Help with Legal Questions about Registration

Questioner

My husband and I have been together for a long time, married, and have children. We lived abroad for a long time and returned to the Netherlands in 2006. My husband found work there and now regularly travels abroad for the same work. Because he was away so often, often for longer periods abroad than in the Netherlands, and because the project still has a while to go (until the end of this spring), the children and I moved to that country in August 2012 and deregistered (due to compulsory school attendance). However, my husband is still registered for work, car, and childcare needs. The municipality is now making this difficult, even though, according to the national government information, someone can remain registered if they stay abroad for no more than eight out of every twelve months. They deregistered him, and we have filed several objections and are now requesting an injunction from the court. My husband is a German national and an EU citizen with an unrestricted permit for the Netherlands. To proceed with the case, we have to pay court fees. Our question is as follows: If we've paid court fees, does that cover the legal costs, regardless of whether we win or lose? Or will we face unpleasant surprises if we lose this case? The municipality deregistered him in January (they wrote this in a letter at the end of March), but does this mean that all current insurance policies (e.g., car insurance) are also no longer valid? I hope you can give us more (reassuring) information about this. Kind regards, T.

Questioner

Dear questioner, In administrative law, the judge usually does not order the objecting party to pay the legal costs (only in cases of manifest abuse of procedural law). I would like to point out that married couples are allowed to live apart (European case law). As a result, one is no longer considered to have followed a spouse abroad. Your husband does indeed need to be aware of certain insurance policies terminating, but he is required to have healthcare insurance in the Netherlands. You can also contact me directly; then we can explore relevant case law that may apply to your case.