463 Netherlands residents in polygamous marriages, despite bigamy being illegal
Despite it being illegal in the Netherlands to have more than one spouse, a total of 463 Netherlands residents were registered as being in a polygamous marriage in 2025, the Reformatorisch Dagblad reported based on figures requested from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations. Last year, civil servants registered 37 polygamous marriages, and 77 in 2024.
Bigamy, marrying more than one person at a time, is prohibited by law in the Netherlands. It carries a maximum prison sentence of four years or a fine of up to €27,500. People in the Netherlands are allowed to be in a polyamorous relationship, but they can’t get married or register their partnership. The best they can do is have a cohabitation agreement drawn up by a notary.
When asked how polygamous marriages were registered in the Netherlands despite them being illegal, the Ministry of Home Affairs told RD that the people in these marriages “had no ties whatsoever with the Netherlands” at the time they entered into the marriage. “The residents often come from countries where polygamous marriages are recognized, such as Morocco, Egypt, and Libya.”
“In the Netherlands, the principle of monogamy applies,” the Ministry said. “This means that a polygamous marriage is not recognized if there was a clear connection with the Netherlands at the time of the marriage.”
But that poses a problem for people like asylum seekers in such marriages. If they receive refugee status and a residency permit in the Netherlands, they can only bring one spouse and the children from that marriage to join them through family reunification.
According to RD, in recent years, several refugees have appealed agains thte Immigration and Naturalization Service’s (IND) decision not to allow a second spouse and children to come to the Netherlands.
In 2008, the last time polygamy was a topic of political discussion in the Netherlands, parliament commissioned Utrecht University to conduct comparative legal research on the matter. The researchers concluded “that the Dutch legal system regarding polygamous marriages generally functions well” and that “the numerical scale of the problem is extremely small.”
The researchers called it “undesirable” to stop recognizing these marriages, warning that this could cause unequal legal relationships if the marriage is recognized in one country but not another. If the Netherlands suddenly decides to dissolve a polygamous marriage, all but one spouse and the resulting children could experience problems.
