How do I apply for naturalisation as a Dutch citizen?
What would you like help with?
Detailed explanation, checklist and sources
If you live in the Netherlands, discuss naturalisation with your municipality. The IND assesses the conditions. Five years' residence or an integration diploma alone is not enough. First check residence rights, exceptions, evidence and the consequences for your present nationality.
On this page
- Check age and residence rights
- Check exceptions and option separately
- Gather evidence and check integration
- Investigate renouncing nationality
- Consider children separately
- Apply through the municipality and pay
- Follow the decision and maintain residence
- Complete the ceremony and subsequent duties
- Check name determination or change
- Check later naturalisation of children and evidence exceptions
- Do five years of residence automatically make me Dutch?
- Documents to prepare
- Sources
1. Check age and residence rights
This guide concerns an adult applying in the Netherlands. The usual rule is five years of continuous lawful residence in the Kingdom, without gaps from late permit renewal. At application, throughout the procedure and at the ceremony, you need suitable valid residence rights: for example permanent residence, a temporary permit for a non-temporary purpose, an eligible EU-family document or EU-law residence. EU/EEA/Swiss citizens do not always need a residence card. A naturalisation request does not renew your residence permit; arrange that separately.
2. Check exceptions and option separately
Five years is not a universal waiting period. Conditional exceptions cover, for example, Dutch partners, recognised statelessness, former Dutch citizens and earlier periods of residence. A relationship alone proves no exception: duration, living together, marriage or registration, country and continuity matter. Check the complete IND exception before paying. Also consider option, which is available only to specific statutory groups, not everyone with long residence. Applications from abroad have separate requirements and application points.
3. Gather evidence and check integration
Gather valid identity/nationality evidence, a birth certificate, evidence of qualifying residence and the required integration proof. Check which foreign certificates are already in the BRP and which need translation or legalisation. Missing documents do not automatically mean refusal or exemption: discuss substantiated inability to obtain evidence. Current IND guidance requires at least A2 and the required exam components for naturalisation, unless an applicable exemption or dispensation exists. This differs from the general integration obligation. Disclose relevant criminal proceedings or sentences honestly; public-order rules require a separate assessment.
IND · Nederlander worden door naturalisatie ↗
4. Investigate renouncing nationality
Adults generally have to renounce other nationalities after naturalisation, but exceptions and country rules apply. Marriage or registered partnership with a Dutch citizen may qualify at the correct reference date; merely living together is not equivalent. Nationality may sometimes be lost automatically, or renunciation may be impossible. Check effects on rights, costs and evidence beforehand. Request a needed exemption with the naturalisation application, not after becoming Dutch. Do not renounce prematurely on your own initiative to speed up an application.
5. Consider children separately
A minor child is not included automatically. Explicitly request co-naturalisation and check residence conditions for each child. Children aged 12 or over attend the municipal appointment. Additional requirements for 16- and 17-year-olds include three years' continuous residence in the Netherlands, their own agreement and the declaration of solidarity. Where only one parent applies, the other parent can state in a written view (zienswijze) whether they object to the child's naturalisation. Ask the municipality which statement and documents are required. If a child turns 18 during the process, discuss the separate subsequent-naturalisation route; do not assume an automatic outcome.
6. Apply through the municipality and pay
Book at your municipality of residence, which checks documents and declarations and prepares the application for the IND. Some municipalities provide an official digital pre-application followed by a counter visit; this is not a universal wholly online process. Standard 2026 fees are €1,139 for one person, €1,454 with a partner and €168 per minor co-naturalising. Reduced or zero fees apply to certain groups: confirm your category. Translations, legalisation and exams can cost extra. Use the official forms, not a generic letter.
7. Follow the decision and maintain residence
Keep application and payment evidence and check the acknowledgement and Mijn IND. The normal decision period is twelve months from when the application is complete and the fees have been paid; extensions are possible and notified. An appointment date therefore does not automatically start the period. Maintain suitable lawful residence and relevant conditions throughout. If refused, read the reasons, objection procedure and deadline in the decision and seek timely legal assistance where needed. A positive IND decision does not itself make you Dutch; do not plan a passport on that letter alone.
8. Complete the ceremony and subsequent duties
After approval, follow the municipal invitation to the naturalisation ceremony. IND guidance requires attendance within one year of the positive decision; the declaration of solidarity and presentation of the decision form part of completion. Children's attendance duties depend partly on their age when applying. Afterwards follow any IND instructions on renunciation and evidence; ignoring them can affect citizenship. Prepare the passport application only after citizenship is acquired. Our checklist prepares but submits nothing; our own help request provides a legal follow-up without guaranteeing an outcome.
9. Check name determination or change
If you have one name or no distinction between first and surname, a name must be determined during naturalisation; discuss the form with the municipality. Integration-related changes are limited to IND categories: difficult Dutch pronunciation, an inappropriate/ridiculous Dutch meaning, returning to your own surname after a married name, removing gender inflection or choosing one part of a combined parental surname. This is not unrestricted name changing. Children naturalising with you aged twelve to fifteen may express their views; sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds must consent to determination/change.
10. Check later naturalisation of children and evidence exceptions
A child not naturalised with you may seek later naturalisation. IND normally specifies three years' uninterrupted lawful residence in the Kingdom and a non-temporary residence purpose at application. For a child born during your procedure, residence in the Kingdom and a valid non-temporary permit apply; applying within one year after you became Dutch is free. A child who became adult during your naturalisation/option procedure and therefore missed joint naturalisation applies personally under the three-year/residence conditions and relevant fee. Ceremony attendance is compulsory from age sixteen at application; younger children may attend. For identity, asylum, statelessness or EU long-term residence with an international-protection endorsement may allow a refugee/alien passport. IND describes an exception where doubt stems from incorrect parental declarations: use the identity/nationality given when the minor received their permit, rather than automatically refuse for that reason. Discuss specific evidence problems with the municipality.
Do five years of residence automatically make me Dutch?
No. Five years is usually a residence condition, not automatic citizenship. Suitable residence rights, evidence, integration, public order and possible renunciation remain separate checks. Some situations have different periods or qualify for option. Official completion is still required after a positive decision.
Documents to prepare
Prepare your next stepFill in and save · Word
Tick what you have checked or collected. Note what is missing and take your overview to a meeting.
Unless saved in My overview: Your entries stay only on this screen. Download before leaving; closing or reloading clears them. Do not enter identity numbers, passwords or unnecessary personal details.
What do you still need for your next step?
Item 1 / 6 · Where do you stand with this item?
Residence periods, permits and renewal dates
This overview follows your own answers. It does not assess your rights or guarantee that your file is complete.
Your choices stay here. Use the buttons below if you want to save or download.
View all details, notes and timeline
Your timeline and evidence
List events and contacts. Note where you keep the evidence; no upload is needed.
What goes in my timeline?
Record what happened, when, the response and where to find the letter, message or photo. Mark uncertain dates.
Is my evidence sent?
No. You only note where it is kept. No files are uploaded or sent automatically.
How do I save my timeline?
Your entries are not saved automatically. Choose Save and continue later to store this preparation, including your timeline, in My overview. Wait for confirmation and save new changes again. You can also download a Word file without an account.
Up to 20 events. Choose a different position for an event to change the order.
0 / 6 · Checked or collected
For each event, note the date, what happened and where the evidence is kept. Example: 3 October — letter received — correspondence folder.
Describe the solution you would like, such as an explanation of a deduction and repayment of the outstanding amount.
For example: which document is missing, who can provide it and what should I do first?
Record the date and its source. If unknown, note this and check promptly. This tool does not calculate or monitor deadlines.
After your conversation
These are your own notes. Confirm agreements with the other person; these notes do not prove their agreement.
This is your preparation, not a submitted request, objection or legally reviewed document. A tick records only your own progress. Check the procedure and deadline in the original letter.
Save and continue later
Clear entries
Download anything you want to keep first. Clearing cannot be undone.
- Residence periods, permits and renewal dates
- Evidence for an exception or an option assessment
- Identity, birth certificate and translation/legalisation
- Integration proof or specific exemption/dispensation
- Nationalities, renunciation consequences and children's details
- Payment, acknowledgement, decision date and ceremony
Contact with a lawyer
You can use the chat and information without a phone number. A contact request requires a phone number, a verified email address and your wish for telephone contact. Our team assesses which partner fits your question. Data is shared only under the stated consent procedure. A partner or engagement is not guaranteed.
View the current application processSources
Need personal assistance? Request a lawyer through our chat. We explain the next step; submitting a request does not engage a lawyer. The links below support the legal information.
IND · Nederlander worden door naturalisatie ↗IND · Uitzonderingen verblijfsduur ↗IND · Optieprocedure ↗IND · Inburgering voor naturalisatie ↗IND · Afstand nationaliteit ↗IND · Actuele leges ↗IND · Openbare-ordebeleid ↗Gemeente Utrecht · Voorbeeld aanvraagroute ↗IND · Beslistermijnen en exacte start ↗Sources may be in Dutch. General information about Dutch law, not individual legal advice.