Loss of Dutch citizenship: The story of Melle

Melle Staelenberg

Melle Staelenberg is the CEO of the Amsterdam-based marketing measurement agency, Objective Platform. Between 2006 and 2022, he lived in Sydney, Australia, where he also had two children. During his time in Sydney, Melle acquired Australian citizenship, automatically losing his Dutch nationality. Upon his return to Amsterdam, he regained his Dutch citizenship through an option process, while retaining his Australian citizenship. Eelco Keij spoke with Melle about his experiences to raise awareness of this often-understood route to dual citizenship.

You lived in Sydney for 16 years, what brought you to Australia at the time?

In 2006, my girlfriend and I decided to move from Amsterdam to Sydney. My employer offered me the opportunity, and we were drawn to the idea of a new adventure and a new environment. I immediately had a wonderful feeling about our new city. As expats, we had a four-year work visa, and that time flew by.

What was your path to Australian citizenship like?

When I became a father in 2010, we had already applied for Permanent Residency because we desperately wanted to stay in Sydney longer. Now no longer an expat and working for an Australian employer, I increasingly encountered "new" Australians, people from all over the world who, after their Permanent Residency (PR), had also applied for an Australian passport. The exceptions were the Dutch, as the Netherlands is one of the few countries that discourages acquiring another nationality. So, initially, I feared that becoming Australian was simply not an option for me.

That sounds familiar. Was that also the period when you came into contact with the 'Stichting Nederlanders Buiten Nederland' (Foundation for Dutch People Outside the Netherlands)?

Yes, exactly! I've also had countless conversations with other Dutch people, from expats exploring ways to become Australian (difficult) to former Dutch people who had become Australian and thus lost their Dutch citizenship (painful). When I attended one of your webinars for Dutch people abroad, attorney Hermie de Voer of Everaert Advocaten Immigration Lawyers was also present to provide legal insights on the loss and recovery of Dutch citizenship.

Why did you want to become Australian so badly?

In early 2020, now fathers of two, our family was at a crossroads: on the one hand, we were completely attached to Sydney, but we also wanted to return to Amsterdam for a while. The problem with Permanent Residency (PR) in Australia is that it's not as permanent as the name suggests. If you stay outside Australia for five years, your PR status expires. During the coronavirus pandemic, I therefore decided to contact Hermie to discuss our options.

What turned out to be your solution in the end?

Ultimately, our solution turned out to be simpler than expected, but not cheap [€1,300 in fees plus legal costs]: if I applied for Australian citizenship (which I was entitled to at the time), my Dutch citizenship would indeed be revoked, but upon returning to the Netherlands, I could apply for a residence permit. Then, after 12 months in the Netherlands, I could start the option procedure for former Dutch citizens, while—and here's the kicker—retaining my Australian citizenship.

Did you also follow that advice?

Yes, absolutely: in mid-2022, with an Australian passport in hand, we moved back to Amsterdam as a family. Upon arriving in the Netherlands, I immediately went to The Hague to have my information updated from 'Dutch' to 'Australian' at the Personal Records Database (BRP) and then apply for my residence permit (including the necessary biometric checks). Two months later, I received my residence permit, a nice little card also issued to other newcomers. When I picked it up, I was complimented on my command of the Dutch language. With this residence permit, I was able to start working at a Dutch company right away.

But then you were temporarily not Dutch?

Correct. At the end of 2023, after having been registered in the Netherlands for 12 months, I was able to initiate the so-called option procedure to regain my Dutch citizenship. To do this, I had to demonstrate that I had lived in the Netherlands for the first 18 years of my life. When I submitted the documents, I was met with some skepticism from a municipal official at Amsterdam. They suggested I was exploiting a "loophole," and, for some inexplicable reason, I had to manually fill out all the forms my lawyer had prepared.

That sounds intense.

Laughing: "Well, it's taking some getting used to in Amsterdam again!" But despite the somewhat threatening tone, I was eventually told that everything looked good and that I could expect an invitation to the ceremony within 10 weeks. This ceremony took place a few months ago, and there too, I received compliments on my "beautiful Dutch." So now I'm reunited with the nationality I felt I'd never lost.

How did you experience the whole process yourself?

Although my procedure for retaining dual nationality turned out to be straightforward, I probably wouldn't have dared to do it without legal advice. It's a strange feeling to consciously relinquish your Dutch citizenship and hand over your file to officials with the request to regain it. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) has since published online guidelines regarding the option procedure I went through. Although the option procedure while retaining dual nationality is a legal provision and certainly not a loophole, I still get the feeling the government doesn't want to emphasize it.

Do you have any advice for other Dutch people abroad?

I hope my experience can help other Dutch people abroad make a well-informed decision about acquiring another nationality. Especially if you plan to return to the Netherlands (for at least a year), the option procedure is a relatively simple way for former Dutch citizens who were born in the Netherlands and lived their entire childhood there to secure dual nationality.

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