Explanation

As a Brit you do not need a residence permit (at the moment of writing). With your registration in the Personal Records Database (BRP), you can prove that you have had main residence uninterruptedly in the Netherlands for 5 years. You have had legal residence ("toelating") during these 5 years if:

(a) you were employed or self-employed in the Netherlands, or

(b) you have had sufficient resources not to become a burden on the social assistance system of the Netherlands and you had a comprehensive health insurance cover, or

c) you were enrolled as a student with a recognized private or public educational institution accredited or financed by the Dutch government, and you have had sufficient resources not to become a burden on the social assistance system of the Netherlands and you had a comprehensive health insurance cover.

A naturalisation procedure can take 12 months. In the period in which your application is decided, you must continue to meet the conditions of legal residence and main residence. You must therefore remain registered in the BRP and have legal residence throughout the naturalisation procedure. On 31 January 2020, the UK officially left the EU with a deal. The Withdrawal Agreement entered into force on 1 February 2020. There will be a transition period until 31 December 2020. During this period, EU law will still apply to matters concerning UK citizen’s rights. You will keep your right of residence during the transition period, provided you continue to meet the above conditions under a, b or c. When you acquire a permanent right of residence, this right of residence will no longer be subject to the requirement that you have to meet one of the conditions under a, b or c.

The draft withdrawal agreement does not yet reveal whether you and your family members must be in possession of a residence permit after Brexit/ after the end of the transition period with which you can prove your right of residence.

Note: No final withdrawal agreement has been concluded yet. If a 'hard Brexit' occurs, in the worst case, you and your family members will no longer be treated as EU citizens, and after Brexit you will have to apply for a regular residence permit on national grounds.

Explanation

You have passed the civic integration exam. You may also be exempted from the civic integration exam (for example, because you obtained the NT-2 diploma, 'State Examination Dutch as a Second Language,' or for medical reasons).

If you submit the application for naturalisation from abroad (see 'exceptions to 5-year term legal residence and main residence’) you must take the 'naturalisation test abroad' exam at a Dutch representation abroad. However, you can also choose to take the civic integration examination in the Netherlands.

Explanation

You do not endanger public order, good morals, or the safety of the Netherlands. In the 5 years prior to your application, you have not received a prison sentence, training or community service order or paid or had to pay a large fine (€ 810 or higher, or multiple fines of € 405 or higher with a total amount of € 1,215 or higher) for a crime either in the Netherlands or abroad. You should also not have an open criminal case against you.

You also have a right of residence that is non-temporary and you have legal residence (or "toelating") in the Netherlands, see the explanation under '5 years of uninterrupted legal residence and main residence'.

If you submit the application for naturalisation from abroad (see 'exceptions to 5-year term of legal residence and main residence'), it will be determined ex officio whether you, as Brit, could qualify for a right of residence in the Netherlands of a non-temporary nature, if you requested. This is called a 'fictieve test' (fictional test ).

Explanation

You hereby declare that you are aware that the laws of the Netherlands also apply to you. The statement is made in person. You are obligated to participate in the naturalisation ceremony.

Explanation

You do not automatically lose UK nationality if you become a Dutch national, but you are obliged to do everything possible to give up this nationality after your naturalisation, unless this cannot reasonably be required. You will have to provide a statement from the British authorities stating that you have renounced your British nationality. If it becomes clear that you have not done everything possible to give up your British nationality, the decision granting your Dutch citizenship can be withdrawn; in a legal sense, you have never been a Dutch citizen.

Explanation

To invoke this provision, you must not only prove with a marriage certificate / deed of registered partnership that you have been married to / have a registered partnership with the same Dutch citizen for at least 3 years, but also that you have lived together continuously with this Dutch citizen. You must also have had legal residence ("toelating", see the explanation under '5 years of uninterrupted legal residence and main residence') during this period. You can demonstrate uninterrupted cohabitation by means of proof of address registration. If you were registered together for three years at the same address and you can prove this with evidence (for example a BRP extract), then the IND will - in principle - assume uninterrupted cohabitation.

In many cases, however, the situation is more complicated. In some countries (such as the UK) there is no official system of address registration or there can be so-called 'interruptions' in the cohabitation, for example because, for practical reasons, one partner has registered at the address in question earlier than the other partner. In such cases, it must be demonstrated with objective evidence that in the period in question, there was indeed continuous cohabitation.

You can submit the naturalisation request in the Netherlands or abroad. If you want to submit the naturalisation request in the Netherlands, you must do so at the municipality where you are registered. Would you like to submit the naturalisation request abroad? Then you can only do this if you have your main residence in the country of which you do not hold the nationality. As a Brit you can therefore not be naturalised from Great Britain, but you can be naturalised from, for example, Spain or South Africa. You must have a valid right of residence, i.e. valid residence permit in this country.

Please note: Not only must you satisfy the condition of marriage/registered partnership and continuous cohabitation at the time the naturalisation request is submitted, but also during the naturalisation procedure. If the marriage/registered partnership is dissolved or the cohabitation ends, then this is a reason to reject your naturalisation request.

Explanation

Also, if you are in a durable relationship with the same unmarried Dutch citizen and have lived together uninterruptedly with this partner for at least 3 consecutive years in the Netherlands (unmarried cohabitation abroad does not count) and had legal residence ("toelating", see the explanation under '5 years of uninterrupted legal residence and main residence') during this period, you can submit a naturalisation request. In this case, the uninterrupted cohabitation is relatively easy to demonstrate with a BRP extract that shows that you have been registered as a couple for three years at the same address.

Note: Not only do you have to meet the condition of uninterrupted cohabitation at the time the naturalisation request is submitted, but also during the naturalisation procedure. If you terminate your relationship early and are no longer registered at the same address in the BRP, this is a reason to reject your naturalisation request.

Explanation

If you have had 10 years of legal residence and main residence in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten or Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba), of which the last 2 years have been uninterruptedly in the Netherlands, you can submit a naturalisation request. This exception is particularly relevant for those who have temporarily interrupted their main residence in the Kingdom or did not have a continuous period of legal residence ('toelating') during the period in which they had main residence in the Kingdom.

Please note that during the naturalisation procedure you must meet the condition of uninterrupted admission and principal residence in the Netherlands.

Of course, you must also comply with the other naturalisation conditions, as set out above.

Are you a former Dutch national or recognized, legitimized, or adopted by a Dutch citizen? Then the 5-year term (probably) does not apply to you either.

Explanation

With your partner's Dutch passport and the marriage certificate / deed of registered partnership, you can demonstrate that you comply with this exemption provision.

Please note: Those who have a durable relationship with a Dutch national and are not married or have not entered a registered partnership are obliged to renounce their original nationality.