Advanced Search

[...]

The Government of Canada and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, hereinafter referred to as “the parties”,

[...]

Have agreed as follows:

[...]

• 1 For the purpose of this Agreement:

  benefit

  benefit means, as regards a Party, any cash benefit, pension or allowance for which provision is made in the legislation of that Party and includes any supplements or increases applicable to such a cash benefit, pension or allowance by virtue of the legislation specified in Article II;

  competent authority

  competent authority means, as regards a Party, the Minister or Ministers responsible for the administration of the legislation specified in Article II with respect to that Party;

  competent institution

  competent institution means, as regards Canada, the competent authority; and, as regards the Netherlands, the institution charged with the implementation of the legislation specified in Article II, which is competent under the applicable legislation;

  creditable period

  creditable period means, as regards a Party, a period of contributions, insurance, employment or residence used to acquire the right to a benefit under the legislation of that Party;

  employed person

  employed person means a person who is employed by an employer as well as any person who is deemed equivalent to an employed person by the applicable legislation;

  legislation

  legislation means, as regards a Party, the legislation specified in Article II with respect to that Party;

  national

  national means, as regards Canada, a Canadian citizen; and, as regards the Netherlands, a person of Netherlands nationality;

  previous Agreement

  previous Agreement means the Agreement on Social Security between Canada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, signed at The Hague on 26 February 1987, as amended by the Supplementary Agreement Amending the Agreement on Social Security between Canada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, signed at Ottawa on 26 July 1989;

  territory

  territory means, as regards Canada, the territory of Canada; and, as regards the Netherlands, the territory of the Kingdom in Europe.

[...]

• 1 This Agreement shall apply:

  • [...]

  • (b) with respect to the Netherlands, to the national legislation on:

    [...]

    for the application of Article VI(2), (3) and (4):

    • (vi) sickness insurance (cash benefits and benefits in kind) inclusive of the obligation for the employer to pay salary during the first fifty two weeks of sickness of the employed person, as laid down in the Civil Code, and

• 2 Except as otherwise provided in paragraph 3, this Agreement shall apply also to any legislation which amends, supplements, consolidates or supersedes the legislation specified in paragraph 1.

• [...]

• 4 This Agreement shall not apply to social and medical assistance schemes, to special schemes for civil servants or persons treated as such, or to benefit schemes for victims of war or its consequences.

[...]

• 1 As regards the legislation of Canada, all persons described in Article III shall be subject to the obligations of that legislation and shall be eligible for its benefits without regard to nationality.

• 2 As regards the legislation of the Netherlands, unless otherwise provided in this Agreement,

  [...]

  shall be subject to the obligations of that legislation and shall be eligible for its benefits under the same conditions as nationals of the Netherlands.

[...]

• [...]

• 2 Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, benefits payable under this Agreement by one Party to a person who is in the territory of the other Party shall also be paid to a person who is in the territory of a third State, under the same conditions and to the same extent as to nationals of the first Party residing in that third State.

[...]

• 1 Subject to the provisions of the following paragraphs of this Article:

  • [...]

  • (b) a self-employed person who ordinarily resides in the territory of one Party and who works as such in the territory of the other Party or in the territories of both Parties shall, in respect of that work, be subject only to the legislation of the former Party.

• 2

  • (a) An employed person who is covered under the legislation of one Party and who is assigned to perform work in the territory of the other Party for his or her employer shall, in respect of that work, be subject only to the legislation of the former Party as though that work was performed in its territory and provided that such assignment does not exceed sixty months and the person concerned is not also employed in the territory of the other Party by a different employer located in that territory.

• 3 A person who is employed as a member of the crew of a ship or aircraft shall, in respect of that employment, be subject only to the legislation of the Party in the territory of which the employer’s principal place of business is located. However, if the person concerned ordinarily resides in the territory of the other Party, and if the employer has a place of business in the territory of that Party, that person shall be subject only to the legislation of the other Party.

[...]

• 1 For the purpose of calculating the amount of benefits under the Old Age Security Act:

  • (a) if a person is subject to the Canada Pension Plan or to the comprehensive pension plan of a province of Canada during any period of presence or residence in the territory of the Netherlands, that period shall be considered as a period of residence in Canada for that person as well as for that person’s spouse or common-law partner and dependants who reside with him or her and who are not subject to the legislation of the Netherlands by reason of employment or self-employment;

  • (b) if a person is obligatorily subject to the legislation of the Netherlands during any period of presence or residence in the territory of Canada, that period shall not be considered as a period of residence in Canada for that person and for that person’s spouse or common-law partner and dependants who reside with him or her and who are not subject to the Canada Pension Plan or to the comprehensive pension plan of a province of Canada by reason of employment or self-employment.

[...]

• 1 For the purposes of the legislation of the Netherlands, a person who is subject to the Netherlands legislation in accordance with the provisions of this Part shall be considered as residing in the Netherlands.

[...]

• 1

  • [...]

  • (b) In the application of this paragraph:

    • (i) for the purposes of determining eligibility for a benefit under the Old Age Security Act, a creditable period under the Netherlands legislation on old age insurance shall be considered as a period of residence in the territory of Canada;

    • (ii) for the purposes of determining eligibility for a benefit under the Canada Pension Plan, a calendar year including at least thirteen weeks which are creditable under the Netherlands legislation regarding invalidity or survivors’ insurance shall be considered as a year which is creditable under the Canada Pension Plan.

• 2 If a person is not eligible for a benefit under the legislation of Canada on the basis of the periods creditable under the legislation of the Parties, totalized as provided in paragraph 1, the eligibility of that person for that benefit shall be determined by totalizing these periods and periods creditable under the laws of a third State with which both Parties are bound by international social security instruments which provide for totalizing of periods.

[...]

• [...]

• 3 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement:

  • (a) an Old Age Security pension shall be paid, through the application of the totalizing provisions of Article IX, to a person who is outside Canada only if

    • [...]

    • (ii) that person’s creditable periods, when totalized as provided in Article IX, are at least equal to the minimum period of residence in Canada required by the Old Age Security Act for entitlement to the payment of a pension outside Canada;

[...]

• [...]

• 3 The following creditable periods completed under the Netherlands legislation shall be taken into consideration:

  • [...]

  • (d) periods of employment, and periods treated as such, completed in the Netherlands before 1 July 1967.

[...]

• [...]

• 2 Subject to paragraph 3, periods before 1 January 1957 during which a national of one Party or a person described in paragraph 2(b) or (c) of Article IV resided in the territory of the Netherlands after reaching the age of fifteen or during which, while residing in another country, the person was gainfully employed in the Netherlands shall also be considered as creditable periods if the person does not satisfy the conditions of the Netherlands legislation permitting such periods to be treated for that person as creditable periods.

[...]

• 1 For the purposes of this Chapter:

  income-related benefits

  income-related benefits means, as regards Canada, a guaranteed income supplement and an allowance under the Old Age Security Act; and, as regards the Netherlands, a supplementary allowance;

  partner

  partner means a person defined as such under the General Old Age Pensions Act of the Netherlands;

  pensioner

  pensioner means, as regards Canada, a person entitled to the payment of a pension under the Old Age Security Act; and, as regards the Netherlands, a person entitled to the payment of a pension under the General Old Age Pensions Act;

• 2 Subject to paragraph 4, if a person is both a spouse/common-law partner and a partner of a pensioner, the competent institutions of Canada and the Netherlands shall determine the amount of income-related benefits payable to that person and the pensioner as follows:

  [...]

[...]

• 1 The competent authorities and institutions responsible for the application of this Agreement:

  • [...]

  • (b) shall lend their good offices and furnish assistance to one another with regard to the determination of entitlement to, or payment of, any benefit under this Agreement, or the legislation to which this Agreement applies, as if the matter involved the application of their own legislation;

  • (c) shall communicate to each other, as soon as possible, all information about the measures taken by them for the application of this Agreement or about changes in their respective legislation insofar as these changes affect the application of this Agreement.

[...]

• 1 Any claim, notice or appeal concerning the determination of eligibility for, or payment of, a benefit under the legislation of one Party which should, for the purposes of that legislation, have been presented within a prescribed period to a competent authority, institution or tribunal of that Party, but which is presented within the same period to a competent authority, institution or tribunal of the other Party, shall be treated as if it had been presented to the authority, institution or tribunal of the first Party. The date on which such a claim, notice or appeal was submitted to the authority, institution or tribunal of the first Party shall be considered as the date of its submission to the authority, institution or tribunal of the other Party.

[...]

The relevant authority of the Netherlands and a province of Canada may conclude understandings concerning any social security matter within provincial jurisdiction in Canada insofar as those understandings are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement.

[...]

• [...]

• 3 Benefits awarded through the application of the previous Agreement may be recalculated by the competent institutions, either directly or on request by the beneficiary, taking into account the provisions of this Agreement. In no case, however, shall the amount of a benefit be reduced as a result of such a recalculation.

[...]

• [...]

• 2 Article XVII shall enter into force retroactively as of 1 January 2000.

[...]

[...]

WITH THE PURPOSE of improving the administrative efficiency, cost effectiveness and integrity of their social security systems as they apply to benefits payable under the legislation specified in Article II of the Agreement on Social Security between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, signed at Brantford on June 27, 2001 (hereinafter referred to as “the Agreement”),

[...]

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

[...]

Terms used in this Protocol have the same meaning as in the Agreement.

[...]

• [...]

• 2 The Management Committee shall:

  • [...]

  • (c) meet, as required, to review progress and establish program guidance and priorities.

[...]

This Protocol shall enter into force on the same date as the Agreement and shall form an integral part of the Agreement.

[...]