A 70-year-old man from Midden-Groningen who had been declared dead for the last 15 years by his local council is still alive, local paper Dagblad van het Noorden reported.
Government organisations have been working for months to re-establish the man’s legal status, sources told the paper.
The man, whose identity has not been revealed, was officially registered as missing by his ex-wife in the summer of last year. She had been in a relationship with the man until 2010 and, despite having been divorced for 15 years, told the court in Groningen that he had died.
She then handed over the court’s certificate to Midden-Groningen local council, which declared the man deceased from 2010 without any further checks.
Last April, police and the local authorities discovered the man was very much alive but living under the radar with his girlfriend. He did not pay tax or healthcare premiums but neither did he receive a state pension or benefits.
A council spokesman said the man wasn’t registered anywhere which made for a difficult search. In the end, he was found via “another authority” which wasn’t disclosed to protect the man’s privacy.
The Noord-Holland public prosecution office has been asked to restore the man to administrative and legal life after the council ascertained the man’s identity, but it is unclear how long this will take. “It is a unique situation,” the council spokesman said.
Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.
We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.
Make a donation
