What you need to know if you want to move into a house in another municipality
Do you have an asylum residence permit and do not want to live in the municipality assigned to you? Then it depends on your situation whether this is possible. Often it is not possible, but in some situations you can still change municipality.
The rules for changing municipalities depend on your situation
Whether you can get a house in another municipality depends on your situation. Below are the options for each situation:
1. You are still living in a COA reception centre and are not yet linked to a municipality
After you get a residence permit, the
You want to live in a particular municipality because you are pursuing training that is only available there.
You have a job for at least 6 months in a particular municipality and work a minimum of 20 hours per week.
You need medical care that can only be given by a specific doctor in a particular municipality.
You have immediate family (parents, brother, sister) in a particular municipality and want to live close to them.
COA only takes these reasons into account if you can show written proof of them. For example, an employment contract stating that you work a minimum of 20 hours per week. Or a written letter from a doctor stating that you need medical care that is only available in a certain place in the Netherlands.
2. You still live in a COA reception centre and are already linked to a municipality, but your situation has changed
Has your situation changed during the time you are waiting for a house? For example, has your family come to the Netherlands and you now need a bigger house. Or have you found a job in the a certain municipality in the meantime.
If your situation has changed, so that you now meet 1 of the conditions listed under situation 1, you can try to change municipalities. Contact COA as soon as possible to do this.
3. You have already received a house in a municipality, but want to move to another place
If you already have a residence permit and a house, it is possible to move to another municipality. You must then look for another rental or purchased house yourself. COA does not help you with this.
You can look for a cheaper social rented home, a more expensive rented home in the free sector or a home to buy. Sometimes you can also swap homes with someone else.
It is difficult to find a house in the Netherlands itself because there are too few houses for the number of people in the country. The waiting time for a social rental home is even more than 13 years in some municipalities. So never cancel the rent of the home you got from the municipality before you have found another home.