Hello everyone,
Two quick questions about the Dutch health care eligibility:
1. Is it correct the healthcare is subject to an annual fee and everyone who pays it is eligible? In other words - the health care is not reserved just to those who pay income tax in the Netherlands.
2. Is there a minimum annual stay requirement to remain eligible for the healthcare? An example from Canada: one has to spend 183 days out of each 365-day period in Canada in order to remain eligible for the national health care.
Background details:
- I have a European passport
- I have never worked in the EU or paid taxes there.
- I will not be retired and I will therefore have no taxable income in the Netherlands.
- I may choose to rent an apartment rather than buy one (I am mentioning this in case owing/renting has anything to do with the determination of health care eligibility).
Thank you for your help!
The Dutch health care system - question about eligibility
Hi and welcome to the Forum.
To try and answer your direct questions:
1. Yes and yes.
2. You have to make an appointment with the Gemeente within 5 days of arrival; at this time, you will register at a Dutch address; from that moment on, you are liable for Dutch Health Insurance. The Dutch Government have issued a Health Insurance document on their website; this link will take you straight there. If you are resident in the Netherlands, then you must pay Health Insurance, you don't get to stop if you decide to go to Canada for a couple of months, neither do they cover you for your time in Canada (they would if you went elsewhere in the EU, yeah, I know it sucks).
As for the rest of it, nothing has changed since you last asked these questions in July last year.
One last point, Covid is still being a pain in the ass; you will need a negative PCR test and may have to go in 14 days quarantine on arrival in the Netherlands, which will be problematic for you, unless of course you have family in Holland who can help you out.
Hope this helps.
Cynic
Expat Team
HUGE thanks!
Absolutely agreed and I should have thrown that in: I do not expect the Dutch health care to cover me while I am in Canada (and vice versa). If my plan (well, more of a pipe dream at the moment) becomes reality - I envision dividing my time between the Netherlands and Canada, so I want to make sure I am eligible for health care in both places. Not expecting any handouts/freebies, just looking for details to know what social/health services I am allowed to pay for and benefit from. No "flying under the radar".
As for covid.... Yeah, let's not even go there...
Thank you again!
PS: did not review my original post before hitting "submit", meant to write "i will be retired". Sorry!
Hi again.
State retirement age in Canada is currently 65. Currently In the Netherlands and until end 2021, it's 66 years and 4 months. In 2022, it will be raised by 3 months and will reach 67 years in 2024.
The implication of this is you may well be retired in Canada, but you won't be in the Netherlands, you may want to speak to a Dutch tax advisor before you make the jump.
Cynic wrote:Hi again.
State retirement age in Canada is currently 65. Currently In the Netherlands and until end 2021, it's 66 years and 4 months. In 2022, it will be raised by 3 months and will reach 67 years in 2024.
The implication of this is you may well be retired in Canada, but you won't be in the Netherlands, you may want to speak to a Dutch tax advisor before you make the jump.
That is a VERY valid pointer - thank you for bringing it up, I will definitely check with a tax guru before moving.
Just thought of another aspect and I guess the following will be a dumb question: am I allowed to pay the annual health care fees while at the same time I do not work and I do not claim social assistance/retirement at all? In other words - if I am, say, 53 and I use my savings to sustain myself: may I still pay for the health care system if I choose to move to the Netherlands? I gather that - as an EU citizen - I would be allowed to live there, even if I do not work/do not claim retirement/social support (to which I would obviously not be entitled).
If you have an EU passport, you can live and work anywhere in the EU, unless that is, you become a nuisance/burden, when they can send you back where you came from, that applies to all EU countries.
With regards to Health Insurance specifically, it is compulsory for all residents in the Netherlands. You have the contribution that you have to pay, plus there is an employer surcharge element of 1498 euro plus a payroll bit on top of that, so potentially there's 2,000 euro p/annum of costs there that the Belastingdienst will be looking for somebody to pay until you reach Dutch state retirement age, if you don't have an Employer, then you will have to pay this up front yourself. If you have Health issues, you should be aware that there are own risk elements to all the policies, for example, you will pay cash up front for all medications, then once you get to a certain limit (depends on your policy), you start to get money back from your Insurer, but you always pay first. There is a safety net for Dutch nationals, but as a 3rd country national (posh name for a foreigner - sorry), you won't qualify for it.
Health care in the rest of Europe is a very complicated subject, so rather than C&P somebody else's work; this link will take you straight there.
If it wasn't for Covid, I'd have recommended Portugal for anybody looking to retire and judging from the amount of questions we get on here, a lot of people agree with me.
Hope this helps.
Cynic
Expat Team
Cynic wrote:If you have an EU passport, you can live and work anywhere in the EU, unless that is, you become a nuisance/burden, when they can send you back where you came from, that applies to all EU countries.
With regards to Health Insurance specifically, it is compulsory for all residents in the Netherlands. You have the contribution that you have to pay, plus there is an employer surcharge element of 1498 euro plus a payroll bit on top of that, so potentially there's 2,000 euro p/annum of costs there that the Belastingdienst will be looking for somebody to pay until you reach Dutch state retirement age, if you don't have an Employer, then you will have to pay this up front yourself. If you have Health issues, you should be aware that there are own risk elements to all the policies, for example, you will pay cash up front for all medications, then once you get to a certain limit (depends on your policy), you start to get money back from your Insurer, but you always pay first. There is a safety net for Dutch nationals, but as a 3rd country national (posh name for a foreigner - sorry), you won't qualify for it.
Health care in the rest of Europe is a very complicated subject, so rather than C&P somebody else's work; this link will take you straight there.
If it wasn't for Covid, I'd have recommended Portugal for anybody looking to retire and judging from the amount of questions we get on here, a lot of people agree with me.
Hope this helps.
Cynic
Expat Team
Thank you again! This is more than I could have asked for - greatly appreciated!
Re: Portugal - I have indeed read great things, but - and you said it, thanks to covid - had to shorten my trip to Porto, so did not really get the chance to do more than a few days' worth of sightseeing. Maybe 2022 will be more conducive to travel.
Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to provide so much detail - this helps me a lot!
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