I live in the Netherlands, my family members abroad

Do your family members live in a country with which the Netherlands has no treaty, you will have to take out health insurance for your family members in that country. You are also not entitled to a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This also applies to the ‘Dutch Antilles’ (Caribbean part of the Kingdom and the BES Islands) and Suriname.

You may be able to co-insure your family members. The health insurance fund in their country of residence determines this. Below you will find instructions on what to do.

Do your family members live in an EU/EEA country or Switzerland? Then request a document S1 from the CAK for each of them. With the S1 document your family members need to report to a local health insurance fund in their country of residence. 

Do your family members live in another treaty country? Then ask for a form 109 for them from your Dutch health insurance company. With the 109 form your family members need to report to a local health insurance fund in their country of residence. 

Health insurance fund decides

The local health insurance fund decides which family members are co-insured and informs CAK. We will send you a letter stating which family members are co-insured. 

Does the local health insurance fund provide that your family members or one of your family members cannot be co-insured? Then arrange health insurance for your family members in their country of residence.

For each co-insured member of the family aged 18 and over, you pay a healthcare contribution to the CAK. This contribution is comparable to the premium for health insurance. We will send you an invoice for this every year. At the end of the calendar year you will receive an annual statement.

Does anything change in the composition or situation of your family? Then report this as soon as possible to the health insurance fund in your country of residence and to the CAK. These changes may affect the level of the healthcare contribution you have to pay. For example: 

• when the number of co-insured persons changes; 
• when a member of the family finds work;  
• when you or a family member are moving. 

You can notify the CAK of changes via our contact form.

Your family members are entitled to medical care in their country of residence, as provided for there by law. They will have the same rights and obligations as other residents who are legally insured in that country. For example, if their country of residence has a obligatory deductable excess for medical care, it will also apply to your family members. However, the Netherlands does not cover such costs. 

The health insurance fund in their country of residence can give you more information about: 

• the care to which your family members are entitled; 
• any deductable excesses, if any;  
• possible supplementary insurance.

If your family members live in an EU/EEA country or in Switzerland, they are also entitled to medical care in the Netherlands. For this care in the Netherlands, your family members can use the EHIC (European Health Insurance Card). More information about care in the Netherlands can be found on the website of the Zilveren Kruis. 

If your family members make use of medical care in the Netherlands, Zilveren Kruis will pay the costs incurred directly with the doctor or healthcare institution in the Netherlands. There is only the right to care which is included in the Dutch Health Insurance Act and the Long-Term Care Act. 

Other treaty country

If your family members do not live in an EU/EEA country or in Switzerland, they will always need supplementary or travel insurance when staying in the Netherlands. They are not entitled to healthcare outside their country of residence at the expense of the Netherlands. They also do not receive an EHIC from the CAK.

Do you live in an EU/EEA country or Switzerland and go on holiday to another EU/EEA country or Switzerland? Then your family members are entitled to necessary medical care according to the laws and regulations that apply there. They need a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). They can request the EHIC online from us. 

We also recommend that you always take out travel insurance. The EHIC usually does not offer 100 % coverage. If your family members go on holiday to other countries, they are subject to supplementary or travel insurance. 

Other treaty country

If your family members do not live in an EU/EEA country or in Switzerland, they will always need supplementary or travel insurance during holidays. They are not entitled to healthcare outside their country of residence at the expense of the Netherlands. They also do not receive an EHIC from the CAK.