Netherlands

Dual Citizenship Netherlands

Not Allowed

The general rule is that dual nationality is not allowed in the Netherlands as specified in the Netherlands Nationality Act, however, there are some special circumstances or conditions under which second citizenship is allowed. These conditions vary from instances where a person is born with more than one nationality or becomes Dutch through the option procedure. If a person becomes Dutch through the naturalization procedure, there are also a few exemptions, such as if the person is married to a Dutch national, if the person suffers a substantial financial loss by renouncing or if the other country’s legalization does not allow a person to renounce his/her nationality.

If a citizen is obliged to renounce the original nationality, this person has 6 months to do so. This term will be extended if a person can substantiate that he/she is making effort to renounce his/her original nationality. Non-renunciation will ultimately lead to withdrawal of Dutch nationality.

Dutch nationality law is mainly governed by the principle of ius sanguinis, as is regulated by the the Netherlands Nationality Act 2003 (“Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap”), which was significantly amended in 2003. Under Dutch law, citizenship may be conferred primarily by being born to a Dutch parent, irrespective of the place of birth. Citizenship can also be acquired by naturalisation or by the option procedure. Naturalisation is currently possible after 5 years of continuous residence in the Netherlands with a valid residence permit, provided the applicant has passed the integration exam. The new government has announced they wish to change this into 10 years. Becoming a Dutch national through option is possible if you have specific ties with the Netherlands, for example if you are a former Dutch national and wish to re-obtain Dutch nationality. This is possible after 1 year of residence in the Netherlands.

Another possibility to become Dutch through the option procedure is if you were born to a Dutch mother and a foreign father before 1 January 1985. One of the main benefits of the option procedure is that the applicant does not need to integrate beforehand and in most cases it is not necessary to renounce the current nationality.