Exemption For Posted EU/EER Workers

Every person living or working in the Netherlands is required by law to take out standard (international) health  insurance. However, you may be able to keep your health insurance from another country under certain conditions and thus be exempt from having Dutch health insurance.

Posted EU/EER Worker Exemption

You are a posted worker if your employer sends you to work and live in another country on a temporary basis, but you are still being paid by your home company. More information on insurance rules for posted workers can be found here. Since 1 May 2010, the period of the posting is 24 months (previously 12 months) or less. If you are a posted worker, you have the following rights:

Social insurance

As a posted worker, you will generally continue paying your social security contributions in your home EU country. You should apply for an A1 (formerly E101) certificate which states that you are insured for social security purposes in your home EU country. This will exempt you and your employer from paying social insurance in the country to which you are posted.  You or your employer should apply for the AI certificate at least 4 weeks before you leave. You can find useful forms here.

Health entitlements during short-term stay

The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is the replacement form such as the E111 and the E128, making it easier for you to get medical care quickly and easily. The EHIC is a free card that gives you access to medically necessary, state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in any of the 28 EU countries, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, under the same conditions and at the same cost (free in some countries) as people insured in that country. This card is proof that you are part of a health insurance scheme administered by another state in the EEA/Switzerland. Cards are issued by your national health insurance provider in the country where you are registered. This can work well for people who work across the border.

Please note: the European Health Insurance Card:

• is not an alternative to travel insurance. It does not cover any private healthcare or costs such as a return flight to your home country or lost/stolen property.
• does not cover your costs if you are travelling for the express purpose of obtaining medical treatment.
• does not guarantee free services. Each country’s healthcare system is different, and services that cost nothing at home might not be free in another country.

Health entitlements during long-term stay

An S1 portable document (formerly E106) ensures that you have the same health entitlements in the state to which you are being posted as those available to nationals of that state. When you change your habitual residence to another country, you should register with the S1 form instead of using the EHIC to receive medical care in your new country of habitual residence. You should register for the Verdragspolis from CZ. CZ is the only company authorized by the Dutch government for this registration. The Verdragspolis entitles you to healthcare services both in the Netherlands and in the country in which you are insured (through your health insurance in that country), at no additional cost. Your healthcare in the Netherlands is reimbursed under the Verdragspolis. You can apply using this application form. The S1 form and the application form should be sent either by post to:

CZ Afdeling Verdragspolis

Postbus 90152, 5000 LD Tilburg

or by email to:  verdragspolis@cz.nl

Since you already pay a premium to your foreign health insurer, you do not need to pay a premium for the Verdragspolis. However, the Dutch government has deemed that you do need to pay the compulsory deductible that applies in the Netherlands. Family members If your family members live and work in the Netherlands, they are required to take out Dutch health insurance. If they live with you but have income from outside the Netherlands, then they should be insured under the Verdragpolis. If they live with you in the Netherlands but do not work, then they can either take out Dutch health insurance or be insured under the Verdragpolis from CZ.

Avoid being fined for not having Dutch health insurance

To determine if you would be exempt from the mandatory health insurance law or not, please apply for a Wlz assessment through the SVB. By filling in the questionnaire, either online using your DigiD or submitting a printed form, the SVB will judge if one is required to have medical insurance from a Dutch company or not.