- How do you legally obtain Dutch citizenship?
- Obtaining Dutch citizenship through naturalization
- Other issues related to Dutch citizenship
A trip to Holland is usually remembered for a long time, regardless of whether the tourist saw botanical gardens with endless fields of tulips or the fabulous medieval houses of respectable burghers. Many people want to stay and live in this amazing country, therefore the answer to the question of how to obtain Dutch citizenship worries potential immigrants.
This European state has all the possibilities for obtaining citizenship. Methods and mechanisms, necessary conditions - everything is spelled out in the citizenship law in force in the territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. There are also basic principles, for example, "the right of blood", according to which citizenship is automatically obtained by children born to Dutch citizens, and regardless of the place of birth.
How do you legally obtain Dutch citizenship?
In the kingdom, in accordance with the law on citizenship, the following grounds for obtaining a citizen's passport are in force: by origin or by right of blood; by place of birth (“land right”); naturalization (on a general or simplified basis); restoration of citizenship.
Consider the features of obtaining citizenship for each of the grounds. Citizenship on the basis of origin is possible if one of the parents is a Dutch citizen. However, the conditions are different for the father and mother, citizens of the kingdom. The child will receive Dutch citizenship if the mother has a passport of a citizen of the country, and it does not matter if she is in a legal relationship with the child's father or not.
It's another matter if the father is a citizen of the Netherlands, and the mother is a citizen of a foreign state. In this case, the moment is taken into account whether the couple has formalized the relationship, if "yes", then the child has a chance to obtain Dutch citizenship by origin, if the parents live in a civil marriage, their child will have to use other mechanisms for obtaining citizenship.
There are peculiarities of obtaining citizenship at the place of birth, if the child was born in the kingdom and the parents are citizens, then there will be no problems with the citizenship of the baby, he automatically becomes a legal citizen of the Netherlands. A child whose parents are foreign nationals but residents of the Netherlands also has the opportunity to use this mechanism. The opportunity to obtain citizenship by the place of birth (the Netherlands, Aruba or the Antilles) is for a child if his grandparents were born in this kingdom.
In Holland there is a specific form of naturalization called citizenship by choice. It is distinguished by a simplified scheme and short terms, but is not available to Russian citizens and residents of former post-Soviet states. Naturalization by choice is an opportunity for former residents of the Netherlands and colonies to regain citizenship, provided they have lived in the kingdom for at least a year.
Obtaining Dutch citizenship through naturalization
For admission to the citizenship of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, immigrants are required to meet a number of conditions, the first is to wait until the age of majority. A potential applicant for citizenship cannot be less than eighteen years old. The second important condition is obtaining a permanent residence or legal marriage, which also makes it possible to live freely in Holland.
The next important condition is the residency qualification, it is established within the framework of at least five years of permanent residence in the territory of the kingdom, that is, in fact, in the Netherlands, on one of the Antilles or on the island of Aruba. Sometimes the immigration authorities may include during this period the period of temporary stay in the territory, for example, the time of study. The residency fee can be reduced to three years if you are legally married to a Dutch citizen.
The calculation necessarily takes into account the degree of integration into the local society, this includes knowledge of the state (Dutch) language, the ability to communicate orally and in writing.
Other issues related to Dutch citizenship
Both indigenous people and naturalized citizens can go through the reverse procedure, that is, lose the citizenship of the kingdom. Loss happens for voluntary and involuntary reasons. The first group includes a personal renunciation of civil rights, the second group - the loss of citizenship in connection with obtaining a passport of another state, committing a serious crime, revealing forged documents (applies to foreigners who have undergone naturalization).
Residents of the former colonies of the Netherlands, in particular Indonesia and Suriname, have lost the citizenship of the kingdom in connection with the independence of their countries. To obtain citizenship by representatives of these states, it is necessary to go through the naturalization procedure.
