The Dutch Single Nationality Principle
The current Dutch nationality legislation principle does NOT permit having or obtaining another nationality. In many cases obtaining another nationality can result in automatic loss of the Dutch nationality, potentially without realising it. There are some exceptions to this for minors and adults.
Status or a piece of paper, confusion?
Your nationality is a status, just like with any other nationalities. You are Dutch or you are not. Having a passport can influence this. Possession of a passport, ID card, Dutch nationality certificate and/or driving license is not always proof of your nationality. For example, you may have received a passport from the embassy/municipality on day 1, but lose your nationality on day 2 (see below). You still have a passport with a printed validity date of 5 or 10 years, but you are no longer entitled to this. In other words, having a valid passport is good and can be important, but it is not always proof of your status.
I want to add another nationality
In principle, current Dutch nationality legislation does NOT permit having or obtaining another nationality without loss of Dutch nationality. Only if you fall under a legal exception you could keep your Dutch nationality (you must actively take certain steps to do this: retaining Dutch nationality is not automatic).
I already have a second nationality
According to current Dutch nationality legislation, an adult can later still automatically lose his/her Dutch nationality in certain situations. Unless you meet certain conditions.
DO IT NOW! Important, Expiry, Validity, Date, Period!
Because Dutch nationality law has many conditions and exceptions that are bound by time frames and limits it is important to pay close attention to dates. For example, keep an eye on the validity period of your passport (renew the passport well before expiry), wedding date, age of majority, 10-Year Clock, etc. We will discuss this further on the following info pages.
Nationality legislation can change. Proposals for legislative changes can normally take quite some time before they become law. Changes to the law are not always clearly advertised and published. For example, if your non-Dutch partner, with whom you live in a third country, wants to naturalize, do not wait, as they wanted to remove this possibility in a recent amendment to the law. Luckily it didn’t go ahead. Who knows whether this will be attempted again with the next legislative change!? For further information about this, we refer to the other info pages.
DISCLAIMER
All information and advice must be verified by the reader himself before taking any action. Every advice on this website is to help you find the right answers and take you in the right direction. The information and advice here may contain inadvertent errors. The situation can vary from person to person. In addition, the law, as described here, may have just changed or may change in the (near) future.
The content on the website / web page is of a general informative nature. No rights can be derived from the information, you determine the value of the information for your own situation. You remain responsible for the actions you take or fail to take regarding your nationality. We also recommend, regarding your specific situation, to consult a specialist and / or lawyer on nationality and possible immigration legislation and can help you with this .
The owner of this website accepts no liability for any damage that may arise from the use of information or links on this website. The website / web page contains hyperlinks to websites of third parties, over which the owner of this website has no control and therefore cannot guarantee that the content of these websites is correct, complete and up-to-date. The owner of this website is not liable for any damage whatsoever, direct or indirect, that has arisen in any way or results from the use of the website / web page and the content, or the change or the unavailability of the website and the content.
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