Dutch passport in case of a faulty acknowledgement of paternity

_{By Maggie Bisschop en Vera Kidjan}

Father’s Day just passed on June 21st. The day to thank all fathers who give everything to provide their children with the best life possible. Fathers like Cees. Cees is a Dutch national. He lives in Kenya with his Kenyan girlfriend, Amina. Together, they have a 13 year old son, Asher. Asher was born in 2013 in Belgium. At that time, Cees immediately acknowledged him as his child before the Belgian authorities. After residing in Kenya for several years, Cees and Amina decide to move to the Netherlands to provide Asher with more opportunities. As Asher is his son, Cees believes Asher was born with Dutch citizenship. Therefore, he submits a Dutch passport application for Asher with the Dutch embassy, using the Belgian acknowledgement of paternity.

To Cees’ surprise, the Dutch embassy refuses to process Asher’s passport application. The embassy states the Belgian acknowledgment of paternity is null and void. In 2013, Cees was still wrapped in a complicated divorce proceeding with his first wife, Thalia. So, when he acknowledged Asher, he was still officially married to Thalia. Before 1 April 2014, Dutch law did not allow a father who was married to another woman to acknowledge a child born out of wedlock without a court order. Cees had not requested this court order.

Because of this complication, Cees decides to first apply for family reunification for Amina and Asher. Within 90 days, Amina and Asher receive permission from the IND to pick up a provisional residence permit (mvv) at the Dutch embassy in Nairobi. With this, they travel to the Netherlands with Cees. After their arrival, Amina and Asher pick up their residence permits. The family starts their new life in Amsterdam. But the rejection of Asher’s passport application continues to weigh on Cees’ mind. After all, isn’t his son Dutch? How can he make sure Asher gets a Dutch passport?

Option A: Confirmation of Close Personal Ties

The previous acknowledgment of paternity was declared null and void, because Cees should have sought the court’s permission before acknowledging paternity. This faulty acknowledgment can still be remedied through a declaratory judgement by the Amsterdam District Court confirming the close personal ties. For this, Cees must provide sufficient evidence of his close relationship with Asher. If successful, Asher will obtain Dutch citizenship retroactively from the date of acknowledgment in 2013.

Option B: Renew acknowledgement of paternity

Cees can renew the acknowledgement of paternity with the Dutch authorities. However, he must prove his biological paternity within one year of the acknowledgement with a DNA test from Verilabs. With the new certificate of acknowledgement and the test results, Cees can apply for a Dutch passport for Asher. Asher will then become a Dutch citizen as of the date of the new acknowledgement of paternity.

As Cees and Amina don’t want to go through legal proceedings, Cees decides to renew the acknowledgement of paternity. After the DNA test, he makes an appointment with the municipality of Amsterdam for this. Together with Amina and Asher, he visits the city office. Since Asher is now 13 years old, both Asher and Amina must give their consent for the acknowledgment of paternity. Afterwards, Cees successfully applies for a Dutch passport for Asher at the municipality. He is relieved he was able to ensure his son has the same rights as any other Dutch citizen. Asher quickly makes new friends and is happy in Amsterdam. What more could a father want?

Consultation

Do you have questions regarding any of these proceedings or are you wondering which proceeding might be suitable in your case? Feel free to contact us. We would happily go over your specific situation and provide you with tailored advice.  

This story is an example based on our practice. Names and some of the facts have been altered for this blog.