THE HAGUE – The Netherlands has established new rules for the exchange of personal data between the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the Caribbean Netherlands. The immediate cause is the introduction of the citizen service number (BSN) in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba since November of last year.
The new circular from the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations replaces a 2013 regulation and is intended to prevent individuals from being simultaneously registered as residents in multiple population registers.
BSN Makes Coordination More Important
Since November 11, 2025, all residents of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba have been assigned a BSN. Their details are therefore also included in the Dutch Basic Registration of Persons (BRP). According to the ministry, this makes it increasingly important that personal records across the Kingdom are properly aligned with one another.
The circular sets out how municipalities, public bodies, and population administrations must henceforth automatically exchange personal data when a person relocates between the Netherlands, the BES islands, Curaçao, Aruba, or Sint Maarten. A single administrative number per person must be used throughout this process.
Addressing Duplicate Registrations
According to the ministry, in practice this rule is not always properly observed, for instance when individuals return to the Kingdom via a third country, which can result in duplicate registrations.
The new rules stipulate, among other things, that for relocations between the countries of the Kingdom, change-of-address notifications must be exchanged digitally via the so-called PIVA-BRP link. Personal data relating to civil status and previous registrations will also be automatically shared between population administrations.
Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten will retain their own population administrations, but will be required to align their data with the Netherlands and the Caribbean Netherlands.
