Dutch citizenship by naturalization

Who Dutch naturalization works for, and who it does not

Naturalization is the main route to a Dutch passport for people who already live in the country, and in practice the only one. There is no investment route any more: the residence scheme for wealthy foreign investors, with a minimum contribution of 1,250,000 euros, has been closed to new applicants since 1 January 2024. The sequence is fixed: first a residence permit of the right type, then 5 years of life in the country, then the exam and the renunciation of your current nationality.

It works well for:

• highly skilled migrants (kennismigrant), EU Blue Card holders and researchers - their clock starts on day one of the permit;
• self-employed founders and startup visa holders: these are also non-temporary purposes of stay;
• spouses and registered partners of Dutch citizens - they get the shorter 3-year term, and this is the only route that also works from abroad;
• holders of an asylum residence permit: a lower fee and an exemption from the duty to renounce their previous nationality;
• families reunited with a resident whose own permit has a non-temporary purpose.

It does not work for, and we would rather say this early:

• students, exchange participants and graduates on the orientation year: these purposes count as temporary and do not add to the 5-year term at all;
• intra-corporate transferees, seasonal workers, trainees and anyone working without free access to the labor market;
• Ukrainians under temporary protection: the status is lawful, but it does not count towards naturalization;
• anyone who cannot afford to lose their first passport. The Netherlands is one of two European Union countries (the other is Austria) where renunciation remains the rule, and the new coalition has no plans to change it.

If the goal is a second passport without giving up the first, it is more honest to compare naturalization in Belgium and other jurisdictions than to spend 5 years and run into the renunciation rule.

IND requirements: term, status, exam, clean record

The conditions as of September 2026:

• Age. 18 or older; minor children are included in a parent's application.
• Residence term. 5 years of continuous lawful residence in the Kingdom. Shorter terms: 3 years of marriage or registered partnership with a Dutch citizen while living together, 3 years of unregistered cohabitation with a Dutch partner inside the country, 3 years for officially registered stateless persons. There is also a separate rule: 10 years of residence in total, the last 2 of them continuous.
• Type of permit. At the moment of filing, and until the ceremony, you need a permanent permit or a permit with a non-temporary purpose of stay. Kennismigrant, Blue Card, research, employment with free access to the labor market, self-employment, startup, family reunification and asylum all count. Study, the orientation year, intra-corporate transfer, medical treatment and temporary protection do not.
• Continuity. Every extension must have been filed before the previous permit expired. One late filing resets the clock, and most people discover this at the counter, in year six.
• Actual residence. Your main residence (hoofdverblijf) must be in the Netherlands and your BRP registration current. Long absences break the term even when the permit stays valid.
• Language and integration. A civic integration diploma at level A2 or higher, or an equivalent: the NT2 state exam, or a Dutch school or university diploma taught in Dutch. The exam covers reading, listening, writing, speaking, knowledge of Dutch society (KNM) and the labor market module. The coalition agreement of 30 January 2026 announces a move to B1, but no act with an entry date exists yet, so studying straight to B1 is the safer plan.
• Public order. A sanction in the past 5 years blocks the application: a fine of 900 euros or more, community service of 36 hours or more, or a prison sentence. An open criminal case stops the procedure.
• Documents. A valid passport, a birth certificate and marriage documents legalized with an apostille or consular legalization, sworn translations, a BRP extract and your permit history. If a document simply cannot be obtained from your country of origin, the case runs through the evidentiary hardship procedure (bewijsnood), which is separate work.
• Renunciation of your current nationality. The default rule. Exemptions: marriage or registered partnership with a Dutch citizen on the date of the Royal Decree, an asylum residence permit, birth in the Kingdom while living there, a legal impossibility of renunciation or disproportionate conditions (a large fee, compulsory military service, loss of inheritance rights), nationality of a state the Netherlands does not recognize, and being a minor.

How the process runs, step by step

1. Eligibility check and strategy (1-2 weeks). We count your term by permit dates and purposes of stay, review the extension history, fines and registration, and assess the renunciation scenario.
2. Civic integration or NT2 exam (3 to 12 months). It depends on your starting level. Take it before the five years are up so that filing is not delayed.
3. Collecting and legalizing documents (1-3 months). Birth certificate, marriage and divorce documents, translations. For some countries this is the bottleneck.
4. Filing at the municipality (1 day). In person where you are registered, with payment of the fee and a document check. The fee is not refunded if naturalization is refused.
5. IND review (up to 12 months by law). Identity, term, integration and public order are checked. Questions arrive through the municipality and have deadlines.
6. Royal Decree and renunciation (3 months to confirm). After a positive decision you must confirm that the renunciation request has been filed, or the decision can be withdrawn.
7. Ceremony and declaration of solidarity (within one year of the decision). You become Dutch only when you have spoken the declaration in Dutch. Miss the year and the decision lapses.
8. Passport. Issued by the municipality within a few working days after the ceremony.

A realistic horizon is 12-15 months from filing to passport if the exam is passed and the documents are legalized. If the language is only starting, add another year.

What it costs: 2026 fees and our work

The main line item is the government fee you pay at the municipality when you file. It is not refunded if the request is refused.

Prices for our work are indicative for a standard case; we fix the exact quote in writing before we start. Government fees, sworn translators and the consular charges of your own country for renunciation are counted separately. Budget for language courses too - it is the most underestimated line.

Ukrainians and Russians: what actually applies

Ukrainians. About 135,000 people live in the Netherlands under the temporary protection directive, which now runs to 4 March 2028. The uncomfortable truth: years spent under that status count neither towards the 5 years for permanent residence nor towards naturalization. The three-year transitional document discussed for the period after protection ends is also a temporary status. If the passport is the goal, the clock only starts with a regular permit: kennismigrant (2026 thresholds are 5,942 euros a month from age 30, 4,357 euros under 30, 3,122 euros for graduates of Dutch universities), employment with a work permit, a partner permit, self-employment or the startup visa.

Ukraine's law on multiple citizenship has been in force since 16 January 2026, and as of September 2026 the Netherlands is on the list of countries approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. That settles the question on the Ukrainian side only: it does not remove the Dutch duty to renounce, and the asylum exemption does not extend to temporary protection.

Russians. Renouncing Russian citizenship is technically possible, but it is a separate procedure that takes months and sometimes more than a year. Start it right after the Royal Decree: you have 3 months to confirm that the renunciation request has been filed. If your country in practice does not allow renunciation or attaches disproportionate conditions, the IND considers an exemption, but it verifies this country by country rather than on your word.

Risks and the usual reasons for refusal

• A late permit extension in the past. The most common and most painful one: the term resets, and it surfaces at filing.
• Years on temporary purposes. Study, the orientation year, intra-corporate transfer and temporary protection do not count at all. The classic case: a master's degree plus the orientation year, then a kennismigrant contract - and the clock only starts with the work permit.
• Long absences. Your main residence has to stay in the Netherlands.
• Documents. A birth certificate without legalization, a name spelled differently in the passport and the BRP, or a document that the country of origin will not issue.
• Fines and police records. A sanction in the past 5 years blocks filing; an open case stops the review.
• An unfinished renunciation. Dutch citizenship can be withdrawn after the decree.
• Missing the ceremony. The decision is valid for one year, then it lapses together with the fee you paid.
• Rules that move. The plan to raise the term to 10 years was dropped by the new government in January 2026, but the coalition agreement still contains the B1 level and a 6-year term for asylum status holders. Nobody can guarantee that the window with 5 years and A2 stays open, and we will not pretend otherwise.

How we work

We do not speed up the IND: the service controls the timeline and there is nothing to promise there. What we do: calculate your term from permit dates and purposes, find the gaps in your extension history before you file, collect and legalize documents, build the exam plan, check the renunciation scenario for your country, and handle correspondence with the municipality and the IND within their deadlines. If the data says it is too early or pointless to file now, we say so and give you a plan for the next year or two instead.

The full breakdown of the 2026 rules is in our article on Dutch citizenship in 2026. The country picture, including residence permits and taxes, is on the Netherlands page, and the rest of our work and prices are in services.

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