Netherlands Announces How Many Years Foreign Spouses Must Live in Country to Get Citizenship
- The Netherlands has set out the conditions under which foreign spouses of Dutch nationals can apply for naturalisation after just 3 years
- Foreign partners must have lived continuously in the Netherlands with a valid residence permit throughout the qualifying period
- The Dutch government also outlined rules for couples who lived together outside the Netherlands before applying
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The Netherlands has clarified the conditions under which foreign nationals married to or partnered with Dutch citizens can qualify for citizenship in as few as three years, well below the standard five-year requirement.
According to the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), a foreign national may apply for naturalisation after three continuous years in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, provided they held a valid residence permit or valid residency under EU law throughout that entire period.
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Netherlands citizenship: Residency rule for foreign spouses
To be eligible, the applicant must have been living together with the same Dutch partner for those three consecutive years, whether as a married couple, registered partners, or cohabiting partners. The relationship must still be active at the time of application and must remain so throughout the entire naturalisation process.
The Dutch partner is required to hold Dutch nationality at the moment the application is submitted, though they do not need to have been a Dutch national for the full three years prior. Notably, if the Dutch partner passes away during the naturalisation procedure, the foreign national may still go on to obtain Dutch citizenship.
The IND also confirmed that time spent living together before a formal marriage or registered partnership can count towards the three-year period, as long as the couple was already residing together in the Netherlands. This means couples who cohabited before making their union official are not disadvantaged by the timeline of when they formalised their relationship.
Citizenship: Time spent outside Netherlands also count
For couples who lived together outside the Netherlands before relocating, that period abroad may also be counted towards the three-year requirement. This provision applies where the foreign national was already in a marriage or registered partnership with the same Dutch partner while living in another country.
The same principle covers unmarried couples who lived together outside the Kingdom before moving in together in the Netherlands, as long as the relationship has remained consistent throughout.
These rules apply across the full Kingdom of the Netherlands, which includes the Caribbean territories of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba, in addition to the European Netherlands.
The clarification is particularly relevant for Nigerians and other Africans married to Dutch nationals or residing in the Netherlands, as it outlines a faster pathway to citizenship than the standard naturalisation route.
Legit.ng has also published residency years for foreigners who want to become Qatari citizens.
Citizenship: Australia mentions residency years for foreigners
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Australia's Department of Home Affairs outlined the residence requirement foreigners must meet before applying for citizenship.
Applicants must have lived in Australia on a valid visa for a number of years before the date they apply for citizenship.
The rules also specify how much time applicants are allowed to have spent outside Australia during that period.
Source: Legit.ng
