Working abroad

You are a Dutch citizen and you will be working abroad. In some cases, you will be required to retain Dutch basic national health insurance. More information on this subject is given below. You will also find here the solutions available to you if you cannot retain the compulsory Dutch national health insurance, or if it provides insufficient coverage. 

• Main rule and special cases 
• Your family members 
• Your rights and obligations if you are obliged to retain Dutch national health insurance 
• Insurance options from OOM Verzekeringen 
• Websites providing more information 

Main rule and special cases

You live and work abroad and pay social security premiums there. Therefore, you are not entitled to Dutch Dutch national health insurance. Whether your income originates from the Netherlands or from your country of residence is irrelevant.

There are some exceptions to the main rule: 

• Working for the Dutch government 
• Secondments (Detachering)

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Your family members

The situation must be examined for each family member to see if an entitlement to compulsory Dutch national health insurance exists. You cannot assume that what is applicable to you will also be applicable to your family members. There are sometimes special European rules for family members.

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Your rights and obligations if you do have to retain Dutch national health insurance

If you are obliged to retain Dutch health insurance and you are resident in a state that is not party to the treaty agreement (a “non-contracting country”), you can claim medical expenses from Dutch Dutch national health insurance. These will be reimbursed up to a maximum of the Dutch rate.

If you are resident in an EU member state or other contracting country, then you can choose for each “case of illness”: 

• You will claim the medical expenses from Dutch national health insurance. These are then reimbursed up to a maximum of the rate reimbursed in the Netherlands. 
• You choose use the reimbursements of the statutory health insurance in the country where you reside. This is called the “country-of-residence package”.
  

Finding out in which cases Dutch Dutch national health insurance or the country-of-residence package is more favourable for you is always recommended.

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Options from OOM Verzekeringen

You must arrange for your own insurance from the time that Dutch national health insurance lapses. You may also find the coverage provided by Dutch national health insurance or the country-of-residence package insufficient and may thus want additional insurance. In both cases, you can apply for Global Traveler insurance from OOM Verzekeringen.

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More information

A number of websites offering interesting information are listed below: 

• Social Security Bank (SVB) (including information on when you are a counted as resident of the Netherlands).
• Health Care Insurance Board (CvZ) (including information on when you are obliged to retain Dutch national health insurance) 
• Dutch Association of Health Insurance Companies (ZN) (including a list of all Dutch national health insurance companies) 
• The government (various bodies)

Your current health insurance company can also provide more information on national health insurance abroad.

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