Guidance

Netherlands: Knowledge Base profile

Updated 19 February 2024

About: Netherlands

This document contains useful information about Netherlands which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

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Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 3.0
• published for Home Office staff on 16 February 2024

Changes from last version of this document

This document has minor formatting changes.

Netherlands: names

This section gives HM Passport Office staff information about names in the Netherlands.

On a Netherlands passport, a person can:

• have multiple forenames displayed (usually up to a maximum of 5)
• choose to display the surname of their spouse on the second line of their passport

Change of name

Name changes are allowed in the Netherlands.

To change a:

• forename, an application must be made to the court
• surname, a request can be made to the Ministry of Justice in the Netherlands (this will only be considered in certain situations)

Changes of name by deed poll are not recognised by the authorities in the Netherlands.

When a name change is granted, the court will instruct the public registrar to alter the registered birth certificate. As the court order is subject to public appeal, the name change will become official three months after the court order is issued.

The surname of a Netherlands national does not change when they marry.

The only way a Netherlands national can change their name to their married surname is if the:

• marriage took place abroad
• marriage certificate states the name after marriage shall be the name of the spouse
• person signs a declaration that they wish for foreign law to be applied so they can use the name of their spouse

When this is the case, the Netherlands national’s birth certificate and Personal Records Database (BRP) will be updated to show the new name, and a Netherlands passport will be issued in the new name.

Netherlands: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office staff information about nationality in the Netherlands.

Dual nationality is recognised in the Netherlands.

Where a Netherlands citizen voluntarily acquired another citizenship before 1 April 2003, the Netherlands citizenship would be automatically lost.

From 1 April 2003, where a Netherlands citizen acquires another citizenship, they will continue to lose their Netherlands citizenship unless the person is:

• born in the country of the other nationality and is resident there at the time of the acquisition of that nationality
• resident in the country of the other nationality, and has been for an uninterrupted period of five years before they turned 18 years old
• married to a person who possesses the other nationality (a spouse who is deceased is not recognised)

Netherlands citizens can legally hold a dual citizenship if the:

• person acquires Netherlands citizenship through the option procedure (including former Netherlands citizens resuming citizenship)
• person naturalises as a Netherlands citizen and obtains an exemption from the requirement to renounce their foreign citizenship (for example, a person who is married to a Netherlands citizen)
• Netherlands citizen naturalises in another country, exempt from the loss of nationality rule (for example, a person married to a citizen of that country)

Netherlands: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in the Netherlands.

Legitimacy

The Netherlands recognises the difference between legitimate and illegitimate births.

A child will be considered:

• legitimate if the:
  • parents were married when the child was born
  • child was born before 1 July 2006 and parents were not married
  • father has recognised the child (through either a paternity declaration or a court ruling)
• illegitimate if the:
  • parents never marry
  • child was born on or after 1 July 2006 and parents were not married

Parental responsibility

The birth parents usually hold parental responsibility for a child born in the Netherlands.

Where the birth parents are unwilling or unable to exercise parental responsibility, this can be transferred to another person by the court.

Following a divorce or separation, both parents will usually continue to have parental responsibility for their children. It is possible for the court to assign custody and parental responsibility to one parent as part of divorce proceedings, and this must be documented in a parenting plan.

Netherlands: adoptions

This section gives HM Passport Office staff information about adoptions in the Netherlands.

Adoption is legal in the Netherlands.

If the adoptive parents are not Netherlands nationals, they must hold Netherlands residence permits and live in the Netherlands.

Netherlands: surrogacy

This section gives HM Passport Office staff information about surrogacy in the Netherlands.

Surrogacy is legal in the Netherlands, as long as the surrogate does not receive any money or compensation (Commercial surrogacy is illegal).

Netherlands: civil partnerships

This section gives HM Passport Office staff information about civil partnerships in the Netherlands.

Civil partnerships are recognised in the Netherlands, and they are referred to as a ‘geregistreerd partnerschap’ (registered partnership).

Netherlands: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office staff information about documents in the Netherlands.

Documents issued in the Netherlands must be legalised by at least 2 Netherlands authorities.

The legalisation will show the documents have been issued by an official authority, and this must take place in the Netherlands. The Netherlands Embassy in the United Kingdom cannot legalise these documents.

Following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, HM Passport Office cannot accept Multilingual Standard Forms (MSFs) issued by member states. An MSF will:

• contain a reference to the convention signed at Vienna on September 8 1976, this may be on the reverse of the document
• be marked as a Formul A (birth certificate), normally in the top right corner on the front of the document in the language of the country where the document was issued
  • there will also be marriage certificates and death certificates that will have a different Formul version that is also not acceptable

These documents are an extract of a civil registration record translated into the language needed and not a full, original certificate.

Birth certificates

All births in the Netherlands must be registered at the local town hall within 72 hours of the birth. Birth certificates are only issued on request.

Netherlands birth certificates will only show the date they were issued, not the date the birth was registered. As the birth certificates are not issued automatically, a customer may not always have a birth certificate that was issued within 12 months of their birth.

If the customer provides HM Passport Office with a birth certificate issued more than 12 months after they were born, a ‘peoples data document’ from the Personal Records Database must be provided alongside the birth certificate to confirm when the birth was registered.

A customer can request an extract from the birth registers from the local authorities. The extracts from the birth registers may be:

• a domestic version, in Dutch
• an international version, intended to be used for overseas authorities

On a birth certificate issued in the Netherlands, the father’s name may be entered at a later date to when the certificate was originally issued. The name is usually added on a continuation sheet titled ‘Later Entry Concerning Recognition’.

Marriage certificates

Marriage certificates are usually issued at the time of the marriage in the Netherlands.

A marriage in the Netherlands is only valid if it has been solemnised by the ‘ambtenaar van de burgerlijke stand’ (the registrar).

Copies of marriage certificates are available from the local municipal office where the marriage was held.

Death certificates

A death must be registered in the local municipality where it occurs. A death certificate is issued by the registrar of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships.

All deaths are recorded on the National Index.

Identity documents

A voluntary identity card scheme is available in the Netherlands.

The identity cards are:

• not laminated
• multilingual