Reclaiming EU citizenship for British citizens

Are you British, living in the UK or in an EU country, and was one of your parents Dutch when you were born? Then, you might want to explore your Dutch citizenship position. In this article, we outline two scenarios of possible Dutch citizenship by ancestry.

Scenario 1: Born before 1 January 1985 to a Dutch mother and non-Dutch father

You were born before 1 January 1985. Your mother was Dutch when you were born. She was married to your father who was a British citizen, or in any case not Dutch.

You might be what we call a ‘latent Dutch citizen’.  If this is your situation, then you are eligible to become Dutch through a so-called option procedure. You will need to prove the facts with the relevant documents and certificates. If you can do this, you can successfully claim Dutch citizenship while you are allowed to keep your British – and/or other – citizenship(s). There is no integration or language test requirement. You can go through this option procedure from within the UK which usually takes around three months.

Once you have successfully obtained a Dutch passport and have become an EU citizen again, your children are eligible as well. They can go through a similar option procedure if they can prove with proper documents and certificates that they are your children. The children do not have to be underage. They also do not need to pass any language or integration tests. Their process will take around three months as well. Once processed, they will add the Dutch, EU, citizenship to their British citizenship.

Scenario 2: Born in the UK to two Dutch parents or a married Dutch father

You were born in the UK to two Dutch parents or to a Dutch father who was married to your mother when you were born. By birth, you obtained British and Dutch citizenship. You have always had a British passport and never a Dutch one. Additionally, you did not obtain any other citizenship during your life. Furthermore, until the age of 18, your parents did not lose their Dutch nationality.

Depending on your date of birth and your whereabouts, you could still be Dutch and therefore an EU citizen with a rightful claim to a Dutch passport. What needs to be investigated is whether you were still Dutch and living in the UK or in the EU on the date of Brexit: 1 February 2020. If this is the case, then you will most probably still be Dutch. This is because since 1 April 2003 a Dutch citizen, with dual citizenship, cannot lose Dutch citizenship as long as they live in the EU. For British-Dutch citizens living in the UK, this means that only since Brexit they no longer live in the EU and can therefore lose Dutch citizenship not sooner than 1 February 2033.

If one of these scenarios is applicable to you, please get in touch with us. You can complete our Dutch citizenship check or fill out our contact form below. Our experts are happy to assist you in claiming back your EU citizenship.