News item | 26-09-2025 | 15:45
The cabinet is planning to extend the minimum duration of stay for obtaining Dutch nationality to 10 years through naturalization. This means that from now on someone must live in the kingdom for 10 years and must be established before someone can qualify for naturalization. The Council of Ministers agreed to consult this bill by State Secretary Rutte of Justice and Security. With this, the government is implementing agreements from the government program.
At the moment, after 5 years of legal residence in the Kingdom, people can submit a naturalization request. This bill extends this period to 10 years. The government expects this extension to ensure that Dutch nationality is granted to people who have actually built up a sustainable bond with the Netherlands or one of the other countries of the Kingdom. For example, there is more time to fully participate in society before the Dutch nationality is granted.
State Secretary Rutte: “By extending the naturalization period from 5 to 10 years, we ensure that people have a stronger bond with our kingdom and are really well established and can fully participate in society before they become Dutch.”
Consultation
The bill is now first for advice in (internet) consultation for a period of 2 months. Everyone can respond to this. The reactions are used to further improve the bill before it is submitted to the Council of State for advice and then offered to the Lower House.