Professor hopes new Dutch government follows through on nationality law reform

AMSTERDAM--Professor Emeritus H.U. Jessurun d’Oliveira is urging the new Dutch government to deliver real, practical reforms to nationality law, saying it is “high time” to address rules that can cause Dutch citizens living abroad to lose their nationality automatically, often without realizing it until they apply for a passport or otherwise engage Dutch authorities.

In a public analysis published February 20, 2026, d’Oliveira points to the coalition agreement, which includes a pledge to modernize nationality law so Dutch people abroad do not lose their nationality “any faster” than citizens of neighboring countries such as Germany, Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom. He argues that the Netherlands’ core problem is not speed, but the country’s strict reliance on automatic loss by operation of law, a system he says has created years of uncertainty and hardship for long-term Dutch citizens abroad who also hold a second nationality.

“Modernization,” d’Oliveira suggests, should mean making the law more humane and more consistent with how citizenship is treated in comparable European jurisdictions, while maintaining safeguards against statelessness. The new Dutch government, led by Rob Jetten, will be sworn in on Monday.

D’Oliveira’s criticism focuses on the automatic loss provision affecting dual nationals living abroad. Under existing rules, Dutch citizens who also have another nationality may lose Dutch citizenship automatically if they do not apply for and receive a new passport or other qualifying Dutch identity document within the required time period.

He emphasizes that the impact is often felt at the worst possible moment. Many affected individuals only learn they are no longer Dutch citizens when they attempt to renew documents at a consulate, register a child, travel, relocate, or seek other services that require proof of nationality. For those individuals, the discovery can bring immediate consequences, including travel complications, family and residency concerns, and loss of rights connected to Dutch citizenship.

D’Oliveira notes that this provision has been controversial for years, and has prompted public debate and legal scrutiny, without producing relief on the scale many affected citizens expected.

D’Oliveira also points to the 2019 ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Tjebbes case. In that decision, the Court held that EU law does not automatically block national rules that lead to the loss of nationality and, as a result, EU citizenship, in situations where a person no longer has a “real link” with their country of nationality. However, the Court also stated that the principle of proportionality requires a case-by-case review of the consequences of losing nationality, particularly as it affects rights deriving from EU law.

In practice, d’Oliveira argues, this proportionality protection has limited value for Dutch citizens living outside the EU, because the rights most directly affected by EU citizenship are exercised primarily within the European Union.

Neighboring countries place more control in the hands of the citizen

A central element of d’Oliveira’s argument is that the Netherlands stands out because of the automatic nature of its rule. He says that in most neighboring systems, loss of nationality is not triggered automatically in the same way, and instead involves either voluntary renunciation or a clearer opportunity for the citizen to prevent loss.

He points, for example, to France and the United Kingdom, where loss of nationality is generally tied to renunciation rather than an automatic time-based cutoff. He also highlights the differences in Belgium and Germany, but argues that across these systems, a common theme is that the decision to end citizenship is placed more squarely with the individual.

In d’Oliveira’s view, that is the standard the Netherlands should move toward if it is serious about modernization.

Proposed reform: delete the automatic loss clause and create a fair transitional arrangement

D’Oliveira says the most direct solution is to remove the automatic loss provision from Dutch law. He notes that the right to renounce Dutch nationality already exists, which means the law can rely more on voluntary renunciation rather than automatic loss.

He also stresses the need for a transitional arrangement, so that people who have already lost Dutch citizenship under the automatic system can regain it more easily upon request. Without such a provision, he argues, reform would help future cases but leave past victims of the rule without a workable remedy.

He adds that any modernization must continue to avoid statelessness, meaning renunciation should only occur where the person has or will retain another nationality.

A second coalition position raises concern: renunciation for newcomers

While d’Oliveira welcomes the coalition’s stated intention to ease the “hard” rule affecting Dutch citizens abroad, he criticizes a separate coalition position that reaffirms the requirement for many naturalizing newcomers to renounce their other nationality.

He argues that this is not modernization, but a continuation of an older political fight against dual nationality. In his view, the Netherlands risks moving in two directions at the same time, easing loss for Dutch citizens abroad while maintaining restrictions that discourage multiple nationality for newcomers.

That, he says, creates an internal inconsistency in policy. Easing the automatic loss provision would likely result in more Dutch citizens holding multiple nationalities, while requiring newcomers to renounce their original nationality pushes in the opposite direction.

Upcoming parliamentary debate could clarify the direction of reform

D’Oliveira points to a private member’s bill scheduled for debate in the House of Representatives from March 24 to 26, 2026. The proposal, submitted previously by D66 and the Labour Party (PvdA), seeks to take multiple nationality as a general starting point and remove the renunciation requirement. He describes that approach as a more genuine form of modernization.

He says the debate will provide a clearer picture of how Parliament’s more progressive proposals compare with the government’s stated intentions, and whether lawmakers will pursue a consistent approach to nationality reform.

D’Oliveira also raises a further question he believes lawmakers must address: if the government loosens rules that affect Dutch citizens abroad who already hold another nationality, will it also reconsider rules that affect Dutch citizens who want to acquire another nationality? He suggests that a coherent reform agenda should address both sides of the same issue.

𝘏.𝘜. 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘥’𝘖𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘮𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.

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