1.3 million people in the Netherlands hold dual citizenship

A total of 1.3 million Dutch residents hold more than one nationality, as the most recent survey conducted by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on 1 January 2014 shows. Since then, non-Dutch nationalities are no longer registered.

1.3 million Dutch citizens hold more than one nationality simultaneously

On 1 January last year, 1.3 million Dutch citizens held one or more other nationalities, an increase by 3 percent, just as in the preceding years. One-quarter also had a Moroccan passport and another one-quarter had a Turkish passport. The other half includes a wide range of nationalities. This is the most recent figure on dual nationalities available. Since the new act on Basic Registration of Persons (BRP) was introduced, second nationalities of Dutch residents are no longer registered.

Marginal increase naturalisation procedures

Last year, 27 thousand people acquired the Dutch nationality, more than on average over the past years. Since the introduction of the naturalisation test in 2003, approximately 20 thousand people annually become Dutch citizens. Although the number of naturalisation procedures varies from one year to the next, it has marginally risen since 2011. Persons who acquired the Dutch nationality in 2014 came from very different backgrounds. With 2.6 thousand, the Moroccan nationality was most common, followed by the Turkish, Iraqi, former Soviet Union and Afghan nationalities, each nationality accounting for one thousand to fifteen hundred individuals.

Native country, age and family situation important factors

A selection of immigrants who arrived in the Netherlands between 1995 and 2002 was surveyed in more detail. It turns out that more than half of immigrants who became Dutch citizens came from economically underdeveloped countries and/or countries where the political situation is unstable. If the political situation in the country of birth is stable and the economy is well-developed, less than ten percent are interested in adopting the Dutch nationality. The family situation is also an important factor: 42 percent of migrants with a native Dutch partner adopted the Dutch nationality, versus one-quarter of single migrants or migrants with a non-Dutch partner. The number of naturalisations is lower among older migrants.