- Ways to apply
- Citizen by descent (Art. 3) · Option for pre-1985 maternal lines (Art. 6(1)(i))
- Dual citizenship
- Kept, however you apply
- Comes with
- EU citizenship: the right to live and work in 27 countries
Each answer assumes none of your ancestors became a citizen of another country before their child was born. Below is what changes each answer.
On this page›
- 01Who qualifies
- 02Dates that matter
- 03Through your mother
- 04Keeping your citizenship
- 05Ways to apply
- 06The documents
- 07What it takes
- 08Where the records live
- 09Places that changed countries
- 10Law changes
- 11Other options
- 12Sources
Who qualifies, generation by generation
POSSIBLE
Can you claim Dutch citizenship through a parent?
Citizen by descent
A child of a Dutch parent is Dutch by descent, but Dutch nationality is lost after thirteen years abroad without a Dutch passport or identity card, so whether your parent (and you) still hold it is the question.
What would settle itWhether your parent held a valid Dutch passport or identity card at least every thirteen years while living outside the EU, and did not naturalize elsewhere before you were born.
What changes the answer
- UNLIKELY
If someone in your family became a citizen of another country before the next person in your family was bornA Dutch parent who voluntarily took another nationality before you were born usually lost Dutch nationality at that moment, so it did not pass to you.
- LIKELY
If the parent is your mother and you were born before 1985Option (pre-1985 maternal line)Born before 1985 to a Dutch mother, you did not acquire nationality at birth, but since 2010 you can opt for Dutch nationality by declaration, without conditions.
UNLIKELY
Can you claim Dutch citizenship through a grandparent?
No grandparent option
Dutch nationality passes only from a parent who still held it, and is lost by naturalizing elsewhere or after thirteen years abroad without renewal, so it rarely reaches grandchildren.
What would settle itWhether your parent is still a Dutch national; if so, you are the child of a Dutch parent.
UNLIKELY
Can you claim Dutch citizenship through a great-grandparent?
No grandparent option
Dutch nationality passes only from a parent who still held it, and is lost by naturalizing elsewhere or after thirteen years abroad without renewal, so it rarely reaches grandchildren.
What would settle itWhether your parent is still a Dutch national; if so, you are the child of a Dutch parent.
The dates that matter
- 1985
Claiming through your mother or grandmother
In Netherlands’s rule, the answer changes when the ancestor you descend through is a woman:
- LIKELY
If the parent is your mother and you were born before 1985Option (pre-1985 maternal line)Born before 1985 to a Dutch mother, you did not acquire nationality at birth, but since 2010 you can opt for Dutch nationality by declaration, without conditions.
In the law’s words
Dual citizenship with your home country
You keep your citizenship.
On every open route, the rule lets a citizen of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa keep that citizenship.
Every way to apply, and the law behind it
The law
- A child acquires Dutch nationality if a parent is Dutch at the birth. Netherlands Nationality Act (Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap), as in force September 2026, Art. 3(1) ↗
- An adult Dutch national with another nationality who lives outside the Kingdom and the EU for an uninterrupted thirteen years loses Dutch nationality; a Dutch passport, identity card or declaration of nationality restarts the period. Netherlands Nationality Act (Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap), as in force September 2026, Art. 15(1)(c) and (4) ↗
- The Court of Justice held that automatic loss after years abroad must allow an individual examination of its consequences; the Netherlands then lengthened the term to thirteen years and allowed recovery with retroactive effect. Court of Justice of the EU, Tjebbes and Others, C-221/17 (12 March 2019) ↗
- An adult loses Dutch nationality by voluntarily acquiring another nationality, unless an exception applies (for example, being born in that country and living there, or being married to one of its nationals). Netherlands Nationality Act (Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap), as in force September 2026, Art. 15(1)(a) and (2) ↗
- A child is Dutch only if a parent is Dutch at the time of the birth. Netherlands Nationality Act (Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap), as in force September 2026, Art. 3(1) ↗
What would settle an unsure case
- Whether your parent held a valid Dutch passport or identity card at least every thirteen years while living outside the EU, and did not naturalize elsewhere before you were born.
- The date of your parent’s naturalization against your birth, and whether an exception in Art. 15(2) applied to them.
The law
What would settle an unsure case
- Whether your parent held a valid Dutch passport or identity card at least every thirteen years while living outside the EU, and did not naturalize elsewhere before you were born.
- UNLIKELY
Through a grandparentDutch nationality passes only from a parent who still held it, and is lost by naturalizing elsewhere or after thirteen years abroad without renewal, so it rarely reaches grandchildren.
The law
What would settle an unsure case
- Whether your parent is still a Dutch national; if so, you are the child of a Dutch parent.
The documents, as the rule lists them
Citizen by descent
Through a parent
- Your parent’s Dutch passport history or nationality certificate
- Your birth certificate
Option (pre-1985 maternal line)
Through a parent, if the parent is your mother and you were born before 1985
- Your parent’s Dutch passport history or nationality certificate
- Your birth certificate
Most countries also want proof that your ancestor didn’t become a citizen somewhere else before their child was born: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter saying there isn’t one.
What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides
Citizen by descent
- Time
- 4–10 weeks for a first Dutch passport, once the consulate confirms citizenship.
- Cost
- About $200: the passport fee and certified copies.
- The hard part
- Dutch citizenship lapses after 13 years abroad without a Dutch passport. Whether your parent (and you) kept it is the whole question.
- Who decides
- The Dutch consulate for your address.
- The first record
- Your parent’s Dutch birth record and most recent Dutch passport, from The gemeente (municipality) of their birth. Request the birth record from the municipality; then check the last Dutch passport’s dates. netherlandsworldwide.nl ↗
How it’s filed
- Where
- The Dutch representation named in your assigned US appointment office list ↗
- How
- In person; you appear in person
- Appointments
- US Dutch representation passport appointment. Complete your personal US passport checklist and MFA application; choose Washington, Atlanta, Miami, New York or San Francisco using its official passport booking link. Upload the appointment identifying the selected office.
- Fee
- About $192
- Decision
- 2–17 weeks
- Your records
- Apostilled, no translation.
- Pay
- 169.15 EUR, by Visa credit or debit card or Mastercard credit or debit card made out to “The Dutch representation accepting the application”; no personal checks.
- Sign
- The Dutch consular officer, at the appointment.
What goes in the file (5)›
- Member’s complete birth certificate showing both parents, apostilled
- Dutch parent’s Dutch passport(s) or nationality proof, covering the member’s birth and every ten-year period since the parent came of age abroad
- Parents’ marriage certificate (or acknowledgment of paternity), apostilled
- Member’s own foreign passport(s) and any earlier Dutch passport
- Evidence the member never spent the loss period as an adult (13 years; ten if it ended before 1 April 2022) outside the Kingdom and the EU without a Dutch passport, ID card or nationality declaration
What goes wrong (4)›
- Passport abroad €169.15 adult; the Ministry checks nationality every time because people abroad are not in a municipal register.
- The exact document list comes from the personal checklist on NetherlandsWorldwide’s U.S. passport page (step 1); print it and bring it, with every Dutch and foreign passport and ID card you hold, expired ones too. A doubtful case goes to the IND for a decision.
- Loss rule: an adult dual national who lives 13 consecutive years outside the Kingdom and the EU loses Dutch nationality unless a new Dutch passport, ID card or nationality declaration is issued within the 13 years; for a child the count starts at 18. From 1 April 2003 to 1 April 2022 the term was ten years, and anyone whose ten years ended before 1 April 2022 lost it. A bill to abolish the rule (34632) is before the Tweede Kamer and is not law.
- A Dutch national who voluntarily took another nationality lost Dutch nationality, unless (since 1 April 2003) they were born and living in that country, had lived there five uninterrupted years before 18, or were married to one of its nationals.
source ↗
Option (pre-1985 maternal line)
- Time
- 3–6 months for the option declaration, then a passport.
- Cost
- About $400: the option fee (€241) and copies.
- The hard part
- The declaration is simple; the deadline and proof of your mother’s Dutch citizenship at your birth matter.
- Who decides
- The Dutch consulate.
- The first record
- Your mother’s Dutch birth record, from The municipality of her birth. Request from the gemeente. netherlandsworldwide.nl ↗
How it’s filed
- Where
- The Dutch representation named in your assigned US appointment office list ↗
- How
- In person; you appear in person
- Appointments
- US Dutch representation option appointment. For Washington email was-ca@minbuza.nl; Chicago chi-ca@minbuza.nl; New York nyc-ca@minbuza.nl. For Atlanta, Miami or San Francisco use the official option booking link. Upload the assigned option appointment. Chicago does not accept passport applications: choose another supported representation for the first passport.
- Fee
- About $274
- Decision
- 3–8 months
- Your records
- Apostilled, no translation.
- Pay
- 241 EUR, by Visa credit or debit card or Mastercard credit or debit card made out to “The Dutch representation accepting the application”; no personal checks.
- Sign
- The Dutch consular officer, at the appointment.
What goes in the file (11)›
- Option statement, model 1.38a (unsigned until the appointment)
- Member’s complete official birth certificate (not hospital-issued) showing place of birth and both parents, apostilled
- A passport for each nationality the member holds
- Proof of legal residence in the country of residence
- Certificate of conduct (U.S.: FBI Identity History Summary)
- Proof of the mother’s Dutch nationality at the birth (e.g. The Hague Bureau Vestigingsregister certificate)
- Copy of the mother’s Dutch passport, ideally one valid at the member’s birth
- Official copy of the parents’ marriage certificate
- Mother’s naturalisation certificate(s) if her nationality changed; divorce or death certificate if applicable
- Father’s complete birth certificate, copy of his passport (ideally one from around the birth) and any naturalisation certificate
- Original plus one photocopy of every document
What goes wrong (5)›
- Fee €241 single, €412 joint, +€27 per minor (U.S. consular fee list), paid in person when submitting.
- Usually decided within 13 weeks, extendable once by 13 weeks; NetherlandsWorldwide warns it is currently taking longer.
- After a positive decision the member attends a naturalisation ceremony, and is Dutch from then. Their children can opt only after that.
- Conditions: mother Dutch at the birth, legal father not Dutch, born before 1 January 1985, no prior option, no public-order threat.
- From CA, GB, AU, NZ, BR, AR, ZA: the Dutch embassy or consulate in that country; same form and fee in EUR.
source ↗
Fees are each office’s published fee, converted to U.S. dollars.
Where each record lives, and how to ask for it
birth
The gemeente (municipality) where the birth was registered: burgerlijke stand (civil status).
The municipality of birth; the list of all municipalities is on almanak.overheid.nl. Each municipality sets its own procedure for requests from abroad.
- Ask
- By email, in Dutch
- Takes
- 1–6 weeks
Good to know (2)›
- Online requests usually need DigiD, which people abroad often lack; email or post to the municipality works instead. A copy (afschrift) or extract costs €17.80 ($20) in 2026, the national rate. A full copy of someone else’s act needs a justified interest, so say it is for a nationality claim.
- A Dutch document used abroad may need legalisation; used at a Dutch embassy it does not.
source ↗
residence
Municipality of The Hague, Central Population Registers Office (Bureau Vestigingsregister): proof of deregistration from the Netherlands before October 1994, stating nationality and marital status on leaving.
For a parent who emigrated before October 1994. Later emigrants: an extract from the Non-residents Records Database (RNI).
- Takes
- 1–5 weeks
Good to know (2)›
- Proof of the mother’s Dutch nationality for the option procedure. €5.50, sent within 4 weeks. Apply online with a letter stating the purpose and a copy of your ID; for someone else, add their ID and written authorisation, or proof of death if they have died. Written requests go to Publiekszaken, Vestigingsregister, Postbus 12620, 2500 DL Den Haag; email requests are not accepted.
- It shows the nationality and marital status on the day of deregistration. A copy of the full personal record card is the alternative.
source ↗
other
FBI Identity History Summary (the U.S. ‘certificate of conduct’ the Dutch option procedure asks for)
- Takes
- 1–4 weeks
Good to know (1)›
- Needed for the option procedure only. $18. Online with electronic fingerprints at a U.S. Post Office: within 48 hours; online with a mailed fingerprint card: about 10 days; by mail: up to 15 days plus postage.
source ↗
Translations
- Into
- Dutch
- Who may translate
- No translation needed
- About
- $0–$75 a page
Documents in English need no translation for use in the Netherlands; U.S. documents need an apostille from the issuing state. A U.S. naturalization certificate needs its apostille from the State Department in Washington, not a state. Documents in other languages need a translation; a sworn translation by a translator on the Dutch register (RBTV) starts at about €59 ($67) a page for most languages.
source ↗
The passport
- Where
- The Dutch embassy or a consulate-general, in person, by appointment (after the option ceremony, or as the first step for a child of a Dutch parent).
- Fee
- About $192
- Time
- 2–9 weeks
source ↗
Places on old papers that lead to Netherlands
If your family’s records name one of these, Netherlands’s law may be the one that applies. The town decides.
Recent and pending changes
We know of no pending bill or recent court ruling for Netherlands.
We re-read the official pages behind this guide every day. When one changes, a person checks the rule before we update anything here.
If descent doesn’t reach you
4 residence programs lead to Netherlands without an ancestor, each with its own law and road to citizenship.