Policy change announced regarding naturalization of RANOV permit holders

On April 20th, a majority of the Dutch Parliament once again voted in favor of a motion to exempt RANOV permit holders from the requirement to provide a passport and birth certificate when filing a naturalization request. The government was asked to implement this motion without waiting for the research of the Research and Documentation Center (WODC).

State Secretary Broekers-Knol announced in a letter to the Parliament on April 26th that she will partially implement this motion. As of June 1st, 2021, RANOV permit holders who received a RANOV permit as a minor together with their parent(s) or independently, and who meet the other conditions for naturalization, will be exempted from:
a. providing a valid foreign passport (or otherwise proof of current possession of a foreign nationality);
b. providing a (foreign) birth certificate/ birth registration certificate; and
c. only in the case of naturalization: the obligation to renounce their original nationality.
The above applies to the naturalization procedure and the option procedure.

For the RANOV permit holders who received a residence permit as adults, the State Secretary wants to wait for the research results of the WODC before making any changes to the current policy. The State Secretary responded to Parliamentary questions posed by member Voordewind (ChristenUnie) that she considers this research necessary “to have an updated picture of the problems that RANOV permit holders face regarding naturalization.” The research results will be available in the summer of 2021.

Everaert Advocaten will continue the ‘naturalization without papers’ project to urge the Dutch authorities to also amend the current policy as soon as possible for RANOV permit holders who were adults when they came to the Netherlands. You can find more information about our project here.
Did you receive a RANOV permit as a minor and do you have questions about what this motion means for you personally? If so, please contact us.