How do I vote from abroad?
If you live outside the Netherlands, you can vote by post. Depending on the elections, you can also vote by proxy or at a polling station in a Dutch municipality. You must first register as a Dutch voter abroad if you wish to vote.
- You can vote for a Dutch candidate for the European Parliament. You must register as a Dutch voter abroad at the municipality of The Hague.
- Or you can vote for a candidate of the EU country you are living in. You must declare you wish to vote in that country. If you do so, you cannot vote for a Dutch candidate as well. EU countries exchange information regarding who is registered as a voter to prevent voting twice. Are you registered in another EU country? Then the municipality of The Hague must remove your registration as a voter abroad. You are then unable to vote for a Dutch candidate.
Dutch nationals living abroad generally vote by post. You must send your ballot paper together with your postal vote certificate and a photocopy of your valid Dutch passport or identity card to the postal vote polling station in The Hague. Alternatively, you can post or hand deliver your postal vote to a Dutch embassy or consulate-general.
If the postal service in the country where you live is slow or unreliable, it may be a good idea to vote by proxy. This means you authorise someone in the Netherlands to vote on your behalf. It is possible to vote by proxy in elections for the House of Representatives and the European Parliament. You must apply for authorisation to vote by proxy from the municipality of The Hague for each election.
If you are in the Netherlands at the time of the elections for the House of Representatives or the European Parliament, you can vote at a polling station in a Dutch municipality. To do this you must apply for a voter’s pass from the municipality of The Hague for each election.
If you are registered with a Dutch municipality but are temporarily abroad at the time of an election – for work, to study or on holiday for instance – you can still vote by proxy or by post.