Wilders wants Dutch citizenship revoked for dual nationals convicted of crimes
Geert Wilders is demanding the Dutch government implement a full asylum stop within weeks and adopt sweeping new anti-immigration measures, including the ability to revoke Dutch citizenship from dual nationals convicted of violent or sexual crimes, RTL reports. In a Monday press conference, the far-right PVV leader warned the governing coalition to act quickly. “Otherwise we’re out,” he threatened.
The PVV, which won the most seats in the Tweede Kamer in the 2023 election, is part of the incoming governing coalition alongside the VVD, NSC, and BBB. While Wilders agreed earlier this year to forgo his bid for prime minister—after other parties refused to serve under him—the new cabinet is expected to be “businesslike,” led by a non-partisan prime minister. Still, Wilders reportedly remains the most powerful figure in the coalition, and his frustration over slow progress on asylum policy has now reached a boiling point.
A central demand in Wilders’s proposal is the power to strip Dutch citizenship from dual nationals convicted of violent or sexual crimes, followed by deportation. To enable this, the Netherlands would need to withdraw from the European Convention on Nationality. “We have looked into it—this can be done in the short term,” he claimed.
He also called for a “zero-tolerance” approach toward criminal foreigners, saying the same standards should apply to asylum seekers and temporary residence holders. “We want a ‘one strike, you’re out’ principle,” Wilders said.
Legal complications remain, he acknowledged, particularly in cases involving nationals of Morocco, Iran, and Greece—countries that do not allow citizens to renounce their original nationality. For example, children born in the Netherlands to Moroccan parents automatically acquire Moroccan citizenship under Moroccan law and cannot relinquish it, even if they have never lived in Morocco.
The plan, titled “The Border Has Been Reached," outlines ten points aimed at drastically tightening asylum and immigration policy. Wilders is calling for an immediate closure of the Dutch border to asylum seekers, and the deployment of the military to enforce that closure. He wants to halt the opening of any new asylum reception centers, suspend all family reunification procedures, and introduce a maximum shelter period of just two weeks for asylum seekers.
He also called for the mass repatriation of Syrians currently residing in the Netherlands—estimated at about 60,000 people—and reiterated that criminal dual nationals must lose their Dutch citizenship and be expelled. “We’re done,” he said. “The gloves come off today. We’ll talk to everyone, but we bow to no one.”
Wilders insisted that if the new measures are not enacted within weeks, the PVV will walk away from the coalition. “If this isn’t handled within a few weeks, we’re out,” he warned. He claimed that countries such as Germany and Austria are already taking steps in a similar direction, while the Netherlands continues to lag behind.
“During the coalition negotiations, I gave up my demand for an asylum stop. But now the agreements must be reopened,” he said. Wilders referenced a previous plan to use emergency legislation to suspend asylum rules—a plan that was never carried out. “That didn’t happen. So again: our patience is up.”
The tone and timing of Monday’s press conference were unusual. Wilders typically outlines his positions through social media or in brief interviews before Tuesday’s Tweede Kamer question hour. This time, he convened a full press event, opening his remarks with: “Friends of the press…”
Whether the VVD, NSC, and BBB will support the latest demands remains uncertain. Earlier proposals to tighten asylum procedures, including the now-abandoned emergency law, faced significant pushback, particularly from NSC. So far, the existing plans for a stricter migration package have not cleared either the Tweede Kamer or the Eerste Kamer.
