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 Steenwijkerland

Here is some information from your municipality.

Apply for Dutch citizenship by naturalisation

Have you lived in the Netherlands for more than 5 years, in the countries of Curaçao, Sint Maarten or Aruba, or the municipalities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba and do you not have Dutch nationality? Then you can have yourself naturalized as a Dutch citizen. From that moment on you also have the same rights and obligations as a Dutch person.

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

If you want to obtain Dutch nationality, you must meet certain conditions. You can see which these are on the website of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND).

On the website of the municipality you can find what you need for an application and what you need to bring to an appointment.

If you meet the conditions, you can make an appointment for your naturalisation application.

You pay a fee for this service. For more information, contact the municipality.

The municipality assesses whether you meet all conditions for naturalisation and provides the Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst – IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Service) with advice. The municipality sends your file to the IND.
The IND checks whether you meet all conditions and takes a decision. The IND must take a decision within 12 months. If you have any questions about the application in the meantime, you can contact the IND.
You officially become a Dutch citizen only after the naturalisation ceremony.
You can apply for a Dutch travel document 1 week after the naturalisation ceremony.