Netherlands

Dual Citizenship Netherlands

Not Allowed

Dutch nationality law is mainly governed by the principle of ius sanguinis, as is regulated by the Kingdom Act on the Netherlands Nationality (“Rijkswet op het Nederlandschap”), which was significantly amended in 2003. Under Dutch law, citizenship may be conferred primarily by being born to a Dutch parent, irrespective of the place of birth. Citizenship can also be acquired by naturalisation or by the option procedure.

The general rule is that dual nationality is not allowed in the Netherlands as specified in the Netherlands Nationality Act, however, there are some special circumstances or conditions under which second citizenship is allowed. These conditions vary from instances where a person is married to a Dutch national, where a person is given refugee status or instances where the other country’s legislation does not allow a person to renounce his/ her nationality.

If a citizen is obliged to renounce the original nationality, this person has 3 months to do so. This term will be extended if a person can substantiate that he/ she is making effort to renounce his/ her original nationality. Non-renunciation will lead to the withdrawal of Dutch nationality.