricity, water and gas and contact any digital or cable television providers to cancel your service.

Think about your pets and kids

If you have children, you will need to notify the school that you are moving at least five months in advance. Before thinking about relocating your pet, you will need to contact your vet to find out if you are permitted to take them to your new location and to ensure you are following quarantine requirements.

2 months before moving

Here is what you should do two months before leaving the country:

Moving service

A good way to keep companies and family informed of your move is the PostNL moving service. This service can be used to inform around 250 commonly-used companies that you are leaving, and it gives you free mail forwarding for a month to anywhere in the world.

After the first 30 days, you will have to pay 3,60 euros per week for delivery in Europe and 6,95 euros per week for the rest of the world.

Health records

Notify your doctor and request any records or healthcare items that you might need in your new country.

Insurance

Insurance, including private health insurance, car insurance, house insurance and any other insurance you pay for, will need to be cancelled. The insurance company could continue billing you or just take the money directly from your account if you have signed a direct debit and failed to inform them.

Banking

Your bank will need to be notified and, depending on where you are moving to, you may have to deactivate and close your account. You should think carefully about when to close your account as your last wages may come in after you leave, as will any outstanding bills.

Although contacting a long list of companies can be a hassle, it’s better to confirm and double check everything has been cancelled before leaving the Netherlands, rather than returning for a visit and being met with surprise bills.