Voting from abroad by post

If you are registered as a Dutch voter abroad, you will receive your postal vote certificate by post. You will receive your ballot paper (stembiljet) by email or post. To vote, send your postal vote by post 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.

Your voting documents

Postal vote certificate, return envelope and ballot paper envelope

A postal vote certificate is a voting pass for voters outside the Netherlands. The municipality of The Hague sends the postal vote certificate, return envelope and ballot paper envelope by post about 12 weeks before the elections. Keep these documents safe and do not send them back at this time.

Ballot paper and list of candidates

You mark your vote on the ballot paper. The municipality of The Hague sends the ballot paper and list of candidates about 4 weeks before the elections. You will receive them by email (or by post if that’s what you requested when you registered). If you would like to change how you receive your ballot paper, contact the municipality of The Hague.

Find out what to do if you haven’t received your voting documents

Sending your postal vote to the Netherlands

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. You must send your vote by post.

To vote in the Dutch parliamentary elections on 22 November 2023, your postal vote must be received by the postal vote polling station in The Hague by 15.00 Dutch time on 22 November 2023.

Posting your vote to a Dutch embassy

It’s also possible to post or hand deliver your postal vote to a Dutch embassy or consulate-general. Call the embassy or consulate-general for instructions.

Dutch embassies and consulates-general

To vote in the Dutch parliamentary elections on 22 November 2023, your postal vote must be received by an embassy or consulate-general (by post or hand delivery) by 10.00 Dutch time on 17 November 2023.

Voting in Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten

If you live in Aruba, Curaçao or St Maarten, you will receive your voting documents through the Dutch representation. You can post or hand deliver your postal vote to the Dutch representation.

Find out more about voter registration for residents of Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten

To vote in the Dutch parliamentary elections on 22 November 2023, your postal vote must be received by the Dutch representation in Aruba, Curaçao or St Maarten by 15.00 local time on 22 November 2023.

Other ways to vote

If the postal service in the country where you live is slow or unreliable, you can arrange for someone in the Netherlands to vote on your behalf. This is called voting by proxy and is only possible in the elections for the House of Representatives and the European Parliament.

If you are in the Netherlands at the time of the election, you can vote with a voter’s pass in a Dutch municipality.

In elections for the electoral college for non-residents you can vote by post only.

Contact

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.