Conditions for obtaining Dutch citizenship
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Do you have an asylum residence permit and want to become a Dutch citizen? This is possible through naturalising. For that you have to meet certain conditions. In this step-by-step plan you can read what the conditions are and how the procedure works if you have an asylum permit.
These are the conditions for naturalising with an asylum residence permit
You are 18 years of age or older
You have lived in the Netherlands with a valid residence permit for 5 consecutive years or more. You have also always renewed your residence permit on time.
You have a permanent asylum residence permit. So first you had a temporary asylum residence permit for 5 years. And when that expired you applied for and received a permanent residence permit. You can only become a Dutch citizen if you have a permanent residence permit.
Read more about applying for a permanent asylum residence permit here. You have undergone civic integration. This means that you can sufficiently speak, read, write and understand Dutch. You can also get by in Dutch society. To prove that you have undergone civic integration, you must have obtained an civic integration diploma. You can only become a Dutch citizen if you have a civic integration diploma.
You are not a danger to society or safety in the Netherlands
You promise to speak a 'verklaring van verbondenheid' (declaration of commitment) at the meeting where you become a Dutch citizen. In that declaration, you say that you know that the laws of the Netherlands with all the rights and the duties also apply to you. And that you respect them and abide by them.
When you become Dutch you must have a first name and a last name
According to Dutch law, everyone in the Netherlands has a first name and a last name. Does your name consist of a series of names, i.e. a series of names without one first name and one last name? Then if you want to become Dutch, you have to choose one of those names as your last name.
If you are younger than 18, you can become a Dutch citizen together with your parent(s)
One of the conditions for becoming a Dutch citizen is that you are 18 years of age or older. Therefore, if you are under 18, you cannot apply to become a Dutch citizen yourself. However, you can become a Dutch citizen together with your parent(s). This is called co-naturalising. Your parent(s) will have to apply to become a Dutch citizen and indicate that you are their child and also want to become a Dutch citizen.
Are you in the Netherlands without your parents? Then you have to wait until you turn 18. Only then can you become a Dutch citizen yourself.
If you do not have citizenshop for any country, other conditions apply to becoming a Dutch citizen
One of the conditions for becoming a Dutch citizen is that you have a permanent asylum residence permit. This means that you have had a temporary asylum residence permit for 5 years. There are a number of exceptions to this. One of them is statelessness.
If you are stateless and therefore have no citizenship, you can apply for Dutch citizenship after only 3 years. This sometimes applies, for example, if you are Palestinian. You must then also be officially listed as 'staatloos' (stateless) in the
You register yourself with the municipality in the BRP
As soon as your identity has been established by the IND during the asylum procedure, you can already register in the BRP. You have to go to the municipality where you live. You will only be registered as stateless if you can prove that you have do not have citizenship for any country. You have to be able to prove this with documents. If you cannot prove that you do not have citizenship for any country, you can still register in the BRP, but your name will be shown as 'nationaliteit onbekend' (citizenship unknown).
Sometimes a temporary residence permit is enough to allow you to become a Dutch citizen
One of the conditions for becoming a Dutch citizen is that you must first have a permanent residence permit. There are a number of exceptions to this. Except for statelessness, you can also become a Dutch citizen with a temporary asylum residence permit:
If you become a Dutch citizen as a child together with your parent(s). You do not need to have a permanent asylum permit. You may have a temporary asylum permit. If you are 16 or 17, you must have had that permit for 3 consecutive years. The parent(s) with whom you become a Dutch citizen must have a permanent asylum permit.
Did you come to the Netherlands via post-travel (family reunification)? And does your partner have a permanent asylum permit? If so, you can become a Dutch citizen even if you have a temporary asylum permit. In that case, you must continue to meet all the other conditions.
Sometimes you do not have to pass the civic integration exam to become a Dutch citizen
One of the conditions for becoming a Dutch citizen is that you have passed the civic integration diploma. In some cases, this is not required. These are the exceptions:
Sometimes you can get an exemption for your civic integration. This means that you do not have to take the civic integration exam. This is possible, for example, if you can show that you can already sufficiently read, write, speak and understand Dutch.
Sometimes you can also get an exemption. That means you do not have to pass the civic integration exam. Or not all the sub-exams for it. This is possible, for example, if you are unable to pass the civic integration exam within 5 years for medical reasons. Or because you cannot do it, but you can show that you tried very hard.