About half a year ago it came to my attention that because I am married to my Dutch partner, I can become a Dutch citizen and keep my Canadian citizenship. After ten years, the only reason I did not get my citizenship was because I was told this was not possible to have a dual citizenship. Every five years we would pay about 300 euros for our residence permit but every five years this price would drastically seem to increase. Unfortunately our residence permit had to be renewed a month ago and I had to have a valid residence permit in order to obtain my Dutch citizenship so with in the same month we had to pay for the residence permit and the 650 euro citizenship fee. That was a hard blow but now we are finished with all expenses that will keep us in this country.
Other valid reasons for obtaining Dutch citizenship :
- I can vote
- I can live anywhere in Europe if I wish (Italy is looking good about now) just joking.... a little.
- Easier to get a passport
- I'm not a "foreigner" and don't have to worry about the government putting me through more courses.
- My husband is not financially responsible for me.
Today with great pleasure my daughter and I received our Dutch citizenship. What also made this day special is that today is "
Nationale Naturalisatiedag" National Citizenship Day. The press was present at our ceremony and a picture will be printed in our local paper and the photographer from the press said he will send a picture to my home address.
For any foreigners considering this big move, some of the requirements to become a citizenship are:
- You must live in the Netherlands for 5 years or have been legally married to a Dutch partner for three years.
- You can not have a criminal record.
More information can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_nationality_law
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1 comment:
Congratulations -- that is a great way to start the new year
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