If someone has died outside the Netherlands who do I need to inform?
If your partner, relative or friend has died in a foreign country, notify the authorities in the Netherlands. In most cases, you will need a death certificate. Who you need to inform depends on where the deceased person lived.
Reporting a death in a foreign country
You must always report a death abroad to the local authorities, such as a municipality. The period within which you must report the death varies per country. In many countries you must report a death within 24 hours of the death, but sometimes the period is 1 week or 30 days. Check the exact period with the local authorities or with the embassy of the relevant country in the Netherlands.
Requesting a death certificate
After you have notified them the local authorities will draw up a death certificate. You will need this in order to report the death in the Netherlands. Ask for several official copies of the death certificate. You will need these in order to report the death to various organisations.
If you want to request a death certificate in a foreign country, the local Dutch embassy or consulate can assist you.
Check whether your documents need to be legalised and translated
Having a foreign death certificate converted
You can have a foreign death certificate converted into a Dutch death certificate by the municipality of The Hague. This is not mandatory, but it will make things easier in the future if you need an official copy of the death certificate so you can report the death to various organisations. Once the certificate has been converted you will no longer have to request official copies from abroad. You will simply be able to request a copy online from the municipality of The Hague.
What to do with the person's passport or ID card
The Dutch embassy must invalidate the person’s passport or ID card in order to prevent fraud. The document should therefore be brought or posted to the embassy. If there are no friends or family of the person nearby, the local authorities will send the document to the embassy.
If the deceased person lived in the Netherlands, the embassy will send the passport or ID card to the municipality where they lived. If the person lived outside the Netherlands, the invalidated document can be sent to you.
Registering a death in the Netherlands
If the deceased person lived in the Netherlands
If your deceased partner, relative or friend lived in the Netherlands, register the foreign death certificate as soon as possible in the municipality where they lived. Make an appointment at the municipality to do this. The municipality will automatically forward details of the death to other government organisations.
Check on Government.nl what else you need to arrange if someone dies (information in Dutch)
If the deceased person lived outside the Netherlands
If your deceased partner, relative or friend lived outside the Netherlands, check whether they had dealings with any of the Dutch government organisations below. Are you uncertain whether that’s the case? Then contact the RvIG (information in Dutch). The RvIG can help you find out which organisations the deceased person was registered with. Inform these organisations of the death. They may require you to provide a copy of the person’s death certificate.
Report the death to the Tax Administration if the deceased person:
- paid tax on income in the Netherlands
- was receiving healthcare benefit, child budget or childcare benefit abroad.
Send a letter to the Tax Administration to report the death (information in Dutch)
Report the death to the CAK if the deceased person was insured with CAK for health insurance abroad.
Report the death to DUO if the deceased person:
- was receiving student finance abroad
- was repaying a student loan from abroad.
Report the death to the SVB if the deceased person:
- was receiving old age pension (AOW) abroad
- was receiving surviving dependants’ benefit (Anw) abroad
- was receiving child benefit abroad.
Report the death to the SVB in one of the following ways:
Report the death to UWV if the deceased person:
- was receiving unemployment benefit (WW) abroad
- was receiving a benefit under the Work and Income (Capacity for Work) Act (WIA), Invalidity Insurance Act (WAO), Incapacity Insurance (Self-employed Persons) Act (WAZ) or Incapacity Insurance (Young Disabled Persons) Act (Wajong) abroad
- was receiving sickness benefit abroad.
Report the death to UWV by phone or by email (information in Dutch)