Dutch nationality law is based primarily on the principle of Jus sanguinis. Thus citizenship is conferred primarily by birth to a Dutch parent, irrespective of place of birth. Children born in the Netherlands to two foreign parents do not acquire Dutch citizenship at birth, unless special criteria are met.
The Netherlands Nationality Act was significantly amended with effect from 1 April 2003.
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Acquisition of citizenship
By descent
A person born on or after 1 January 1985 to a married Dutch father or mother, or an unmarried Dutch mother, is a Dutch subject at birth. It is irrelevant where the child is born.
A child born to an unmarried Dutch father and a non-Dutch mother must be acknowledged by the Dutch father before birth, in order for the child to be a Dutch subject at birth. Before 1 April 2003, an acknowledgement could be given after birth. Since then children who were not acknowledged before birth may nonetheless acquire Dutch citizenship through the option procedure, or through obtaining proof of paternity from a court. In the last case, the child gets Dutch nationality retroactively, since his/her birth.
As of 1 January 1985 a child born to a Dutch woman and a non-Dutch father outside the Netherlands is a Dutch subject. This was previously not the case but children born in these circumstances before 1985 were given the possibility of being registered as Dutch subjects but such registration had to take place before 1988.
Note: For people born before 1985 and who were not Dutch because before 1985 only the children of a Dutch man were Dutch subjects by birth, there is work being done for these children and an "option-possibility" to get Dutch nationality may happen soon.[1] A group of lawyers[2] are working on this case to persuade the Dutch government that Art. 27 RWN condones the discrimination against women from the old Dutch Nationality Law (before its 1985 revision), and it should therefore be revoked. Mirjam Sterk, a member of the Dutch Parliament affirms that the problem of the latent Dutch subjects should be solved by the Parliament before the summer of 2010.[3] Of course, her affirmations depend upon getting the needed parliamentary support for changing this law, since the same change was discussed in 2006.[2][4]
By place of birth
A child born in the Netherlands, the Dutch Antilles or Aruba to at least one resident foreign national parent is a Dutch subject if at least one of the parent's parents was born in the Netherlands, the Dutch Antilles or Aruba to a resident foreign national parent.[5]
By option
The option procedure is a simpler and quicker way of acquiring Dutch citizenship compared to naturalisation. In effect, it is a form of simplified naturalisation.
In order to be eligible for the option procedure, it is necessary to hold a Dutch residence permit and to be any or the following:
- an adult who was born in the Netherlands, the Dutch Antilles or Aruba and who has lived in any of these places continuously since birth.
- a person born in the Netherlands, the Dutch Antilles or Aruba, who has lived in any of these places for an uninterrupted period of at least three years and who has not acquired the citizenship of any other country (i.e. a stateless person).
- an adult who has been legally resident in the Netherlands, the Dutch Antilles or Aruba since he or she was four years old.
- an adult who used to be a Dutch subject and who has been legally resident in the Netherlands, the Dutch Antilles or Aruba for at least one year and whose residence is without any restriction as to length.
- someone who has been married to a Dutch subject for at least three years and who has been legally resident in the Netherlands, the Dutch Antilles or Aruba for an uninterrupted period of at least 15 years.
- someone aged sixty-five years or over and who has been legally resident in the Netherlands, the Dutch Antilles or Aruba for an uninterrupted period of at least 15 years.
- a minor who is acknowledged by a Dutch subject who has been cared for and brought up by this Dutch subject for an uninterrupted period of at least three years.
- a minor who, as a result of a Court decision or by law at the time of your birth, is under the joint custody of a non-Dutch parent and another person who is a Dutch subject and who, since the start of this custody, has been cared for and brought up by this Dutch subject for a period of at least three years during which the child has had his or her principal place of residence in the Netherlands.
Applicants for Dutch citizenship through the option procedure do not have to renounce any foreign citizenship they might hold.
By naturalisation
An application for Dutch citizenship by naturalisation must meet all the conditions below:
- aged 18 or over;
- holder of a permanent resident permit or a valid residence permit with a non-temporary reason of stay, e.g. family formation and/or reunion (gezinsvorming/gezinshereniging);
- 5 years of continuous residence in the Netherlands, the Dutch Antilles or Aruba with a valid residence permit prior to the application date. Residency under a temporary reason of stay (e.g. study) is also counted in those five years. There are a number of exceptions to this rule.
- sufficiently integrated in Dutch society and are able to read, write, speak and understand Dutch. This must normally be proved by taking a naturalisation test. Successful completion of an eligible integration course is an alternative. The Staatsexamen Nederlands als Tweede Taal diplomas NT2-I and/or NT2-II give their holder exemption from taking the naturalisation test. There are lots of other exemptions, see the Decision naturalisation test (Besluit naturalisatietoets) art. 3.
- in the four years preceding the application, the applicant has not been given any custodial sentence, training order, community service order or high monetary penalty.
Since March 1, 2009, someone who demands naturalization has to take an oath/promise his/her adhesion to the values of the Dutch state: "I swear (declare) that I respect the constitutional order of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, its freedoms and its rights, and I swear (promise) to faithfully fulfil the obligations due to my nationality. So help me God Almighty", or: "This is what I promise and declare."[6] Some categories of people are excepted from declaring their allegiance, through a general administrative measure.
Exemptions to the residence requirement
The 5-year residence requirement may not apply where the applicant falls into any of the following categories:
- a person adopted after majority in the Netherlands, the Dutch Antilles or Aruba by parents at least one of whom has Dutch nationality.
- married to or are the registered partner of a Dutch man or woman. If this is the case, the person can submit an application for naturalisation after 3 years of marriage or registered partnership and cohabitation. If the person has cohabited in the Netherlands with a Dutch man or woman (both partners unmarried) for an uninterrupted period of 3 years, an application may also be submitted. Note: this is true (in respect to marriage, partnership or cohabitation) if and only if in the last three years the applicant has continually lived together his/her partner inside the Netherlands. In case of marriage, it does not matter where this happened, i.e. inside and/or outside Dutch territories are both acceptable for married couples. As a rule of thumb, for each passed year, more than 6 months (per year) must have been spent under the same roof with that partner. [5] [6] There is an extra clause, namely that the couple/partners has/have to remain living under the same roof for as long as the request for naturalization is being researched.
- the 5-year term is reduced to a 3-year term if the applicant is stateless.
- the 5-year term is reduced to a 3-year term if the applicant as a minor is acknowledged or legitimised by a Dutch national and has been cared for and brought up by this Dutch national for a period of 3 years.
- the 5-year term is reduced to a 2-year term if the applicant has legally lived in the Netherlands, the Dutch Antilles or Aruba for a period of 10 years, the last 2 of which uninterruptedly.
- a former Dutch subject. In some cases the applicant will instead be able to use the option procedure.
Exemptions to the requirement to renounce foreign citizenship
An applicant for naturalisation does not have to give up his current nationality in the following cases:
- where the original nationality is automatically lost upon naturalisation as a Dutch subject
- the legislation of the applicant's country does not allow renunciation of nationality. For example, under Greek Law[7]
- the person is married to or the registered partner of a Dutch national.
- recognised refugees
- born in the Netherlands, the Dutch Antilles or Aruba, and still living there at the time of application.
- where the person has lived in the Netherlands, the Dutch Antilles or Aruba for an uninterrupted period of 5 years or longer before age 18.
- where the applicant cannot be expected to contact the authorities in the country of which they are a national.
- where the applicant has "special and objectively assessable reasons" for not renouncing his existing nationality.
- where in order to give up his/her current nationality the applicant would have to fulfil military service obligations or pay for such military service instead of fulfilling it. This must be demonstrated in each case.
- where renunciation of the applicant's existing nationality would cause "serious financial losses" (for example, inheritance rights). This must be demonstrated.[8]
- where in order to give up his/her current nationality the applicant must pay a large sum of money to the authorities in his or her country[9].
These exemptions do not hold for citizens/subjects of Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg and/or Norway, since these countries (together with the Netherlands) signed and ratified without reservations and never denounced the Convention on the Reduction of Cases of Multiple Nationality and on Military Obligations in Cases of Multiple Nationality (see Chapter I, art. 1, paragraph 1). This was also the case for Belgian subjects till April 28, 2008, since Belgium denounced this treaty on such date[10].
The immigrants are showing some dissatisfaction in this respect, according to reports about expatriates' discussion forums[11].
Children
Children aged under 18 may be added to a parent's application for Dutch citizenship. Those aged 16 and 17 will only be naturalised if they give their active consent, while those aged 12–15 inclusive are given a chance to object.
By resumption
Former Dutch subjects who hold permanent resident permits and have resided in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles or Aruba) for at least 1 year may regain Dutch citizenship through the option procedure.
Where the person is not resident in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the person must have lost Dutch citizenship after reaching the age of majority and through the acquisition of another citizenship. In addition one of the following conditions must be satisfied:
- born in the country whose nationality was acquired and living there at the time of acquisition of the nationality of that country, or
- before turning 18, lived in the country whose nationality was acquired for an uninterrupted period of at least five years, or
- at the time of acquisition of the nationality of the other country, the person was married to someone who possessed that nationality.
These criteria are similar to the criteria for exemption from loss of Dutch citizenship in place since 1 April 2003. The application opting for Dutch nationality may be submitted up to 31 March 2013 (i.e. 10 years from the 2003 change in the law).
Loss of Dutch citizenship
Dutch subjects may lose their citizenship through long residence outside the Netherlands while having more than one nationality, or acquisition of a foreign nationality. In addition, in some cases it is possible to be deprived of Dutch citizenship.
By residence outside the Netherlands
The Dutch law has contained for many years provisions that removed Dutch citizenship from certain Dutch persons who held another nationality at birth and remained resident outside the Netherlands in adulthood.
Prior to 1985
Before 1 January 1985, Dutch subjects lost their nationality in cases where they were born outside the Kingdom of the Netherlands, lived for an uninterrupted period of ten years outside the Kingdom after reaching the age of majority (then 21) and did not submit notification that they wished to retain their Dutch nationality before the ten-year period was up.
These provisions affected Dutch subjects born abroad before 1 January 1954
From 1 January 1985 to 31 March 2003
Under the 1985 legislation, Dutch subjects born outside the Netherlands who also held the nationality of the country of their birth lost Dutch citizenship if they lived in the country of their birth for 10 years after age 18 (and were still citizens/subjects of their country of birth).
Those who were issued a Dutch passport or proof of Dutch citizenship on or after 1 January 1990 are deemed never to have lost Dutch citizenship. This exemption was put in place on 1 February 2001.
Former subjects who were not issued a Dutch passport or proof of Dutch citizenship in 1990 or later were given a limited period of time to acquire Dutch citizenship by option. These provisions expired on 31 March 2005.
From 1 April 2003
After 1 April 2003, Dutch subjects with dual nationality may lose their Dutch nationality if they reside outside the Kingdom of the Netherlands or outside the European Union for a long period. The place of birth is irrelevant in this event.
If you hold the same foreign nationality alongside Dutch nationality for ten years, and you are resident outside the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the European Union for ten years, you will lose your Dutch nationality.
In the case of Dutch subjects who possessed dual nationality on 1 April 2003 and who were then resident outside the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the European Union, the ten-year period started on 1 April 2003.
It is possible to retain Dutch citizenship by:
- having a principal residence in the Kingdom of the Netherlands or another member state of the European Union for at least one year; or
- applying for a Dutch passport or proof of Dutch nationality before 1 April 2013, i.e. before the end of the ten-year period. A new ten-year period starts on the day the person is issued with a passport or proof of Dutch nationality.
By acquisition of another citizenship
A person who acquired another citizenship before 1 April 2003 automatically lost Dutch citizenship.
From 1 April 2003, loss of Dutch citizenship upon naturalisation in another country is still automatic unless one of the following exemptions applies:
- the person is born in the country of the other nationality and has a principal residence there at the time of acquisition of that nationality.
- if before turning 18, the person has had a principal residence in the country of the other nationality for an uninterrupted period of five years;
- if you are married to a person who possesses the nationality you wish to acquire (a spouse who is deceased does not count).
These exemptions do not apply in the case of acquisition of Austrian, Norwegian, Danish or Luxembourg citizenship. Before April 28, 2008, these exemptions did not apply to getting the Belgian nationality. This is due to the provisions of the Convention on the Reduction of Cases of Multiple Nationality which the Netherlands became party to in 1985. Details
The exemption also does not apply in the case of acquisition of Japanese or South-Korean citizenship, since neither Japan nor South Korea allows its nationals to hold foreign citizenships in their adult years. (See Japanese and South Korean nationality laws.)
By deprivation
Dutch citizenship by naturalisation may be withdrawn if procured by fraud, or if the naturalised Dutch subject does not renounce a foreign citizenship as per the requirements for naturalisation (i.e. if one did not have the right to be exempted from such requirement or if he/she did not claim his/her right to such exemption before signing a paper wherein he/she agrees to renounce his/her original nationality). A similar requirement exists for citizens of Japan and South Korea (see above).
Dutch citizenship may also be revoked in the case of service in a foreign army at war with the Netherlands.
Dual citizenship
Although Dutch law restricts dual citizenship, it is possible for Dutch subjects to legally hold dual citizenship in a number of circumstances, including:
- those who acquire another citizenship at the time of birth (for example, a child born to Dutch parents in the United States would hold both U.S. and Dutch citizenship).
- persons who acquire Dutch citizenship through the option procedure (including former Dutch citizens resuming citizenship)
- persons who become naturalised Dutch subjects, who obtain an exemption from the requirement to renounce their foreign citizenship, such as those married to Dutch subjects.
- Dutch subjects who naturalise in another country who are exempted from the loss of nationality rule (such as those married to a citizen/subject of that country).
The Dutch nationality law dispute
Dutch nationality law is an object of enduring dispute, dissension and debate, since the electoral campaign of Pim Fortuyn, who turned immigration into a hot issue in Dutch politics. Fortuyn said (translated into English): "I also stand for a cold war with Islam. I see Islam as an extraordinary threat, as a hostile religion."[12] Referring again to Islam, he said: "Darn, we have here a fifth column, made up of people who want to help this country go to hell."[13] Since Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh became martyrs for the cause of free speech, nationalist politicians like Geert Wilders and Rita Verdonk have promoted the view that by discouraging immigration into the Netherlands and by having immigrants integrate into the Dutch society, many ills that have been plaguing the nation in recent years will be lessened.
Former territories
Before independence, Dutch citizenship was held by many persons in Suriname and Indonesia. In general, those acquiring citizenship of these countries at independence lost their Dutch citizenship. A request for determination of citizenship status should be addressed to the Dutch authorities in case of doubt.
Dutch citizenship statistics
Figures from the Dutch government show that approximately 11,500 people were granted Dutch citizenship by naturalisation in the first 6 months of 2003. There were close to 20,000 applications. Details
However, there is undeniably an extreme downwards trend in those foreign residents of the Netherlands who are bothering to apply for local nationality.
According to the country's statistics office Details, nearly 21 thousand people were granted Dutch nationality through naturalisation in 2004 (13,000 adults and 8,000 children at the same time). This is 4 thousand fewer than in 2003 and half the number in 2002.
See also
References
- ^ Well, as far as the site wetten.overheid.nl shows, such change will not happen on April 1, 2010. (April 1 is, odd enough, a typical time for changing laws in the Netherlands.)
- ^ a b de Hart, B.; mr. drs. H. de Voer, mr. C.A. Goudsmit (28 april 2006). "Latente Nederlanders: Discriminatie van kinderen van Nederlandse moeders in het nationaliteitsrecht [Potentially Dutch: Discrimination of Children of Dutch Mothers in Nationality Law]" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Juristenblad (Den Haag: Kluwer) (17): 932–939. ISSN 0165-0483. http://www.everaert.nl/Actueel/NJB_20060428.pdf. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
- ^ De latente Nederlanders. Radio Netherlands World Emission, article by Pieter-Bas van Wiechen.
- ^ Latente Nederlanders wachten op hun paspoort. mr. C.A. Goudsmit.
- ^ Article 3(3) of the Netherlands Nationality Act.
- ^ Law on introducing the declaration of allegiance and for adapting the rule of getting the Dutch nationality after recognition, June 27, 2008, Art. 1.H.2.
- ^ Dubbele nationaliteit. Mag dat?
- ^ A peculiar case of "serious financial losses" is in the case where renunciation of the applicant's existing nationality would cost too much, in respect to his/her income. See the following footnote for explanations.
- ^ This must be demonstrated with proof of income and proof of consulary fees to be paid in case of renunciation, specific for his/her own case or with general specifications of such consulary fees for every citizen/subject of the country in which he/she is a national of. Note: As a rule of thumb, if that sum of money is larger than your income for two months, then you have a right to keep your nationality of origin. Loans do not count as income. A testimony of this process is shown at Commons:Image:RWN Exception 1 d.jpg. That document is a sworn Dutch translation of a proof of consulary fees from the head of the Consular Section of the Romanian Embassy in the Hague. Since the sum of 515 Euro was greater than his income for two months (excluding a study loan from IB Groep), the subject naturalized by the decision of Her Majesty the Queen was allowed to retain his Romanian nationality. Such exemption had to be explained in advance to the naturalization clerk of the municipality, who filled then the naturalization request papers accordingly.
- ^ Cf. Dutch Department of External Affairs.
- ^ Local expat bulletin boards, though, say that the immigration ministry has largely undermined these exceptions, either by imposing barriers so high that no one reaches them, or by using secondary obstacles to prevent would-be applicants from getting Dutch nationality. While it is a fact that these bulletin boards affirm this idea, taken in itself is neither true nor verifiable. For example, there is no "immigration ministry", but there is the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND), which is accountable to the Dutch Department of Justice. The harshness of the laws and regulations which IND has to apply is applicable to everyone who desires to obtain residence/be naturalized in the Netherlands. It remains a fact that immigration laws have become harsher, because this was the political decision of several Balkenende governments, which got approved by the Dutch Parliament. But, after five/three years of legal residence (with a valid residence permit all these five years, or for only three years in case of marriage/partnership and such), obtaining Dutch nationality is more or less a formality. The site ind.nl [1] , [2] , [3] contains information about these regulations. In fact, laws and legal regulations cannot be kept secret in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, because they only apply at certain time after official publication. All Dutch laws and regulations are also available for reading on http://wetten.overheid.nl, 24 hours a day and seven days per week. Further, the IND simply applies such laws and regulations. It is neither the task of the IND nor its aim to undermine its own rules. A recent scandal from the Netherlands concerns the extradition of Chinese citizens without valid Dutch residence papers. As reported by the popular actualities program EenVandaag, [4], it is very difficult for persons alleged to be Chinese citizens who lost their passport or who never had any passport to return to China, because China does not allow them to return without them offering proof that they are indeed Chinese citizens. In a morning news and entertainment program, a lawyer for some Chinese citizens affirmed that the Chinese authorities hold the records of their own citizens based upon who is domiciled in a certain building. If one quits such building, he/she is deleted from the records. In order to keep such records, paper notebooks are used, which are erased and rewritten till they tend to become illegible, after that happens, they are copied in new notebooks and the old copy is thrown to the garbage bin. The gist is that after someone left his/her home for about five years, there is no trace of a record that he/she ever lived at that specific address, so one is no longer able to prove his/her Chinese nationality (in lack of other papers such as a Chinese passport). Secretary Albayrak affirmed on the quoted site that about ten Chinese citizens succeeded to get their papers in order to be able to return to China in about a year, while hundreds others are kept in arrest for about one year and a half, after that they are freed from jail, and they are subject to being arrested again if caught without valid residence papers. Does IND violates its own rules? Yes and no; no, since its rationale is that the Chinese government has the obligation to cooperate, and then everything would go just fine. And yes, because the Chinese conditions do not always make such cooperation possible, for the indicated reasons. The Dutch State Council (which is the Dutch homologue of the US Supreme Court) decided that IND has the right to imprison alleged Chinese citizens, since it is the duty of IND to do everything possible to expel asylum seekers who have finished their legal procedure of requesting asylum and were denied asylum. Cf. ANP (2008-08-01). "Raad van State: illegale Chinees mag opgesloten". NRC Handelsblad (Rotterdam: Nieuwe Rotterdamse Courant). ISSN 0002-5259. http://www.nrc.nl/binnenland/article1195200.ece/Raad_van_State_illegale_Chinees_mag_opgesloten. Retrieved 2008-08-03.. The rules themselves may be harsh and IND bureaucrats may be seen as harsh, but the only thing they do is gather reliable information, check it and apply rules, as in any state bureaucracy in a state of law (it is true that Strangers' Police clerks have the power to arrest people who cannot prove their legal right to stay in the Netherlands).
- ^ "?". Rotterdams Dagblad (Rotterdam: Rotterdams Dagblad). August 2001. http://www.theworldpress.com/press/worldpress/netherlandspress/rotter.htm.
- ^ Sentrop, Rik. (2003). De Nacht Van Fortuyn. [DVD]. Sentrop, Rik.
External links
- Dutch Nationality, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Dutch Nationality, Embassy of the Netherlands, Ottawa
- Obtaining Dutch Nationality, Dutch Immigration and Nationality Directorate
- Article: The steep and thorny way to Naturalisation Day, a testimony by Sueli Brodin in Crossroads
- Expatica Dutch residence permit application procedures
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