SNBN Newsletter January 30: Coalition agreement finalized!

URGENCY EDITION: Green Light for Opening Up Dual Nationality for Dutch Citizens Outside the Netherlands!

What began in 2011 as a lobbying effort by a long-standing global movement , and continued in 2019 through the newly established Foundation for Dutch Citizens Abroad, has now resulted in what we've been striving for for so long: the green light for dual citizenship for Dutch citizens abroad. Of course, there's more in the recently published coalition agreement "Getting Started" (Aan de slag) written by D66, VVD, and CDA, so we've summarized the most important points.

1. Dual nationality

The coalition agreement states:

By modernizing the nationality law, Dutch citizens abroad will no longer lose their nationality any faster than those in our neighboring countries, Germany, Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom. For newcomers who wish to naturalize in the Netherlands, the starting point is that they renounce their other nationality.

It's common knowledge that the aforementioned countries explicitly permit dual nationality in principle (albeit with restrictions, but based on the principle that it's possible , unlike the Netherlands, which still operates on the principle that it's not possible, with a few exceptions). What a specific Dutch regulation will look like is still unclear. What is clear, however, is this is a fundamental shift in policy . With the support of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) (and that of the Labour Party-GreenLeft and Volt), there is initially a large majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in favor of this provision.

This parliamentary process could certainly take another year or two, and further negotiations will take place, so don't expect miracles in 2026 (yet). The SNBN will do everything it can to keep up the pressure and continue to seek further discussions with parliament and the government.

Thank you to all the letter writers! In December and January, literally hundreds of letters were sent to political parties by Dutch people abroad! We're certain that this friendly flood of messages contributed to the turnaround we can now read about in the coalition agreement. Simply fantastic!

Note – what's not in the coalition agreement: restoring Dutch citizenship to involuntary former Dutch citizens. This is currently a point for which (legally speaking) a separate bill would be required. But as far as we're concerned, it's perfectly logical that it should follow from this fundamental change of course. A previous meeting with one of the governing parties a few months ago made it clear to us that this party is very much willing to introduce such a bill. The SNBN will, of course, get to work on this immediately.

2. Digital voting

Here too, we can call it a breakthrough. The coalition agreement states: "We are making significant progress in digital services for citizens and businesses. Estonia's services are a prime example. All government services must be accessible online."

Organizing elections is a government task par excellence. We are pleased that our repeated calls, again thanks in part to all the letter writers in recent months, are now being formally recognized and addressed! "Digitalization of government services" was literally in the letter we all sent to politicians! So, once again, many thanks to all the letter writers! Here too, we cannot yet say how and when this will be implemented, but we will, of course, actively reach out to them about this.

3. What is not or only partially mentioned (in relation to Dutch people outside the Netherlands)*:

• Dutch education abroad

We are not very concerned about this at the moment, but we will of course keep an eye on it in the run-up to the next subsidy round in 2028-2029.

• Right to access a Dutch bank account

We're not particularly concerned about this at the moment, as the initiative proposal for a Basic Payment Account Act for Dutch Citizens Outside the European Union, by Member of Parliament Joost Sneller (D66), is now well underway. We'll keep an eye on it.

• Consular reinforcement

The coalition agreement states: "We are committed to a robust network of missions to ensure that the Netherlands is fully and powerfully represented in key growth markets, in countries of high geopolitical importance, and to support the protection of human rights and democracy." The practical implementation will determine how this will impact Dutch citizens abroad: after all, the focus of network reinforcement in this coalition agreement is solely based on economic reasons.

• Naturalization

The coalition agreement states: "The permanent residence permit will be abolished under the European Migration Pact, and therefore, someone can no longer naturalize as a Dutch citizen based on such a permit. We are therefore making naturalization possible based on a temporary residence permit, but we are raising the bar higher than before. Anyone who has received a temporary residence permit twice and meets a language requirement at level B1 may naturalize after six years. A hardship clause applies to those who cannot meet a language requirement."

Naturalization is always a sensitive issue, especially for non-Dutch partners (and thus for many families). We asked Hermie de Voer, attorney at Everaert Advocaten, for clarification: "It's a deterioration, because [the time requirement for naturalization] will be 6 years, whereas it is currently 5 years. Furthermore, it's unclear what is meant by a "temporary permit" in the context of existing permits. The term "temporary" is confusing in this context. We will return to this topic as soon as more information is available about the new naturalization requirements."

*This overview can be supplemented in a next newsletter

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The Foundation for Dutch People Abroad (SNBN) works daily, entirely voluntarily, to promote the interests of Dutch people abroad .

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