About this website - Netherlands and you

About this website

On this page we explain how this website works. You can also read how we handle your data and how you can contact us for more information.
To contact a Dutch embassy or consulate-general in a particular country, click ‘Select another country’ in the footer of each page, then select the country you need. You will be redirected to the relevant site page. There you’ll find more information about the Dutch representation. The ‘About us’ section of each country site contains the contact details of the embassy or consulate-general.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about this website, please let us know using the contact form.  

For information on products and services offered by the Dutch government to Dutch and foreign nationals, such as how to apply for a visa, go to www.netherlandsworldwide.nl.

If you are looking for more information on the Netherlands, the Dutch government or living, working or doing business in the Netherlands, go the page with links to the relevant sites.

Documents

Netherlandsandyou.nl has links to various PDF documents. To read and print these files you’ll need a PDF program. Such programs are available for different operating systems, including Windows, macOS and Linux, and can usually be downloaded for free. One example is Adobe Reader.
 

Videos

The videos on this website are subtitled and audio descriptions are also available. Click ‘CC’ in the video player to turn on the subtitles and ‘AD’ to turn on the audio description. You can also view the videos in full-screen mode and adjust the volume. The videos can be downloaded in various formats.
Unless stated otherwise, CC0 (Creative Commons Zero) applies to the content on our website. This means that the content on this website may be reprinted freely, unless otherwise indicated (for example, in the form of a copyright notice on a document).

CC0 does not apply to photographs, videos, infographics or other images. This means it is not permitted to reuse or share images, unless permission is clearly stated for a specific image.

The editors have paid close attention to copyright regarding images used on this website. If you believe copyright has not been attributed, or not been attributed correctly, please get in touch with us through this contact form.

When reusing images, it is mandatory to state the name of the creator, if mentioned. In addition, when quoting the content, it must never be implied that central government endorses the derivative work.
Personal data that you provide on this website will only be used for the purpose for which you have provided it.
 

How we use your data

If you ask us a question using our contact form you share personal data with us. We will use your data in order to respond to your question. Your question will be answered by our own staff. We will not share your data with other parties.
We store the following personal data:
  • email address
  • telephone number (not a mandatory field)
We store your data for 12 months for quality improvement purposes.
 

General privacy statement

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for the use of the personal data that you share via the contact form and in telephone calls. For more information see the general privacy statement.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs handles your personal data with the utmost care. Personal data is information that can be traced to an individual, such as names, postal addresses and email addresses. Personal data is protected under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
 

Why the Ministry processes personal data

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs processes personal data in order to carry out its public tasks.
 

Data sharing

These tasks may require the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to share information, including your personal data, with other organisations. It does so on the basis of the principles set out in the GDPR. For instance, the Ministry may need to share information with other government agencies for the purposes of consular processes, examining travel document irregularities, or in the context of a criminal investigation.
 

Information about data processing

In principle, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will inform you if it intends to process your data.
 

Protecting personal data

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will ensure that your personal data is appropriately protected.
 

Retention period for personal data

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will retain your personal data no longer than is necessary for the purpose concerned or is required under the Public Records Act.
 

Your privacy rights

You can submit a request in any of the following situations:
 

  • if you want to know what personal data we have processed;
  • if you want to have your personal data rectified;
  • if you want to have personal data erased;
  • if you want to restrict the processing of your personal data;
  • if you want to object to the processing of your personal data.
     

You can submit your request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by using this contact form.
Alternatively, you can send your request by post to:
 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
DJZ
Postbus 20061
2500 EB The Hague
 

Contacting the data protection officer

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a data protection officer who monitors internal compliance with privacy legislation. You can contact the data protection officer by using this contact form or writing to the following address:


Data Protection Officer
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
VCI
Postbus 20061
2500 EB The Hague
The Netherlands
 

Questions or comments?

If you have any questions or comments about privacy on this website, contact the data protection officer via this contact form.
 

If you want to find out more about privacy or you have a complaint about how this website deals with your privacy, contact the Data Protection Authority.
 

Visit the website of the Data Protection Authority

The borders, names and icons on the maps used on this website (OpenStreetMap) in no way imply any formal acceptance or recognition by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

This website uses two types of cookies. Cookies are small text files that are saved on your computer by the websites you visit. They enable websites to recognise your computer while you visit them. The cookies used by this website do not save any personal data and are deleted from your computer automatically at the end of each session.
 

What cookies does this website use?

This website uses a session ID cookie, which stops the website from treating you as a new visitor every time you go to one of its pages. It enables the website to keep track of the pages you go to during your session so that you do not have to enter the same information several times – for instance when filling in forms.
This website also uses a cookie for statistical purposes, for instance to see how often it is visited, which websites its visitors come from, and which of its pages they visit.


Additional information

Netherlandsandyou.nl, managed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, uses cookies and web analytics. The reasons for this are explained below. You will also see what cookies this websites uses and for what purpose.
Two pieces of legislation apply to cookies:
  1. the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
  2. the Dutch Telecommunications Act.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

This website, managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, uses cookies for web analytics to monitor how visitors use the site. This helps to improve the website. It shows where users require more information and how the site can be made more user-friendly.
Like any other website, visitors’ IP addresses are collected for this purpose. These are then stored in ‘log files’. Log files are kept for 5 days on the web server so that they can be used by the web analytics program Piwik. They are then kept for another 90 days for security purposes, and they may only be consulted for this reason.
Measures are in place to limit the traceability of visitors to our website as much as possible. Immediately after importing log files into Piwik, the last 2 octet (group of eight bits) of each IP address is discarded. This takes place in a temporary memory, before the IP address is stored in Piwik.
Once this has happened, no more personal data is processed, because we do not have this data in our possession any more.
We collect the following data in Piwik:
  • devices and software used (devices, browsers and operating system)
  • links used to reach our website
  • links used within the website
  • search terms used in the search feature on the website itself.

Piwik retrieves this data from the log files on the web server. These log files are kept in the Piwik database for 31 days, and are then deleted. All that remains is a single, aggregated log file, which provides an annual report on the site’s web traffic. We never provide personal data to third parties unless we have to do so in order to report a criminal offence.

Web analytics cookies

In general, websites must ask visitors for permission to use cookies. However, the Telecommunications Act makes an exception for cookies that are not privacy-sensitive, for example cookies that track visitor numbers.
No visitor permission is required for cookies that have little or no impact on privacy. These are often cookies that make a website work better. All our analytical cookies fall into this category. Websites use analytical cookies to keep track of visitor statistics, for instance. This helps improve the website in question. Analytical cookies have a very limited impact on privacy.
This website uses cookies for web analytics to monitor how visitors use the site. This helps to improve the site. It shows where users require more information and how the site can be made more user-friendly.
Measures are in place to limit the traceability of visitors to our website as much as possible. Immediately after importing log files into the web analytics program Piwik, the last octet (group of eight bits) of each IP address is discarded. This takes place in a temporary memory, before the IP address is stored in Piwik.
We collect the following data in Piwik:
  • devices and software used (devices, browsers and operating system)
  • links used to reach our website
  • links used within the website
  • search terms used in the search feature on the website itself.

The data the Ministry of Foreign Affairs collects is not used for any purpose other than improving the website. The table below shows which cookies this website uses and what they do.
Web analytics cookies
Cookie Purpose
‘_pk_id’ cookie Is a user new to the site or a repeat visitor?
‘_pk_ses’ cookie Which pages were visited?
‘_pk_ref’ cookie What site did the user come from?

No tracking cookies

Tracking cookies can follow users as they visit different websites. www.netherlandsandyou.nl does not use tracking cookies. As a result, it does not support the Do Not Track (DNT) web browser feature. This website complies with Dutch law.
Netherlandsandyou.nl.nl wants everyone to be able to use the website. So we take accessibility into account when designing, building and writing. We also have surveys conducted each year to see how we can make the website even more accessible. But if you do come across a page that is not accessible, please let us know.


Accessibility statement

An accessible website is one that is easy to use for everyone. All Dutch government websites must meet certain functional, technical and editorial accessibility requirements (in Dutch). Government websites must account for this in a published accessibility statement.

How do we make the website accessible?

As part of our daily processes, we take a number of measures to guarantee accessibility.
  • Accessibility has been the guiding principle for all steps in this website’s design, construction and editing process.
  • Each year, independent specialists test our website’s accessibility, from a functional, technical and editorial point of view. We find lasting solutions to any issues identified.
  • Our staff keep their knowledge on accessibility up to date and apply it accordingly.

Reporting accessibility problems relating to Netherlandsandyou.nl

If you have any questions or comments, or come across a page that does not meet accessibility requirements, contact us using the contact form.
If you discover a vulnerability on this website, please report it to the Dutch National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). We will work with the NCSC to solve the vulnerability as quickly as possible.
 
Government information must be easy to find, whether it is current or from the past.

A copy of this website is made each day. If you want to see what appeared on the website in the past, go to the web archive .

You can use the web archive in two ways:
  • By selecting a date on the calendar (in the grey bar on the left of the screen) you can navigate through the site as it was on a specific day in the past. You can go back as far as 13 September 2023.
  • You can search the site using the search feature (under the calendar). The search feature on Netherlandsandyou.nl does not work for the web archive.