What’s your situation?
Automatic Dutch nationality at birth
If either of the following situations applies to you, you were a Dutch national at birth. It does not matter which country you were born in.
- At the time of your birth your father had Dutch nationality.
- At the time of your birth your mother had Dutch nationality but your father did not, and your parents were not married.
If at the time of your birth your mother had Dutch nationality but your father did not, and your parents were married, you can acquire Dutch citizenship through the option procedure.
Dutch citizenship by acknowledgement of parentage or legitimation
If you were not automatically a Dutch national at birth, you may still have acquired Dutch citizenship by acknowledgement of parentage or legitimation. This is possible in the following cases:
- At the time of your birth your non Dutch mother was not married, and your Dutch father acknowledged his parentage after you were born but before you reached the age of 18. You became a Dutch citizen on the date of your father’s acknowledgement.
- At the time of your birth your non Dutch mother was not married, but she married your Dutch father after you were born. In this case you may have acquired Dutch citizenship by legitimation.
Automatic Dutch nationality at birth
If any of the following situations applies to you, you were a Dutch national at birth. It does not matter which country you were born in.
- At the time of your birth your mother had Dutch nationality.
- At the time of your birth your father had Dutch nationality and was married to or in a registered partnership with your non-Dutch mother.
- At the time of your birth your father had Dutch nationality and was not married to your non-Dutch mother, but acknowledged parentage before you were born.
- At the time of your birth you and your mother or father lived in the Netherlands, and one of your grandparents lived in the Netherlands at the time your mother or father was born.
Dutch citizenship by acknowledgement of parentage after birth
As of 1 March 2009, a Dutch father can also acknowledge parentage of a child after they are born to ensure the child acquires Dutch citizenship. The child automatically acquires Dutch citizenship if the father acknowledges parentage of the child before the child reaches the age of 7. The child acquires Dutch citizenship at the time of the acknowledgement.
If the father acknowledges parentage of the child after the child turns 7 but before they reach the age of 18, he must prove he is the child’s biological father with a DNA test. The DNA evidence must be submitted within 1 year of acknowledgement, at the same time as the application for a Dutch travel document for the child.
If the child’s father acknowledged parentage of them after birth between 1 April 2003 and 1 March 2009, the child can apply for Dutch citizenship through the option procedure.
Automatic Dutch nationality at birth
If you become a parent abroad, your child is a Dutch national if you meet any one of the following conditions. It does not matter which country your child was born in.
- The child’s mother has Dutch nationality.
- At the time of the child’s birth the father has Dutch nationality and is married to or in a registered partnership with the child’s non-Dutch mother.
- At the time of the child’s birth the father has Dutch nationality and is not married to the child’s non-Dutch mother, but he acknowledged parentage of the child before the child was born.
- The child is born during a temporary stay abroad (e.g. on holiday). At the time of the child’s birth the child’s mother or father lives in the Netherlands, and that parent’s mother or father also lived in the Netherlands when the parent was born.
Dutch citizenship by acknowledgement of parentage after birth
As of 1 March 2009, a Dutch father can also acknowledge parentage of a child after they are born to ensure the child acquires Dutch citizenship. The child automatically acquires Dutch citizenship if the father acknowledges parentage of the child before the child reaches the age of 7. The child acquires Dutch citizenship at the time of the acknowledgement.
If the father acknowledges parentage of the child after the child turns 7 but before they reach the age of 18, he must prove he is the child’s biological father with a DNA test. The DNA evidence must be submitted within 1 year of acknowledgement, at the same time as the application for a Dutch travel document for the child.
If the child’s father acknowledged parentage of them after birth between 1 April 2003 and 1 March 2009, the child can apply for Dutch citizenship through the option procedure.
If you adopt a child under the age of 18 from abroad, your child will acquire Dutch citizenship if you meet the following conditions:
- One of the parents is a Dutch national.
- The adoption is in accordance with The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption or Book 10 of the Civil Code.
- Family ties with the biological parents have been severed.
Rules for adoption vary by country.
Losing your Dutch nationality
Based on the above you may be a Dutch national, but there are also certain reasons for which you can lose your Dutch nationality.