At least 3071 Dutch people got into serious problems abroad last year. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs published figures on this this week.
385 Dutch people died abroad and 137 were hospitalized. According to a spokesperson for the ministry, the number of Dutch people in need, mostly tourists, has remained fairly stable in recent years. More than three hundred tourists were in acute financial need, for example due to lost or stolen debit cards. If you have not taken out travel insurance, the embassy or consulate will ask for help.
Embassies and consulates can mediate if you are in need of money abroad. For example after a robbery. The embassy or consulate will then advise you on how to transfer money from the Netherlands to the country where you are staying. The help of the embassy and consulate with money problems is limited. So they will:
- not give or borrow money to pay for things like lawyers, hotels, medical expenses or fines;
- do not pay for tickets for your return to the Netherlands;
- not to investigate a crime.
By the way, the help of the embassy is not free. Mediation in the event of financial problems abroad costs €50.
The travel advice of Foreign Affairs was consulted 2,3 million times last year and there were 700.000 direct contacts with the emergency telephone number, which is available 24 hours a day.
Op www.Nederlandworldwide.nl Dutch travelers can find information and travel advice that are important for a good preparation.
About this blogger
-
Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
Read the latest articles here
HealthJanuary 21 2025AI brings breakthrough in snakebite treatment
Food and drinkJanuary 21 2025Kaeng som or Gaeng som (sour and spicy fish curry soup)
SightsJanuary 21 2025A must for art lovers: Museum of Contemporary Art in Bangkok
CalendarJanuary 19 2025Agenda: Celebrate Chinese New Year 2025 in Thailand
Think this is a wrong form of chest beating. Ultimately, embassies are kept in operation by tax revenues and fees. Please also state in detail, for example, how much fees have been received for services and how much money is going to embassies. Then you have a more balanced picture.
I think most deaths in Thailand, for example, are those who have not been registered in the Netherlands for a long time, but who are Dutch citizens. Look then it is the duty of the embassies to provide a certificate or something similar for the local authorities. And for that, fees are charged again. Ditto for passports, 100 euros more is charged than in the Netherlands, just for forwarding the passports to and from the Netherlands, the rest of the actions are the same with a passport application in the Netherlands, while the income of the Thai employee is only a part belongs to a civil servant in the Netherlands. And if you hear about the 1 x half-year visits to prisoners and they can't mean anything to them, well that doesn't make you happy either. Would it be better to get someone from a church organization or other volunteers to visit: do you have something to discuss? And then there are more points to mention.