File on RANOV permit and becoming a Dutch citizen

In 2021, over 10,000 people with a RANOV permit had not yet become Dutch citizens. Part of this group was unable to comply with the requirements for naturalisation. In 2021, the government decided to exempt people with a RANOV permit. This allows a portion of the group to request Dutch citizenship (again).

As a result of the exemptions, people with a RANOV permit are no longer required to have a valid foreign passport (or other proof of identity). They are also no longer required to provide a (foreign) birth certificate or proof of birth registration. And they do not have to renounce their original nationality.

Latest news on this topic

IND received 3,250 naturalisation applications from RANOV permit holders (6 May 2022)
IND Annual Figures 2021: Despite corona a busy year for IND (17 January 2022)
Volwassenen met RANOV-vergunning kunnen vanaf 1 november het Nederlanderschap aanvragen (2 November 2021, only available in Dutch)
About 8000 letters are under way to people with a Pardon permit (22 September 2021)
RANOV group exempted from the document requirement for naturalization (8 July 2021)
Exemption from document requirement for naturalisation for part of the RANOV group (28 April 2021)

Background

On 15 June 2007, the Regulation on Settlement of the Legacy of the Old Aliens Act (RANOV) came into force. This regulation, also called the pardon scheme, was meant for foreign nationals who had applied for asylum under the old Aliens Act (before 1 April 2001). The requirement was that they had been in the Netherlands since 1 April 2001. To obtain a residence permit based on the RANOV regulation, the ongoing (asylum) procedure had to be withdrawn. Through the pardon scheme, around 28,000 foreign nationals eventually received a regular residence permit.

Background article about RANOV
Becoming a Dutch national with RANOV-permit
Samen soepel door de RANOV-regeling (article in VreemdelingenVisie, only available in Dutch)

Available data

The table below shows the progress of the number of naturalisation requests by RANOV permit holders submitted since 1 June 2021.

Number of applications:	4,159
Number of decisions:	3,753
Percentage of applications granted:	87%

Last update: July 3rd 2023. Rounded to the nearest tens.

References

Former Minister for Migration Broekers-Knol wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives that a portion of the RANOV permit holders would be exempted from the document requirement and the obligation to renounce their original nationality in the option and naturalisation procedure starting on 1 June 2021.

In a letter of 7 July 2021, the Minister informed the House of Representatives that this would apply to all RANOV permit holders starting on 1 November 2021.

WODC Factsheet 2021-1 (N)ooit Nederlander worden? Naturalisatie van Ranov-vergunninghouders (only available in Dutch)

The IND has compiled a list of the number of potential applicants for each local council:

Tabel Ranov'ers per gemeente.pdf (PDF, 204.86 KB)

The list does not contain any names of potential applicants.

Answers to questions about the naturalisation of RANOV permit holders | Parliamentary paper (only available in Dutch) | Rijksoverheid.nl

Contact details spokesperson

Britt Enthoven
Mobile: 06 29 67 44 40 (also in evenings and weekends)

Tom van Essenberg
Mobiel: 06 23 30 76 98 (also in evenings and weekends)

Email: pers@ind.nl (only on working days)