Frequently asked questions

​The main rule is that you had a valid residence permit continuously for five years before you can become a naturalized citizen of the Netherlands. The 5 years begin all over again if you change your identity (your personal details). The new period starts on the day that your identity is changed in the Personal Records Database (BRP) of the municipality where you live. For example:

You have received a residence permit on 1 June 2015. You could apply for Dutch citizenship on or after 1 June 2020. But on 1 March 2017 you go to the municipality with a birth certificate. This birth certificate states a different name than on your residence permit. On 15 March 2017 the municipality changes your registration in the BRP to the name on the birth certificate you have submitted on 1 March 2017. You now have to wait until 15 March 2022 before you can apply for Dutch citizenship.

Sometimes no new term of 5 years is started after you change your identity. This is when the change is minimal. For example, a change in spelling from 'Mahammed' to 'Mohammed'. Or if you cannot be blamed for the change. For example, because you had a very good reason when you entered the Netherlands for not divulging your true identity. Or if the authorities in the country of origin previously made an error regarding your identity and this error has been adopted in the Netherlands by the municipality where you live. The IND takes a decision when processing your application for naturalisation whether you are to be blamed for the change of identity.

It is very important the your new details also appear on your residence permit. You have to have your residence permit renewed for this.

Whether you have the Dutch nationality by the fact that one of your (grand)parents is/was a Dutch national depend on various factors. You can become a Dutch citizen through birth, acknowledgement or adoption. It does not matter whether you were born in the Netherlands or abroad. Check for more information the page Dutch citizen by birth or acknowledgement. For an exact answer for your situation, you can contact your municipality. If you are residing outside the Netherlands you can contact the Dutch representatives (an embassy or a consulate) in your country of stay.

This depends on whether you are married and what country you would move to.

You are married or registered partners

Moving abroad will not change anything for the application for naturalisation. This only does not apply when you move to the country of your partner's nationality. You cannot become a Dutch citizen when living in the country of which you have the nationality.

You are unmarried partners

A move abroad does have implications for the application for naturalisation. This is because as unmarried partners you must live together in the Netherlands for the entire naturalisation process.

Do you have a question about:

• (Re) gaining Dutch citizenship Naturalisation
• Do I have the Dutch nationality?
• Renunciation of another nationality (not your Dutch)
• Loss of Dutch nationality
• Renunciation of Dutch nationality

A lot of information is available on the webpage becoming a Dutch citizen. Can you not find the answer to your question there? Please contact us by phone.

Do you have a question about:

• Policy-related questions about Dutch nationality, for example 'dual nationality'
• Questions about amendments to the Dutch Nationality Act
• Dutch passport or other ID or travel document
• Questions about integration

A lot of information is available on www.rijksoverheid.nl. Can you not find find the answer to your question there? Then ask your question via the contact form on Information Rijksoverheid

​The option procedure is a quick and easy way to acquire Dutch citizenship. Option can only be requested by specific categories of foreign nationals. Option has a number of advantages:

• For option you usually do not have to renounce your nationality. There is one exception. You are aged 18 or over. You apply for Dutch nationality under the option procedure on the grounds that and you have lived in the Netherlands from the age of 4 with a valid residence permit. Then you will have to renounce your nationality.
• For option you also do not have to demonstrate that you are sufficiently integrated in the Netherlands. For the option procedure, therefore, there is no test of your knowledge of the Dutch language.
• The costs are lower than for naturalisation.

​The renunciation requirement applies to you also. Because your nationality cannot be determined does not mean you are designated as a 'stateless person'. In the legal procedure concerning foreign nationals you indicated a nationality, and under this nationality you received your residence permit. You must renounce this nationality.

After 5 years of lawful residence in Netherlands, an EU citizen may submit an application for naturalization. The EU citizen does not need to prove residence in the Netherlands with a residence document. This is also not required for a request for naturalization. The EU citizen must sign a declaration in the municipality where he/she lives. This states that he/she has lived in the Netherlands for the last 5 years. In that period of time not more than 6 months may have been spent outside the Netherlands.

​It is not possible for a married woman (or man) to have her own last name changed to that of her (Dutch) spouse in the naturalisation procedure. This is because under Dutch law a person may not use the last name of his spouse in official documents. You may use the last name of your husband in everyday life.

No, you cannot receive an exemption. The requirement is the satisfactory completion of a degree at an institution of learning above the elementary educational level. The preliminary phase of a professional or university degree (HBO or WO) is not a complete degree, it is only a portion of a degree.

Usually you can get proof from the foreign country where you lived that you were both registered in the persons administration there at the time the application for naturalisation was submitted. Unfortunately not all countries have a persons administration. If that is the case then there are also other documents that are acceptable. For example, a lease, bank statements or official documents from the Government/the authorities. It is important that both your names are on these documents, plus the address where you lived. Statements from family, friends or neighbours are not sufficient.