How to Become a Dutch Citizen: Pathways, Costs, and Exam

There are three ways to become a Dutch citizen: naturalization after five years of legal residency, the option procedure if you fit a narrow set of categories, or automatic acquisition at birth or adoption through a Dutch parent. Which route applies to you depends less on choice than on fit. Fees run from €27 for a child added to a parent’s option application to €1,139 for a single adult naturalization, and the process ends with a ceremony you have to attend in person.¹

Naturalization: The Standard Route

Most foreign nationals become Dutch through naturalization. You qualify if you are 18 or older, have lived in the Netherlands for at least five consecutive years on a valid residence permit (renewed on time), can prove your identity and nationality, have passed the civic integration exam or hold an exemption, have no serious recent criminal record, and are willing to renounce your current nationality unless an exception applies.²

The five-year residency requirement drops to three years if you are married to or in a registered partnership with a Dutch citizen. You and your partner must have been living together in the Netherlands for those three consecutive years when you apply, and you have to stay together throughout processing. Time you lived together before the marriage or partnership counts, and so does time you lived together abroad as a couple.³

On the good-conduct requirement, the IND looks at the five years before your application and the period during processing. Any prison sentence in that window (conditional or unconditional), a single fine of €900 or more, community service of 36 hours or more from a single conviction, or an open criminal case at the time you apply can block approval. Smaller infractions usually will not.⁴

The Civic Integration Exam

For naturalization you need to show you speak Dutch and understand Dutch society. The civic integration exam (inburgeringsexamen) tests reading, listening, writing, speaking, and knowledge of Dutch society at the A2 language level.⁵

You are exempt if you lived in the Netherlands for at least eight years during the ages when school attendance is compulsory, roughly ages five through sixteen.⁶ Certain Dutch educational diplomas also exempt you. The option procedure does not require the exam at all.

The Option Procedure: A Faster Path if You Qualify

The option procedure is cheaper, decided in about three months, and skips the integration exam. But it is only open to people in specific categories.⁷ The main ones:

You were born in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, have lived there continuously since birth, hold a valid residence permit, and have reached the age of majority.
You previously held Dutch nationality and have been living in the Netherlands for at least one year on a valid residence permit.
You are 65 or older and have lived in the Netherlands for at least 15 consecutive years on a valid residence permit.
You have lived in the Netherlands for at least 15 consecutive years on a valid residence permit and have been married to or in a registered partnership with a Dutch citizen for at least three years.

One detail catches applicants off guard: if you qualify because you have lived in the Kingdom since your fourth birthday, you must give up your other nationality. For the other option categories, renunciation is generally not required.⁷

Citizenship Through a Dutch Parent or Adoption

Dutch nationality passes automatically from parent to child in most family situations, with no application needed. For children born on or after January 1, 1985, a child is automatically Dutch if the mother is a Dutch citizen at birth, regardless of where the birth takes place. A child is also automatically Dutch if the Dutch father is married to or in a registered partnership with the non-Dutch mother at birth, or if an unmarried Dutch father acknowledged paternity before birth.⁸

If an unmarried Dutch father acknowledges paternity after the birth, the child does not automatically become Dutch and the family needs to pursue the option procedure or another route.

Adopted children acquire Dutch nationality automatically only when all of the following are true: the child is under 18, at least one adoptive parent is Dutch, the adoption followed the Hague Adoption Convention or the relevant provisions of the Dutch Civil Code, and legal ties with the biological parents have been fully severed.⁹ Otherwise the child may still qualify through naturalization or the option procedure.

How to Apply

You apply in person at the town hall (gemeente) in the municipality where you live. Book an appointment and bring your valid passport or travel document, your birth certificate, your valid residence permit, and, for naturalization, proof that you passed the civic integration exam.²

Foreign official documents such as your birth certificate and any marriage certificate have to be legalized for use in the Netherlands and translated into Dutch. Legalization usually means an apostille or authentication through the appropriate authorities in the issuing country.¹⁰

The municipality forwards your file to the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), which makes the decision. Naturalization decisions have a 12-month timeline. Option procedure decisions are typically issued within three months.¹¹

What It Costs

Fees are paid at submission and are non-refundable, even if the application is denied:¹²

Naturalization, single person: €1,139
Naturalization, joint application with partner: €1,454
Child under 18 added to a parent’s naturalization: €168
Option procedure, single person: €241
Option procedure, with partner: €412
Child under 18 added to a parent’s option procedure: €27

The Ceremony and a One-Year Deadline

Approval is not the finish line. You are not Dutch until you attend a naturalization ceremony and recite the Declaration of Solidarity (Verklaring van verbondenheid) in Dutch, pledging to respect the laws and values of the Netherlands. Attendance is mandatory for anyone aged 16 or older, including 16- and 17-year-olds naturalizing with a parent.¹³

You must attend the ceremony within one year of the decision date. Miss the deadline and the approval expires; you start the whole application over and pay the fees again.¹⁴

Renunciation and Dual Nationality

The Netherlands generally tries to limit dual nationality. If you naturalize, you sign a declaration at application agreeing to give up your previous citizenship after you become Dutch.¹⁵

You do not have to renounce if:

You are married to or in a registered partnership with a Dutch citizen when the Royal Decree granting citizenship is signed.
You hold a residence permit for asylum (refugee status).
Your country’s laws do not allow renunciation, or the country refuses to process the request.
You are under 18 and naturalizing with a parent.

Case-by-case exemptions also exist where renunciation would cause severe consequences, such as paying a large sum to your home country, losing inheritance rights, or being forced into military service before renunciation goes through.¹⁵

How You Can Lose Dutch Citizenship Later

Becoming Dutch is not necessarily permanent. Two situations trip people up.

If you voluntarily acquire another nationality after becoming Dutch, you generally lose Dutch citizenship automatically. There are three exceptions: you were born in that other country and it was your main country of residence when you acquired its citizenship, you lived there for at least five continuous years as a minor, or you acquired your spouse’s or partner’s nationality.¹⁶

If you hold dual nationality and live outside the EU, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten for 13 consecutive years, you lose Dutch nationality unless you renew your Dutch passport or identity card within that window. The clock runs from the issue date of your last passport or ID. One trap: if you apply for renewal in time but the new document’s issue date falls after the 13-year mark, you still lose your nationality.¹⁷ For children with dual nationality living outside the EU, the 13-year clock does not start until the child turns 18. Dutch government employees are exempt from the rule entirely.

A Note for U.S. Citizens

The United States does not require its citizens to renounce when they take another nationality, and the Netherlands recognizes this by not requiring Americans to give up U.S. citizenship in order to naturalize. Most Americans who become Dutch end up with both passports.

If you do decide to formally renounce U.S. citizenship, the financial side matters. As of April 13, 2026, the U.S. State Department charges $450 to process a Certificate of Loss of Nationality, down from $2,350.¹⁸ More significantly, the U.S. imposes an exit tax on “covered expatriates” who meet any of three criteria: net worth of $2 million or more, average annual U.S. tax liability over the preceding five years above roughly $211,000, or failure to certify five years of tax compliance. Covered expatriates are treated as if they sold all worldwide assets the day before expatriation, and unrealized gains above an exclusion amount (around $910,000 for 2026) are taxed even though nothing was sold. Talk to a cross-border tax adviser well before you file anything.

1
Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Advantages and Disadvantages of Becoming a Dutch Citizen
2
Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Becoming a Dutch National Through Naturalisation
3
Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Exceptions to the 5-Year Term for Naturalisation in the Netherlands
4
Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Public Order Policy Naturalisation and Option
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DUO Inburgeren. Taking the Integration Exam
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Government of the Netherlands. Do I Have to Comply with Dutch Civic Integration Requirements
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Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Becoming a Dutch National Through Option
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Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Dutch Citizen by Birth, Acknowledgment or Adoption
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NetherlandsWorldwide. Becoming a Dutch National by Birth, Acknowledgement or Adoption
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Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Translation and Legalisation of Documents
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Government of the Netherlands. Becoming a Dutch Citizen
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Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Fees: Costs of an Application
13
Government of the Netherlands. What Happens at a Naturalisation Ceremony in the Netherlands
14
NetherlandsWorldwide. What Is the Naturalisation Ceremony
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Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Renouncing Your Nationality
16
Government of the Netherlands. Automatic Loss of Dutch Citizenship
17
NetherlandsWorldwide. When Do I Lose My Dutch Nationality
18
Federal Register. Schedule of Fees for Consular Services – Fee for Administrative Processing of Request for Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States