Dutch Citizenship

Becoming a Dutch citizen

There are several ways of acquiring Dutch citizenship. You automatically become a Dutch citizen if one of your parents holds Dutch citizenship when you are born. Or if paternity is acknowledged by a Dutch citizen. Or through either the option procedure or naturalisation. Foreign citizens can apply for Dutch citizenship if they have lived in the Netherlands legally for at least 5 years, some exceptions may apply.

There are 3 ways to become a Dutch citizen:

• Automatically at birth (if one or both of your parents holds Dutch citizenship when you are born), through adoption or through acknowledgement of parentage.
• Through a short, easy procedure that takes 3 months. However, this option is available only to people who belong to a special group defined by law. This is called the option procedure.
• If you are not eligible for the option procedure, you can apply for naturalisation. This procedure usually takes less than one year, and never more than 2 years.

For more information on how to become a Dutch citizen, contact the municipality where you live. That is also where you have to submit your application. The Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst – IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Service) provides more information about becoming a Dutch citizen through either the option procedure or naturalisation and about the costs of becoming a Dutch citizen.

Renouncing citizenship of other countries after naturalisation

If you hold more than 1 citizenship, it is not always clear what your rights are. For instance, your country of origin may require you to do compulsory military service. The Government of the Netherlands wants to limit dual citizenship as much as possible. When you become a Dutch citizen, you must renounce the nationality you now have. This means that you give up that nationality. There are exceptions to the renunciation requirement. See the IND website for the situations you are not required to give up your original citizenship.