Let me start that I am very frustrated, even angry. This bill was of course written by lawyers within the Ministry of Justice and Insecurity, but with which assignment and instructions behind the scenes? And in the end, the State Secretary of Justice and Security, Eric van der Burg, cannot deny that his name is underneath this and that this was created under his watch. Yes, there are some good aspects to this proposal to regain the Dutch nationality, but it is very limited. And only for a small part does it matches the coalition agreement of 15 December 2021. I ask you to share this news and respond, because your voice / opinion must be heard. Below there is a link to give your opinion on the bill through formal consultation.

What was more or less promised to us on 15 December 2021 in the Dutch Coalition Agreement 2021 – 2025 by the VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie? They stated the following:

“The Dutch Nationality Act leads to undesirable problems in some situations. We are revising the automatic process whereby Dutch people with multiple nationalities outside the EU territory lose their Dutch nationality (after ten years) and make it easier for them to retain Dutch nationality alongside their other nationality or, for those who lost it after 01 April 2003.”

How is this interpreted?
It will be only “once and temporarily possible to regain Dutch nationality”.
“This achieves a better balance between the interests of those involved not to lose their Dutch citizenship unwillingly, and the Dutch State to prevent persons from acquiring or retaining Dutch citizenship while they have no bond, or no longer have a bond, with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.”

But while we were first given the impression that the automatic loss mechanism would be removed, the State Secretary chooses not to do so. “In accordance with the text of the coalition agreement, it has been decided not to completely scrap this automatism.” Let me note that the automatism was considered disproportionate by the European Union Court of Justice. And that this was disproportionate was also seen and accepted as such by the Dutch Council of State and the Dutch Commission for Justice and Security, as not only unacceptable for people with EU ties but for every (former) Dutch citizen. However, the previous State Secretary Ms Ankie Broekers-Knol (VVD) also wanted to do as little as possible and only did what was necessary which was actually forced upon her. She passed that responsibility on to her successor and politicians. Now, even with this bill, the disproportionate automatic loss of the nationality of a Dutch national within or outside the Netherlands or Europe will continue to exist. In principle, the current legislation does not yet comply with the (Tjebbes) ruling of the EU Court of Justice and we had hoped that modernization would now be proportionate. “All things considered, it was therefore decided to keep the automatism.”

The motivation is about a “better balance” between the interests of persons who do not wish to lose their nationality “and the Dutch State”. What is the interest of the Dutch state in holding on to the automatic loss? “To prevent persons from acquiring or retaining Dutch nationality while they have no connection, or no longer have a connection, with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.” And apparently people are of the opinion that long-term residence outside the European Union means that people no longer have any ties with the Netherlands. And no, they will not look at the many (family) holidays or business trips to the Netherlands, but just where one is formally registered as resident. The bonds of of Dutch family, parental care, work, language, culture, etc. have no value for the State Secretary of Justice, he only concerns about where you are registered as resident. The (municipal) residency registration is a Napoleonic big brother concept that does not even exist in many countries. And no, still paying taxes in the Netherlands has no influence either. Out of sight, out of mind. So, which bonds with the Netherlands is being argued has clearly not been thought through…. and automatism certainly does not take this into account. And again I refer here to the “Tjebbes” court verdict which the Netherlands supposedly accepted and then watered down.

So, OK, so we will continue to run the risk of automatic loss. This loss is preventable. But sometimes force majeure comes into play. For example, due to illness or financial problems and not being able to get a passport or certificate of Dutch nationality in time. The legislature and the law have no sympathy for this. Also during the Corona / Covid lock downs and embassy closures, there were several people who have lost their nationality and only hear a “gosh, what a pity for you”. Literally and figuratively. Or maybe politicians also want to see this differently and that this bill is still going to be amended? With recent conversations at the VVD and D66 and other political parties, it became clear that on a personal basis they completely agreed with me/us. This can be better! It is now up to politicians to thoroughly adjust and expand this bill. If anyone needs help with this, I am happy to provide further advise.

Reparation / restoration of nationality?
Yes, a small good point is that someone who has lost his nationality can get it back during a LIMITED PERIOD with this bill. “The Dutch government considers such a one-time opportunity for recovery appropriate” If this bill is passed, you will therefore have only two years to regain your nationality. Great… but future losers, they’ll be too late. To them, the “government” seems to be okay with their unwilling and often unaware loss of their Dutch nationality, and not being able to reasonably regain it. I assume that the State Secretary has recently asked the current government about this. Clearly, thus one knows where one stands as a second-class citizen who has recently acquired the right to vote through the Dutch Electoral College of non-residents for the Senate.

There is also the restriction that this only concerns those who have lost their nationality since 2003. In discussions with the political parties, we pointed out that since the amendment of the law of 01 January 1985 these problems already existed. See the different Dutch nationality loss Clocks explained here. There was also a temporary 2 year possibility of repair from 2003 to 2005, for those who had lost it unnoticed and unintentionally since 01 January 1985. Many people knew nothing about this and even those who knocked on the door of embassies in the period 2003-2005 with a request for reparation were often incorrectly and wrongly shown the door. The complexity of the law and misinformation among government employees is a major part of the problem, which the National Ombudsman confirmed in its report in 2016. In recent conversations with me/us the political parties have expressed understanding for this, and they would consider changing the date to 01 Jan 1985. But it can be even better…

This proposal is unacceptable. What do we want to see?
Abolition of the automatic loss by completely removing Article 15 paragraphs 1a and 1c:

Unconditionally allowing to regain the nationality after automatic loss. Simple to resolve. Rewrite Article 6 paragraph 1f.

Hopefully it is clear to the reader that traditional nationalism and xenophobia in the Netherlands has been growing in recent years. History has taught us that this is unfortunately normal, a better word is ‘usual’, during economically difficult times (such as the 1930s). And ties that a national/citizen has with another country… “well… just leave then, or rather stay away”. But no, we don’t discriminate anymore, so the legislation we have that affects every blond-blue-eyed-cheese-head born in the Netherlands just as much as anyone else. Whether you came from Turkey or Argentina, or have (temporarily) moved from the Netherlands to Turkey or Argentina… we adhere rigidly to the single nationality principle of 1892, which the rest of Europe (except Austria) has already left behind. But now that society is shifting to the extreme right, the major political parties prefer not to lose those votes and participate nicely. And yes, many in the Netherlands born blond-blue-eyed-cheese-heads lose their nationality as it is. But at the same time we can do better.

It is now up to politicians to show that we, the Netherlands, can be a just, proportionate and modern state. Certainly the automatic loss should be removed from the legislation, and it should be possible to allow other nationalities. In the modern world, people simply have many ties with their motherland and fatherland. The automatic forcing of divorce and choice for the child must be abolished. We love two or more countries, and we want to be able to contribute to two or more countries. And research shows that people with multiple nationalities don’t contribute less and often even more. In addition, if you want to think on extreme right terms, allow multiple nationalities, the easier it will be for those foreign Dutch to leave again. Or make naturalization unreasonably difficult, but refrain from forcing the choice between countries and therefore families.

What can you do?
Let your opinion be heard. The government has a consultation on the bill. You can also read their motivation and respond to the proposal there. https://www.internetconsultatie.nl/wijzigingrwn/b1. I suggest, accept the little bit that is given, but ask for fairness and therefore more.

As requested here a link (Microsoft Word Docx) Concept/Draft response you can submit to this consultation.

You can also give your support to organizations such as Nederlanders in den Vreeme, the Stichting GOED, the SNBN, etc. And if, like many others, you have lost your nationality due to incorrect or incomplete information from the government, report this to the Stichting GOED and the National ombudsman. We also help people (commercially) on an individual basis, of course. But we prefer that in the future this is no longer necessary, and I am forced to look for other work.

Kris von Habsburg
Habsburg Legal Services ltd, also representing Nederlanders in den Vreemde (Dutchies abroad).

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P.S. Depending on the background, there are a number of other ways to become a Dutch citizen again. But for most this is often (practically) very difficult. But ask if you need help.

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