Netherlands - Passport & Nationality - Dutch Citizenship by Descent

A person born on or after 1 January 1985 to a married Dutch father or mother, or an unmarried Dutch mother, is a Dutch subject at birth. It is irrelevant where the child is born.

A child born to an unmarried Dutch father and a non-Dutch mother must be acknowledged by the Dutch father before birth, in order for the child to be a Dutch subject at birth. Before 1 April 2003, an acknowledgement could be given after birth. Since then children who were not acknowledged before birth may nonetheless acquire Dutch citizenship through the option procedure, or through obtaining proof of paternity from a court. In the last case, the child gets Dutch nationality retroactively, since his/her birth.

As of 1 January 1985 a child born to a Dutch woman and a non-Dutch father outside the Netherlands is a Dutch subject. This was previously not the case but children born in these circumstances before 1985 were given the possibility of being registered as Dutch subjects but such registration had to take place before 1988.