How do I vote if I’m abroad temporarily?
If you are abroad temporarily – for work, to study or on holiday for instance – and you are registered with a Dutch municipality, you can vote by proxy or by post, depending on the type of election.
Voting in elections for the House of Representatives or the European Parliament
If you are temporarily outside the Netherlands at the time of the elections for the House of Representatives or the European Parliament, you can vote either by proxy or by post. To vote by proxy you must apply for authorisation from the municipality where you are registered. To vote by post you must submit a request to the municipality of The Hague.
You can complete an authorisation form to authorise a voter in the Netherlands to vote on your behalf. This is known as a written proxy.
Who can I authorise?
You can choose who you want to authorise. The person who votes on your behalf (the proxy voter) does not need to live in the municipality where you are registered, but must:
- also vote themselves
- cast your vote at the same time as they cast their own vote.
How can I authorise someone?
If you want to authorise someone to vote on your behalf, follow the steps below:
- Get an authorisation form from your municipality.
- Have the person who will be voting for you fill in their details on the form. Then complete the rest of the form yourself. This way you can make sure that you are authorising the right person.
- Submit the authorisation form to your municipality.
- The proxy voter will receive a certificate of authorisation (volmachtbewijs) that will allow them to vote on your behalf. Once the municipality has issued the certificate of authorisation, you cannot have authorisation withdrawn.
- The proxy voter needs to take the certificate of authorisation with them to the polling station. They do not need a photocopy of your identity document. The proxy voter must cast your vote at the same time as they cast their own vote.
If you would like to vote by post from your temporary address outside the Netherlands, you must request a postal vote certificate from the municipality of The Hague.
Applying to vote by post (thehague.nl)
Receiving your voting documents
- Your postal vote certificate (briefstembewijs) will be sent to you by post. Notify the municipality of The Hague of the address abroad at which you would like to receive it. It’s not possible to have a postal vote certificate sent to an address in the Netherlands.
- Your ballot paper will be sent to you by email (or by post if that’s what you’ve requested).
Sending your postal vote to The Hague
Send your postal vote by post to the postal vote polling station in The Hague.
Sending your postal vote to an embassy or consulate-general
You can also post or hand deliver your postal vote to a Dutch embassy or consulate-general. If you want to deliver your postal vote outside normal opening hours, email the embassy or consulate-general to see whether that’s possible.
Voting in elections for the provincial council, water authority or municipal council
If you are abroad at the time of elections for the provincial council, water authority or municipal council, you can vote in them only by proxy only.
You can complete an authorisation form to authorise a voter in the Netherlands to vote on your behalf. This is known as a written proxy.
Who can I authorise?
You can choose who you want to authorise. The person who votes on your behalf (the proxy voter) must:
- also vote themselves
- live in the same province (for provincial council elections), water authority area (for water authority elections) or municipality (for municipal council elections) as you.
- cast your vote at the same time as they cast their own vote.
How can I authorise someone?
If you want to authorise someone to vote on your behalf, follow the steps below:
- Get an authorisation form from your municipality.
- Have the person who will be voting for you fill in their details on the form. Then complete the rest of the form yourself. This way you can make sure that you are authorising the right person.
- Submit the authorisation form to your municipality.
- The proxy voter will receive a certificate of authorisation (volmachtbewijs) that will allow them to vote on your behalf. Once the municipality has issued the certificate of authorisation, you cannot have authorisation withdrawn.
- The proxy voter needs to take the certificate of authorisation with them to the polling station. They do not need a photocopy of your identity document. The proxy voter must cast your vote at the same time as they cast their own vote.
Voting in electoral college elections
If you are abroad temporarily and are registered with a Dutch municipality, you cannot vote in elections for the non-residents electoral college for the Senate. Instead you can vote in the provincial council elections. This will also give you a say in the composition of the Senate.
Contact
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.