Government of the Netherlands to assess consequences of losing Dutch citizenship
If you lost your Dutch citizenship after 1993 and as a result are no longer a citizen of a European Union (EU) Member State, you may now be able to regain it. The new opportunity relates to former Dutch citizens who travel regularly to other EU Member States for work, educational purposes or to care for a friend or relative, for example. They can apply for a new Dutch passport if they can demonstrate that they are adversely affected by the loss of the right to travel freely and work in the EU.
Conditions for regaining Dutch citizenship
As a former Dutch citizen, you may be able to regain your Dutch passport and EU citizenship if:
- you lost your Dutch citizenship:
- because you lived outside the Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (Kingdom of the Netherlands) and outside the EU for more than 10 years, or
- because you voluntarily acquired citizenship of another coutnry at the time that you were still a Dutch citizen.
- you didn't hold citizenship of any other EU Member State.
- you can demonstrate that you regularly travel to another EU country because of your job, course of study, internship, family visits or informal care obligations, or because you live there.
Check whether you can regain Dutch citizenship
Check whether you can regain Dutch citizenship by filling in the online questionnaire on the netherlandsworldwide.nl website. If you are eligible to regain Dutch citizenship, you can apply for a Dutch passport or identity card at an embassy or consulate of the Netherlands. You must demonstrate that the loss of your Dutch citizenship has caused you serious difficulties because you are no longer able to travel freely in the EU. At the end of the questionnaire you will find information about how to do this.
Why can some former Dutch citizens regain their Dutch citizenship?
In April 2020, the Raad van State (Council of State) ruled that some former Dutch citizens had wrongfully lost their Dutch citizenship. Dutch citizens automatically lose their citizenship if they live for 10 years or longer in another country and do not renew their Dutch passport in time. Since the loss of Dutch citizenship also entails the loss of one’s rights as an EU citizen, the Government of the Netherlands must assess each case individually to examine the consequences of that loss. By applying the ‘principle of proportionality’, the government must clearly establish how adversely affected these former Dutch nationals are as a result of no longer being able to travel freely, live and work in the EU.
For more information, see these Q&As concerning the April 2020 judgment by the Raad van State. (in Dutch).