WILLEMSTAD – The Dutch government wants to double the minimum residency requirement for naturalization from five to ten consecutive years of legal residence within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The proposal, put forward by State Secretary for Justice and Security Arno Rutte (VVD), was approved by the Council of Ministers on Friday to be released for public consultation.

The measure would apply across the entire Kingdom, meaning not only the European Netherlands but also Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten, and the special municipalities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba.

In addition to the longer residency period, applicants would still need to demonstrate sufficient integration into Dutch society. According to the government, the extension aims to ensure that Dutch nationality is granted only to people who have built a genuine and lasting bond with the Kingdom.

“By extending the naturalization period from five to ten years, we make sure that people have a stronger connection to our Kingdom and are truly well integrated before becoming Dutch citizens,” said State Secretary Rutte.

The draft law will now enter a two-month public consultation phase, during which anyone can provide feedback. The collected responses will be considered before the proposal is submitted to the Council of State and subsequently debated in the Tweede Kamer (Dutch House of Representatives).