Applying for Dutch citizenship by naturalisation in the Netherlands

Do you want to apply for the Netherlands (Dutch) nationality? One of the ways is to apply for naturalisatie (naturalisation). You can hand in your application via your municipality.

Usually one of the conditions is that you have been legally living in the Netherlands for at least 5 years. Read all conditions of naturalisation on the website of the Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst – IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Service).

In some cases there are exemptions to the condition of 5 years of legal residence.

The municipaity will send the application to the IND. The decision will be made by the IND.

The decision-making process takes a maximum of 12 months. You can track the progress of your application on the Mijn IND online portal.

This is how it works for you

Your (future) place of residence falls under:

Municipality of Nijmegen

Here is some information from your municipality.

Becoming a Dutch citizen

Please note: you can only apply for Dutch citizenship by naturalisation if you live in the Netherlands and are registered with a municipality.

Valid passport.
Valid verblijfsvergunning (residence permit) from the Netherlands.
You have passed the civic integration exam. Or you have been exempted from the civic integration exam, on the grounds that you can already read, write, speak and understand Dutch to a sufficient level.
You have graduated from a Dutch, Belgian or Surinam secondary school.

If you meet the conditions, you can make an appointment for your naturalisation application. Please call +31 24 329 90 00 to make an appointment.

How it works

During the first appointment, the municipality will check whether you meet all the conditions for naturalisation. And whether you have all the documents to become a Dutch national. If so, we will schedule a follow-up appointment with you. If not, you must first arrange the documents you need.
During the 2nd naturalization appointment at the municipality, you fill in the declarations to become a Dutch national. After this appointment, we will send your application to the IND.
The IND will decide within 12 months at the latest. After the decision has been made, the IND will inform us of the decision within 12 weeks. Please note: has the last date on which the IND may decide on your application not yet passed? Then the IND is still working on your application and we cannot give you more information.
If the IND has decided that you may become a Dutch national, we will send you a letter with the statement that you must sign and return.
At the moment, the naturalization ceremony is still by post. The municipality will ensure that the declaration of solidarity can soon be taken orally. You will be notified about this.

Good to know:

During the 1st appointment it may turn out that your data is not yet complete in the Basisregistratie Personen - BRP (Personal Records Database). This must first be arranged before we can proceed with your application for naturalisation. Completing your data in the BRP takes about 8 weeks after you have submitted the correct documents.

Costs are listed on Ind.nl/en.