Voting from abroad for the electoral college for non-residents
If you live outside the Netherlands and are registered with the municipality of The Hague as a Dutch voter abroad, you can vote in elections for the electoral college for non-residents for the Senate. Find out more about the electoral college elections below.
The electoral college elections are indirect Senate elections. Members of the electoral college for non-residents are elected by Dutch nationals who live abroad. These members are linked to Dutch political parties and also live abroad.
Together with the members of the Provincial Council and of the electoral colleges for the Caribbean parts of the Netherlands, members of the electoral college for non-residents elect the Senate.
If you live abroad and are not registered at a Dutch address you can vote provided you:
- live outside the Netherlands and are not registered as living in a Dutch municipality
- have Dutch nationality
- are aged 18 or over
- are registered with the municipality of The Hague as a Dutch voter abroad to vote in elections for the electoral college for non-residents (Senate). You cannot vote for the electoral college for non-residents if you are only registered to vote in elections for the House of Representatives or the European Parliament.
Temporarily abroad
If you live in the Netherlands and you are abroad temporarily, you cannot vote in the electoral college elections. You can, however, vote by proxy in the elections for the Provincial Council and water authority.
You must complete the registration form for Dutch voters abroad on the website of the municipality of The Hague (please note that the form is in Dutch). When completing the form, select the option stating that you wish to vote in elections for the electoral college for non-residents for the Senate (‘De verkiezingen van het kiescollege niet-ingezetenen voor de Eerste Kamer’). The last day to register for the upcoming elections is 3 February 2027.
You need to be registered as a Dutch voter abroad to vote in the elections for the electoral college for non-residents, which elects the Senate. If you do not know whether you are registered find out how to check whether you are registered for the elections.
If you are registered as a Dutch voter abroad to vote in the elections for the electoral college for non-residents, your postal vote certificate and ballot paper will automatically be sent to you. You need both in order to vote.
- Your postal vote certificate will be sent to you by post at your home address abroad. Postal vote certificates are sent out approximately 12 weeks before the elections.
- About 4 weeks before the elections your ballot paper will be sent to you by email (or by post if that’s what you’ve requested).
You can only vote for the electoral college by postal vote. You cannot vote by proxy or at a polling station in the Netherlands.
Send the postal vote to the Netherlands yourself
Together with your voting documents you will receive detailed instructions on how to send your vote to the postal vote polling station in The Hague. These instructions are also available on the website of the municipality of The Hague.
Send or hand deliver the postal vote to an embassy
It’s also possible to post your postal vote to a Dutch embassy or consulate-general or deliver it there by hand.
- If you want to send in your postal vote, contact the embassy or consulate-general to check whether the postal address is the same as the visiting address.
- If you want to deliver your postal vote by hand, contact the embassy or consulate-general to find out when you can do so. The embassy or consulate-general will then send your vote to the postal vote polling station in The Hague. You do not need to put any stamps on the envelope if you hand deliver it.
Dutch embassies and consulates-general
Voting in Aruba, Curaçao or St Maarten
If you live in Aruba, Curaçao or St Maarten you will receive your voting documents through the Dutch representation. You can also cast your vote there.
Dutch representation in Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten
Temporarily abroad at the time of an election
If you live in the Netherlands and you are abroad temporarily you cannot vote in the electoral college elections. You can, however, vote by proxy in elections for the Provincial Council and water authority.
Contact
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.