Naturalisation

​Conditions

You must meet the following conditions:

• You are 18 years or older.

• And have lived uninterruptedly in the Kingdom of the Netherlands for at least 5 years with a valid residence permit. You have always extended your residence permit on time. Your residence permit must be valid during the procedure. There are a number of exceptions to the 5-year rule.

• Immediately prior to the naturalisation application, you have a valid residence permit. This is a permanent residence permit or a temporary residence permit with a non-temporary purpose of stay. The residence permit is still valid at the time of the naturalisation ceremony.

Do you have the nationality of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland? You do not need a residence permit.

• You are sufficiently integrated. This means that you can read, write, speak and understand Dutch. You show this with the civic integration diploma.
• In the previous 5 years you have not received a prison sentence, training or community service order or paid or had to pay a large fine either in the Netherlands or abroad. There must also be no ongoing criminal proceedings against you. With respect to a large fine, this is an amount of €810 or more. In the last 5 years you may not have received multiple fines of €405 or more, with a total amount of €1,215 or more either.
• You must renounce your current nationality. There are some exceptions to this rule.
• You must take the declaration of solidarity. See The naturalisation ceremony at Steps in the application process.

Checklist documents

What documents do you need?

• A valid passport or another travel document.
• A valid residence permit or other proof of lawful residence.
  Do you have the nationality of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland? You do not need a residence permit. The municipality checks how long you live in the Netherlands in the Municipal Personal Records Database (BPR).
• A birth certificate from your country of origin.
• Civic integration diploma or other proof of civic integration.

Other documents may also be needed, such as:

• A marriage certificate or a certificate of registered partnership.
• Proof that you have continuously lived together with a Dutch citizen for 3 or more years.

Foreign documents must often be legalised and translated before they can be used in the Netherlands.

Lack of documentary evidence

You do not have a passport and/or birth certificate and are you not exempt from this? Then you may possibly appeal to ‘lack of documentary evidence’.

Have you just come of age and do you want to become a Dutch national?

If you are a minor, an application for Dutch citizenship can only be submitted by your parents or legal representatives. This changes when you become 18 years old. As an adult you can submit the application yourself. 

Did your parents file an application for you when you were still a minor, and was this application rejected? As an adult you can submit a new application yourself.

The IND checks whether you meet the conditions for naturalisation. For example, it is important that you have a valid passport of the country of your current nationality and a birth certificate. Do you not have a passport and/or a birth certificate? Then, the IND expects you to make an effort to obtain these documents. Is it really not possible for you to obtain these documents and can you proof with documents why this is not possible? Then, the IND may decide that you no longer need to submit these documents. This is what we call 'lack of documentary evidence '. If you do meet the other conditions for naturalisation, you can still become a Dutch national.

Minor children

Your child can only apply for Dutch citizenship together with you. You then request the naturalisation of your child in your own application for naturalisation. You will receive a notification stating that your child will also receive Dutch nationality.

A child under 16 years of age must live in the Netherlands He must also have a valid residence permit immediately before the application. This is a permanent residence permit or a temporary residence permit with a non-temporary purpose of stay. The residence permit is still valid at the time of the naturalisation ceremony.

A child of 16 or 17 years old must, immediately before to the application, have been living uninterruptedly in the Netherlands for at least 3 years with a valid residence permit. This is a permanent residence permit or a temporary residence permit with a non-temporary purpose of stay. The residence permit is still valid at the time of the naturalisation ceremony. The child must be present for the application. He must also indicate that he agrees with the application.

Is your child a minor at the time of the application, but an adult  at the time of the decision? In that case, he cannot become naturalised together with you. Your child must then submit a new application for naturalisation. He may submit a new application if he has lived for an uninterrupted period of at least 3 years in the Netherlands with a valid residence permit. This is a permanent residence permit or a temporary residence permit with a non-temporary purpose of stay.

Was your child, for some reason, not naturalised together with you? Then he can still submit an application for naturalisation. Your child must, immediately before to the application, have been living uninterruptedly in the Netherlands for at least 3 years with a valid residence permit.  This is a permanent residence permit or a temporary residence permit with a non-temporary purpose of stay.

Children up to 18 years old can keep their current nationality if one or both parent(s) become Dutch citizen at the same time, unless the laws of the country of the current nationality do not allow this.