As of this Monday, 15 December 2025, Canada may extend citizenship to children born or adopted abroad to a Canadian parent also born outside the country. This is good news for some Dutch nationals with Canadian parents. And with this there could even be a claim under Canadian ancestry. However, be very careful. If you are Dutch and apply to get the Canadian citizenship registered under the new law then it could result in the automatic loss of your Dutch nationality. We explain here how to possibly avoid such loss. For many it may mean that Canadian citizenship has now automatically been granted/repaired to them.
Similarly, earlier this year the South African constitutional court ruled automatic loss provision of its citizenship unconstitutional resulting in many getting their citizenship back. Also Vietnam modernised its nationality law this year. While most modern countries have modernised their nationality/citizenship laws since ww2 unfortunately the Dutch constitution does not (yet) have any protections and thus the historical frequent changes saw many Dutch nationals ‘automatically’ losing their nationality/citizenship over the decades. There are no specific records but the Dutch government estimated in the past that since 1985 about 80,000 people lost their Dutch nationality, most unwillingly and many even unaware due to its automatic nature. Other estimates state that the actual amount of such former Dutch nationals may be around 200,000 or more. From experience we (lawyers and non-profit organisations) know that over time only a few may still want their nationality repaired/returned. However, this could still today be around the 20,000 to 50,000 former Dutch nationals who want access to their family and mother/father country back. It is currently unclear if the new/upcoming Dutch government will follow up on its promises (since before 2016) to modernise its nationality law.
First, let’s look at the Canadian side of things.
In 2009 the (previous) government changed a law which removed the automatic right to citizenship for descendants of Canadians born abroad. “Lost Canadians” refers to those who lost or never acquired citizenship because of the previous version of its citizenship law. The changes originate from a 2023 court decision ruling certain aspects of the citizenship act unconstitutional. The government did not challenge the court ruling and proposed Bill C-3 to modernise the law. Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer (providing independent analysis) estimated in 2024 that this could affect about 115,000 people over the next five years. The Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois wanted more strict rules for citizenship such as language requirements and security checks for adults but these changes were not accepted. Below some official links about the new Canadian law, but first, be aware…
The Dutch side of things.
The Dutch nationality/citizenship law states that an adult can lose his/her nationality automatically when the person ‘voluntarily‘ gets/receives/obtains another nationality/citizenship. This means that if you now follow the Canadian processes to get/obtain the Canadian citizenship then you will automatically lose your Dutch nationality on the day that you become Canadian. There are some exceptions to that.
The word “voluntary” is here important and this is thus the case if you started this process by yourself, or accepted the nationality voluntarily. So, if you started any kind of procedures to become Canadian, registration, naturalisation, option, then this results in loss of Dutch nationality. Or if you were offered a nationality/citizenship and you were asked to accept this and you voluntarily accepted this. If a country/government imposed the nationality on you by a change of law then this was not your own voluntary doing and you remain Dutch. If you a court ruling imposed the other nationality on you, and you did not start the court case yourself, then this is not your own voluntary doing and you remain Dutch.
Getting a Citizenship Certificate because you are already Canadian, or were made Canadian, due to the change in law is not you voluntarily applying for the citizenship, it is only you applying for evidence of your citizenship. So, ensure that you do not apply for citizenship, but for the certificate.
Be aware that Dutch authorities may not always realise the subtle differences on these matters and your Dutch nationality could in the future be questioned/challenged by the authorities, in which case consider legal advice/support.
There are other exceptions in the Dutch nationality law by which you yourself can voluntarily obtain the Canadian citizenship without losing the Dutch nationality. We will briefly list them here:
- If you were born in Canada, and are (formally) resident there on the day that you get the Canadian citizenship (back).
- If you lived in Canada for 5+ years as a minor.
- If you are married to a Canadian citizen, at least 1 day before until 1 day after you become Canadian.
For minors there are similar and other exceptions but it can get a bit complex here. We just list the first and most important one.
- If you are a minor at least one of your parents remains Dutch until you are an adult (adulthood: age 18 or earlier marriage).
When you become Canadian you do not have to inform the Dutch authorities. However, the next time that you apply for a Dutch passport you will need to evidence that you are still Dutch. This requires documentation and/or legal argumentation. Although this doesn’t usually happen, your Dutch nationality could always be challenged/doubted by Dutch authorities (even if you are only Dutch). And as such you may be asked to evidence that you are still Dutch when moving to the Netherlands, crossing the border, dealing with pension authorities, or any others. If challenged do not divulge too much information as some of this could be misinterpreted and used against you. See legal advice/support if there are any such challenges or issues.
Warning!
If you have now become Canadian as a result of the law, you will have dual citizenship as of 15 December 2025. If you are unaware of this, or if you don’t use this option, doesn’t matter, and you can still lose your Dutch nationality later due to the so-called “Clock” (which can be prevented, see below). After all, nationality is a status you have, whether you know it or not, or whether you use it or not. Nationality is a status organised by law, with or without a piece of paper.
The Canadian processes explained
There are apparently conditions to the “Lost Canadian” rules. We read that the Canadian parent must show a “substantial connection” to the country by having spent at least three years there prior to their child’s birth or adoption. And there are those who now have been made Canadian citizens. Thus, there is more to it and we refer to the official publications on this here:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-citizenship/act-changes/rules-2025.html
And here the official press release.
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2025/12/new-citizenship-rules-for-canadians-born-or-adopted-abroad-are-now-in-effect.html
Please note that we do not have Canadian lawyers inhouse to assist with this. However, we do occasionally work together with some. Keep in mind that dual citizenship / dual nationality means you need to consider and look at both sets of laws. While the Canadian law has now been modernised a bit more, the Dutch law is for now still sticking to it’s old fashioned 1893 single nationality principle. Keep in mind the possibility of later/secondary risk of Dutch nationality loss as a dual national through a Clock. Read here how to avoid such loss later. Also, if you are now, or become, a dual national then keep in mind any future changes to the law (follow us on Facebook or LinkedIn).