NL Customs VAT vs BorderClock

You can use this app if you depart from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Eindhoven Airport, Rotterdam-The Hague Airport, the ferry locations Rotterdam P&O, Hoek van Holland Stena Line, Ijmuiden DFDS and if you make use of the cruise terminals of Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Do you live outside the EU and do you take goods back home in your travel luggage from the Netherlands? Then you can reclaim the VAT on goods that you have purchased from companies in the Netherlands. To reclaim the VAT, you need an export validation by Dutch Customs, which you can request with this app. How does this app work? To use the app, you need to scan your passport. After scanning, the transactions which you have made in the Netherlands at shops that participate are shown. You start a validation request, select the transactions and enter your details about your journey outside the EU. When you have arrived at the airport or port, this app will direct you to a specific location. There you can submit the validation request via the app. Dutch Customs will then check your validation request. There are 2 follow-up options. Either you will immediately receive an export validation, or you will be asked to have your purchases checked manually at the Customs office. Do you have transactions from outside the Netherlands? Then you can present the paper version at the Customs office.

BorderClock keeps your travel history, passport context and visa-day planning together in one private place. SEE YOUR YEAR AT A GLANCE View the countries you visited and the number of days spent outside your home country. Every calendar date is counted once in the overall total, even when a border-transition date appears in two country stays. Switch between the last 365 days, the last 180 days, this year, all time or your own date range. CHECK VISA-DAY ALLOWANCES Choose a destination to see the policy for the passport you are using. BorderClock considers recorded trips, rolling stay windows such as the Schengen 90-in-180-day rule, passport validity and compatible visas, residence permits, permanent residence, ETA, ESTA or other authorisations you save. PLAN AND CORRECT TRIPS Add previous and future journeys, edit dates, delete incorrect entries, and merge nearby photo-created stays that belong to one trip. BUILD HISTORY FROM PHOTOS With your permission, BorderClock can scan capture dates and saved GPS metadata across your iPhone photo library to suggest location history. Processing happens on your device. Photo files are not copied or uploaded, and manual trip entry remains available without photo access. YOUR DATA STAYS WITH YOU No BorderClock account is required. The iOS app stores travel data locally, includes backup and restore, and contains no advertising or third-party tracking SDKs. Visa and entry rules depend on individual circumstances and can change. BorderClock is a planning aid, not legal advice or a guarantee of admission. Always check the linked official government source or contact the relevant immigration authority before travel.