Van Rechtswege Verloren, Een Oud Zeer! — Lost by Operation of Law, An Old Wound! — Dutch nationality legislation from 1892 to the present. By Kris von Habsburg. Published 9 October 2026. 200 pages, with the proposed legislative text in the appendices.

Losing your nationality without knowing it

You grow up Dutch. You build a life abroad, have children and stay in touch with family in the Netherlands. Then a passport application reveals that you are no longer a Dutch national. You did not deliberately choose to give it up: a statutory period expired, or you acquired another nationality. In certain circumstances, loss happens automatically, by operation of law.

What this book reveals

In Van Rechtswege Verloren, Een Oud Zeer! Kris von Habsburg examines how these rules developed, what they mean today and how they could change. Behind the legal provisions are people. Loss can profoundly alter their ability to travel, work, live with family or return to the Netherlands. It also affects their sense of belonging.

Three parts, one urgent question

Part I traces the history of Dutch nationality and the choices made by legislators. Part II connects the present law with everyday experience: the clocks governing loss, passport counters, routes to restoration and the effort required to retain nationality. Part III sets out a proposal for a different nationality law, with the proposed legislative text in the appendices.

Preventing loss, restoring nationality and enabling return

The book argues for stronger protection against unintended loss, broader routes to restoration and a right of return for former Dutch nationals, subject to specified conditions. It considers children, families and people whose lives connect them to more than one country. It also discusses the conditions accompanying liberalisation and restoration. These are proposals for change, rather than rights already available to everyone.

Who is it for?

Above all, politicians and those who draft legislation, as well as lawyers, advocacy organisations, Dutch nationals and former Dutch nationals. Legal evidence matters. Where figures are missing, or the author relies on experience from his practice, he makes that distinction clear. The central question is personal and practical: why do people keep losing their Dutch nationality, and what would a law that respects their lives look like?

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Contents

Part I — From burghership to Dutch nationality, 1531–2003. Why this history matters · before nationality, the law of the city · the passport is a young invention · the word “nationality” · 1838, the Civil Code and the country of birth · 1848, the Constitution defers to the legislator · 1849, the Aliens Act · 1850, the first nationality act and the five-year clock · 1892, the break: the first Nationality Act and the ten-year clock · the Kingdom and its subjects, 1910–1975 · from country of emigration to country of immigration, 1981–2003 · what 1892 left us.

Part II — The present: the act of 1892 in 2026. Two people, one law · what the law says · the clock in six guises · what an option is · seventeen doors, and three that stand beside them · the door that stood open for ten years · nobody counts · what you are told at the counter · Tjebbes, and what the Netherlands did with it · the childcare benefits scandal · only the Netherlands and Austria · what the others did · figures that do exist · ten years of waiting · the best argument against, and the reply · what remains in 2026.

Part III — A law of this century: a proposal for a Kingdom Act on Dutch Nationality. Why a new act rather than an amendment · the name and the timeline · three routes, one aim · principles · the relaxations · the tightenings · how the proposal controls the administrative burden · transitional law for those it has already happened to · what has changed since 2019 · the 2026 bill and the former Dutch national · the list of amendments · what the reader can do with this.

Appendices. A — Proposal: Kingdom Act on Dutch Nationality · B — Presentation of the amendments · C — Current text of the Kingdom Act on Dutch Nationality · D — Sources and endnotes.

Colophon

Van Rechtswege Verloren, Een Oud Zeer!
Dutch nationality legislation from 1892 to the present
Written by Kris von Habsburg, Specialist Dutch Nationality Lawyer (jurist)
Habsburg & Kuijk Legal Services
Published 9 October 2026
© 2026 Kris von Habsburg. All rights reserved.