7-year residency required for naturalization
Foreigners will now have to live here seven years before they will be able to whip out a Dutch passport. The Netherlands is adding two years to how long it takes for foreigners in the Kingdom to obtain the Dutch nationality.
To obtain a Dutch passport foreigners now have to live in the Kingdom for at least seven years (holland.com photo)The Kingdom Council of Ministers on Friday approved a proposal by State Secretary of Safety and Justice Fred Teeven to amend the Kingdom Law on the Dutch nationality (Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap).
The law proposal, which is part of the governing accord of the VVD/PvdA coalition, will go into effect after it has been approved by the Second and First Chambers of the Dutch Parliament next year.
The law will apply not only to foreigners living in the Netherlands, but also to those residing on all six Dutch Caribbean islands. Foreigners may apply for nationality after they have lived in the Dutch Kingdom for seven years with legal residency papers.
The cabinet is of the opinion that the seven-year period does more justice to the point of departure that a person needs to have resided for a substantial period in the Netherlands and the Caribbean territories of the Kingdom before he or she can obtain a Dutch passport. Research has shown that a person has a better chance at paid employment and education when he or she resides for a longer period in the Netherlands.