Regaining Dutch citizenship
Requirements
When you lost Dutch citizenship, you can regain Dutch nationality in 2 ways:
- By submitting an application for naturalisation as a Dutch citizen.
- Via the option procedure.
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Requirements for naturalisation
open minusYou must meet the following requirements for naturalisation:
- You do not live in the country of which you have the nationality.
- You are 18 years old or older.
You live in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and you have a residence permit for a non-temporary purpose. The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of:
- The Netherlands
- Aruba
- Curaçao
- Sint Maarten
- Bonaire
- Sint Eustatius
- Saba
What if you do not live in the Kingdom of the Netherlands? Then you must meet the requirements for a residence permit with a non-temporary residence purpose. See the list of non-temporary residence purposes.
- You have integrated in Dutch society. You must have a civic integration diploma to demonstrate this. In some cases, you do not have to take the civic integration examination. Find out more about civic integration in the Netherlands.
- In the past 5 years in the Netherlands or abroad, you have not;
- served a prison sentence;
- carried out a training order or community sentence of 36 hours or more, or several training orders or community sentences of 18 hours with a total of 54 hours or more;
- paid or received a fine, penalty order or out-of-court settlement of €900 or more for a serious offence;
- in the past 5 years, you did not have several fines of €450 or more if the total amount is €1,350 or more;
- if you live in the Netherlands Caribbean, read the public order policy requirements here.
- No criminal case is pending against you for a serious offence.
- In most cases, you must renounce your current nationality.
- You must make a declaration of solidarity.
- You are not married to more than 1 person at the same time.
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Requirements for option procedure
open minusYou must meet the following requirements for the option procedure:
You have legally lived in the Kingdom of the Netherlands for at least 1 year with a valid residence permit for a non-temporary residence purpose. The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of:
- the Netherlands
- Aruba
- Curaçao
- Sint Maarten
- Bonaire
- Sint Eustatius
- Saba
- Your Dutch nationality has not been withdrawn, because you did not renounce your current nationality.
- In the past 5 years, in the Netherlands or abroad, you have not:
- served a prison sentence;
- carried out a training order or community sentence of 36 hours or more, or several training orders or community sentences of 18 hours with a total of 54 hours or more;
- paid or received a fine, penalty order or out-of-court settlement of €900 or more for a serious offence;
- in the past 5 years, you did not have several fines of €450 or more if the total amount is €1,350 or more;
- if you live in the Netherlands Caribbean, read the public order policy requirements here.
- No criminal case is pending against you for a serious offence.
- Are you 18 or older? And have you lived in the Netherlands with valid residence permit from the day on which you turned 4 years old? Then, you must renounce your nationality.
- You are not married to more than 1 person at the same time.
Do you not live in the Kingdom? Sometimes you can apply for option without living in the Kingdom. You will have to meet the other requirements. This applies to the following persons:
- Divorced women/widows
You were married to a non-Dutch citizen before 1 January 1985. And you lost your Dutch nationality before this date. You have recently been divorced or became a widow. You must make an option statement within 1 year or the dissolution or your marriage or the death of your partner. You do not have to live in the Kingdom of the Netherlands in order to so do. - Former Dutch citizens from Surinam
You had the Dutch nationality but you chose the Surinamese nationality. You did this within 5 years after your partner gained Surinamese nationality. You did this under the Nationality Agreement (in Dutch: Nationaliteitenverdrag) of 1975. You must make an option statement within 3 years of the dissolution or the death of your partner. You do not have to live in the Kingdom of the Netherlands in order to do so. The option procedure is free of charge and you do not have to go to the naturalisation ceremony. - Former Dutch citizens who automatically lost Dutch citizenship and EU citizenship where this loss was disproportionate
You automatically lost Dutch nationality and European Union (EU) citizenship. This means that you are no longer Dutch or a citizen of the EU. At the time, the impact of losing Union citizenship was disproportionate for you. Disproportionate means that the consequences of this loss are so severe that this should not have happened. You can regain Dutch nationality (and therefore also Union citizenship) retroactively. This means that you will regain Dutch nationality from the moment that you lost it. You do not need to go to the naturalisation ceremony.
Process and costs
These are the steps in the application process for naturalisation and option procedure:
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1. Check requirements open minusA valid provisional residence permit (MVV) is needed for this application
Make sure you meet the requirements.
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1. Check requirements open minusMake sure you meet the requirements.
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2. Collect documents open minusYou need at least the following documents for the naturalisation and option procedure:
- Valid passport or other travel document.
- Proof that you were a Dutch citizen, such as an old Dutch passport.
- Birth certificate from your country of origin.
- Valid residence permit or other proof of lawful residence.
- Civic integration diploma or other proof of civic integration. Or a certificate of exemption or partial exemption or dispensation from the requirement of civic integration.
Extra documents
Depending on your situation, you may need extra documents. The authority where you submit your application can tell you more.
Legalisation and translation of foreign documents
Have official foreign documents legalised and translated into Dutch, English, French or German. Are your documents from abroad already entered in the Municipal Personal Records Database (in Dutch: Basisregistratie Personen or BRP)? Then you do not have to request the documents again while you are abroad.
Unable to meet the standard of evidence
Do you not own a passport or birth certificate and no exception applies to your situation? Then you may be able to rely on inability to meet the standard of evidence.
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3. Apply open minusYou start the naturalisation or option procedure at the following authorities:
- In the Netherlands: the Civil Affairs Department (in Dutch: Burgerzaken) of the municipality where you live.
- Abroad: the Dutch embassy or consulate in the country where you live.
- On Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba: the IND Caribbean Netherlands Unit.
- On Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten: the Cabinet of the Governor.
For declaring your solidarity
You must fill in a form in which you state that during the naturalisation ceremony you will make a declaration of solidarity.
Children under 18
Children from the age of 16 decide for themselves whether they want to become Dutch citizens. Children from 12 to 16 are asked what they think about the application.
The parent who does not apply for the option procedure or naturalisation must also give their opinion. What if the child and this parent are of the opinion that the child should not become a Dutch citizen? Then the child will not become a Dutch citizen. And what if this only applies to the child or one of the parents? Then the government will decide whether the child will become a Dutch citizen.
Keep the current nationality
Children under 18 may keep their current nationality if one or both of the parents become Dutch citizens. Except if the legislation of the country of their current nationality or nationalities decides otherwise.
Establishing your name
Your name may need to be established. This means your last name and first name are determined. Your name must be established if you do not have a last name or first name. For example:
- You have 1 name.
- You have several names without a separation between the last name and first names.
Changing your last name
When you submit an application for naturalisation you can ask to have your last name changed. This is possible only if it is important for your civic integration. For example:
- Your name is difficult for Dutch people to pronounce.
- You have acquired your husband’s last name by marriage. And you want to change this name to your maiden name.
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4. Pay for application open minusThe naturalisation process and the option procedure have to be paid for. To find out how much you have to pay, see the web page Fees: application costs.
You pay when you submit the application for naturalisation or make the option statement.
Has your application or option statement been rejected? Or have you withdrawn your application or statement? The fees will not be returned.
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5. Wait for decision on application open minusNaturalisation process
During the naturalisation process, the authority where you submitted your application examines whether you meet all requirements for naturalisation. The authority will send your file to the IND with a letter of advice. The IND checks whether you meet all requirements and takes a decision. The IND must take a decision within 12 months. This is called the decision period.
Option procedure
During the option procedure, the authority where you submitted your application checks whether you meet all requirements. The authority must take a decision within 13 weeks.
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6. Decision on application open minusYou will receive the decision in a letter. The decision will be positive or negative.
- Positive decision: the King receives a proposal from the IND to grant Dutch citizenship. After the King's approval, you will receive an invitation to the naturalisation ceremony. The municipality where you submitted your application will send you the invitation.
- Negative decision: you will not become a Dutch citizen. You can object against this decision.
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7. The naturalisation ceremony open minusThe naturalisation ceremony is a festive gathering about the importance of becoming a Dutch citizen.
Naturalisation ceremony required from age 16
You are required to go to the naturalisation ceremony. If your child was 16 years old or older when the application for naturalisation was submitted, then the child is required to go to the naturalisation ceremony. Your child must also make the declaration of solidarity there. Is your child under the age of 16? Then your child does not have to go to the ceremony.
Not present at the naturalisation ceremony
If you were not able go to the naturalisation ceremony, you will receive an invitation to an upcoming ceremony. You must go to the ceremony within 1 year after the decision. You will not become a Dutch citizen if you don’t go. You will then have to apply again to become a Dutch citizen.
Making a declaration of solidarity
You will become a Dutch citizen only if you have gone to the naturalisation ceremony and declare your solidarity. Here you declare that the laws of the Kingdom of the Netherlands also apply to you. You make the declaration of solidarity in person. If you do not make the declaration of solidarity, you cannot become a Dutch citizen.
Naturalisation decision
At the naturalisation ceremony the naturalisation decision will be given to you. It states that you have become a Dutch citizen.
Withdrawal of Dutch nationality
Have you been convicted of a serious offence? Or did you commit fraud when you applied for a residence permit or Dutch nationality? If so, this has serious consequences. Your Dutch citizenship can be withdrawn. This is possible until 12 years after you gained Dutch nationality.
See also
- Becoming a Dutch national through naturalisation
- Becoming a Dutch national through option
- Becoming a Dutch national outside the Netherlands or in the Netherlands Caribbean
- Losing Dutch nationality
- Frequently asked question about Dutch nationality (government.nl, in Dutch only)
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(in Dutch only)
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