WILLEMSTAD – The situation of people who lost their Dutch nationality as minors was discussed during the September Four-Country Justice Consultation (JVO) at Curaçao’s request, despite the issue not appearing in the subsequent written report sent to the Curaçao Parliament.
The Curaçao Ministry of Justice confirmed that the subject was again on the agenda of the September 3 consultation and that discussions with the Netherlands continued afterward.
Four justice ministers in the Kingdom; Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands and Sint Maarten
The omission is notable because the official reporting on the September JVO addressed several major justice-related subjects, including juvenile crime, organized and undermining crime, drug trafficking and capacity within the justice system.
The nationality issue, however, was not mentioned.
Curaçao first formally brought the matter before the four Kingdom countries during the JVO in Sint Maarten in January 2026.
The issue concerns people who, while still minors, lost their Dutch nationality because of decisions or actions involving their parents. Curaçao argued that these individuals should not continue to face serious consequences stemming from circumstances over which they had little or no control.
During the January meeting, Curaçao presented several possible approaches, after which Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten and the Netherlands agreed to continue searching jointly for a solution.
That process continued during the September meeting.
According to Curaçao’s Justice Ministry, further talks were held with the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security approximately two weeks after the JVO. Part of the process involves establishing how many people may be affected and what forms the problem takes in the other Kingdom countries.
Curaçao has meanwhile gone a step further by presenting a specific proposed solution.
The details have not been made public because the Netherlands, Aruba and Sint Maarten have yet to formally respond. It therefore remains unclear what legal mechanism Curaçao wants to use to resolve the nationality problem.
The Netherlands must also determine whether the proposal can be implemented, with the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service expected to have an important role in that assessment.
The Curaçao government believes the matter requires urgency because losing Dutch nationality can have significant consequences for an individual’s legal status and rights.
The latest developments show that, despite its absence from the written JVO report submitted to Parliament, the issue remains under active discussion between Curaçao and the Netherlands and has now reached the stage where a concrete proposal is being evaluated.