This blog post was originally published in Dutch in Verblijfblog on November 12, 2024

(Translated with the help of Google Translate. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect.)

As previously announced in the outline agreement , the government program of the Schoof cabinet contains several plans that relate to naturalisation and nationality that, taken together, will complicate access to Dutch citizenship and make the loss of Dutch citizenship easier. Verblijfblog provides an overview of these plans, the legal bottlenecks and expected effects.

The naturalisation period
First of all, there is the intention to extend the standard period for naturalisation from the current five years to ten years: a doubling. The current Kingdom Act on Dutch Nationality (hereinafter: the Dutch Nationality Act or RWN) stipulates that the naturalisandus (the person who wishes to naturalise) “has been lawfully residing and has had his principal residence in the European part of the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten or the public bodies of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba for at least five years immediately preceding the request” (Article 8, paragraph 1, sub c RWN ). Deviating, shorter periods than these five years apply, among others, to persons who are married to or live with a Dutch national and to former Dutch nationals, and to persons who have been lawfully residing and had his principal residence in the territory of the Kingdom for ten years (Article 8, paragraphs 2 to 5 RWN). This concerns the period of residence before a naturalisation application can be submitted. In addition, there is a statutory decision period of one year within which the IND must have decided on a naturalisation application. In almost all cases ( 98% ) this decision period is met. Then the naturalisandus must participate in a naturalization ceremony organized by the municipality and sign a declaration of loyalty. Only then is the naturalization a fact.

The current term of five years has been in the Dutch Nationality Act since 1892. In 2014, the first discussion about extending this term arose. A term of seven years was proposed in the coalition agreement of the Rutte II cabinet. Although the minister admitted at the time that every term is somewhat arbitrary, an extension was considered necessary to guarantee that there had been sufficient time to integrate into Dutch society. According to the Explanatory Memorandum, research allegedly showed that even those who had fulfilled the integration obligation “have not yet achieved the fullest form of participation in society”. The bill was adopted by the House of Representatives, but rejected by the Senate. It is legally possible to extend the residence period for naturalisation. After all, ten years is the maximum permitted term according to the European Convention on Nationality ( Article 6 paragraph 3 ECN ) of the Council of Europe , which has been ratified by the Netherlands.

Renunciation of original nationality
According to the coalition agreement, renouncing one’s original nationality after acquiring Dutch nationality is ‘the aim’. This so-called obligation to renounce is already included in the law. According to Article 9, paragraph 1, sub b of the Dutch Nationality Act, naturalised persons must renounce their original nationality, unless this cannot reasonably be expected. The Netherlands is one of the few countries in the EU that requires renunciation. Germany has recently started accepting dual nationality.

Refugees (Article 9, paragraph 3, sub d RWN) and persons who cannot renounce their original nationality because the state in question does not allow this, can retain their nationality. This follows from international obligations: Article 16 of the ECN stipulates that renunciation of the previous nationality may not be requested if this is not possible or cannot reasonably be expected. Almost a quarter of naturalisation applicants do not renounce their other nationality because this is not possible (see table).

Under current law, persons who were born in the Netherlands and have their principal residence there and persons who are married to or have a registered partnership with a Dutch citizen do not have to renounce their original nationality (Article 9, paragraph 3, sub b and c RWN). Most dual nationalities do not arise through naturalisation, but automatically at birth . According to Article 14 of the ECN, persons who have acquired dual nationality by birth must be allowed to retain it. This means that even if the government were to oblige more naturalisation candidates to renounce it, which is only possible to a limited extent, dual nationality would still continue to exist.

Renunciation requirement for naturalized persons in 2014-2017

Renunciation obligation	2014	2015	2016	2017	Total	%
Automatic loss of nationality	6,490	5,245	3,146	2,901	17,782	19%
No automatic loss, renunciation is possible	11,909	9,045	9,001	8,241	38,169	42%
No automatic loss, renunciation is not possible	4,253	4,864	6,099	5,155	20,371	22%
Other or unknown	3,792	3,859	3,822	3,898	15,371	17%
Total	26,444	23,013	22,068	20,195	91,720	100%

Source: IND (2018), Naturalization and option monitor 2014-2017. More recent figures are not available.

Integration
Then there is the intention to raise the language requirement for naturalisation to B1 ‘in principle’ for everyone. Shortly after the publication of the outline agreement, this intention was confirmed by the Becker motion , which was adopted by a majority in the House. In the debate, Becker defended the motion by referring to the intention to extend the naturalisation period to 10 years, which gives someone more time to learn Dutch.

The Rutte III coalition agreement also included the intention to raise the language level for naturalisation to B1. This remained an intention when it became apparent that the increase would lead to additional costs for which no financing was possible at the time.

The integration exam of the Integration Act (Wi) – or a comparable diploma – was a requirement for naturalisation . Until the new Integration Act came into effect on 1 January 2022 (the Wi2021), everyone who had fulfilled their integration obligation or was exempted from the obligation generally met the integration requirement for naturalisation. The standard level of this exam was – until 1 January 2022 – A2, which had already proven to be unachievable for a significant proportion of those with an integration obligation under the Wi (see below). With the entry into force of Wi2021, the integration level for newcomers has been increased to B1. Under strict conditions, someone can take the exam at the lower A2 level. If the intention from the coalition agreement is converted into legislation, only those who have achieved level B1 during the integration trajectory will be able to naturalise. Others will have to achieve level B1 on their own and with their own resources after completing the integration trajectory. This applies to both those who take the exam at level A2 and those who meet their integration obligation by completing the so-called ‘Z-route’. This route is intended for newcomers who will not be able to achieve level A2 within the statutory integration period of 3 years.

Since 1 January 2022, newcomers who have fulfilled the statutory integration requirement have thus not automatically met the integration requirement for naturalisation. Regulations that are in line with the Wi2021 are still in the making. Because the increase in the language requirement for naturalisation to B1 requires an amendment to a general administrative measure which applies in the whole Kingdom of the Netherlands, the other countries in the Kingdom must be consulted and agree to the amendment in the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom. Minister Faber expects the amendment process to take a year. Until then, an ‘ emergency decree ‘ has stipulated that those who have passed the integration exam under the Wi2013 regime, or who have been exempted or released from the integration requirement under this law, can still submit a naturalisation application.

It is expected that the number of naturalisations will decrease after the language level has been raised. This already happened in 2003 when the informal conversation with a municipal official was replaced by a formalised naturalisation test at level A2. This led to a halving of the number of naturalisations. It would take a long time for this effect to fade away (see graph including statistics on the numbers of naturalisations between 2000 and 2023) ).

Source: CBS

The naturalisation percentage, i.e. the number of naturalisations as a percentage of the total number of immigrants, also decreased after the introduction of the naturalisation test. This shows that changes in the number of migrants coming to the Netherlands do not explain  the decrease in the absolute number of naturalisations.

Figures on the integration exam (which also functions as a naturalisation test) show that the exam is a stumbling block. Over the years, the pass rate for the integration exam has decreased from 79% under the Wi2007 to 41% under the Wi2013. Research shows that it is mainly certain categories of migrants – the elderly, women in disadvantaged positions, traumatised refugees, people with little or no education – who have difficulty meeting the language and integration requirements, and that the cause of failure is not unwillingness but inability , resulting from a lack of education, illness, overload and psychological problems. With the increase to B1, it is expected that the number of migrants who cannot meet the integration requirement and therefore cannot naturalise will increase further. The proposed increase in the level is at odds with Article 34 of the Refugee Convention , which stipulates that states shall facilitate the assimilation and naturalisation of refugees as far as possible.

Withdrawal of Dutch nationality
The measures discussed above limit access to Dutch nationality. Withdrawal of Dutch nationality is another important topic addressed in the coalition agreement. According to current legislation, withdrawal of Dutch nationality is possible on the grounds of multiple crimes with a terrorist objective and for so-called ‘jihadist travelers’ (Article 14, paragraphs 2 and 4 of the Nationality Act). According to the coalition agreement, the government wants to investigate whether withdrawal is also possible for ‘ordinary’, i.e. non-terrorist crimes.

However, the withdrawal of nationality on the grounds of non-terrorist offences is explicitly excluded by the European Convention on Nationality (ECN). According to Article 7 paragraph 1 sub d ECN, withdrawal is only possible in the case of ‘conduct seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the State party’ , such as espionage or working for a foreign secret service. “Ordinary” offences, however serious, are explicitly excluded from this. The government itself also sees that the ECN does not allow withdrawal on the grounds of ordinary offences. That is why the coalition agreement states that it must be examined whether the ECN should be amended. This also requires the cooperation of other Member States, which makes the plan seem not that realistic.

Moreover, withdrawal of Dutch nationality is only possible for people who have a second nationality in addition to Dutch. Otherwise, an individual becomes stateless when their nationality is withdrawn, something that the Netherlands must prevent on the basis of international obligations . That is why a possible extension of the possibility of withdrawing Dutch nationality – even more than is currently the case – creates different categories of Dutch people: a group from whom Dutch nationality cannot be taken away and a group with dual nationality (often with a migration background) from whom Dutch nationality remains conditional.

Concluding remarks
According to the government programme, the government stands for ‘an open and free society and is making extra efforts on integration, including naturalisation. A society in which we all have equal opportunities, including employment.’ The proposals discussed here will make access to Dutch citizenship more difficult. This does not promote integration. Naturalisation not only entails legal equality and political rights (right to vote), but also promotes integration in the broad sense. For example, migrants who naturalise are more likely to have better jobs . Creating a society in which everyone has equal opportunities requires opening up access to citizenship and not restricting it.