How hard is it to become a citizen of holland?

Question

is it possible for me to become a citizen of the netherlands, my great grandfather was from holland. if its possible how do i do it?

Also, can i become a citizen of Wales and the UK if my great grand parents were from there?

Answer 1

well you have to know/learn dutch work in netherlands for a year or marry some one from the netherlands or be born in the netherlands

Answer 2

If you live and work there for 5 years, you can apply. I lived there for 6 and was offered the option, but as I was already an EU national (Irish), I turned it down.

Answer 3

Pretty d**n hard. And if you can do it in a year, you must have some fantastic connections, because you legally have to be resident in the country for a least seven years and have passed the language fluency tests before you can even apply for citizenship.

Also, the Netherlands is a champion at beaurocracy, so there's a great list of caveats and addendums of extra requirements that only apply to certain groups. The official website to look up Dutch immigration and citizenship law is http://www.ind.nl - however, it's it Dutch (and Legal Dutch, to boot, meaning the average Dutch person can't understand it perfectly either). It does have an English section, but the amount of information in that part of the website is tiny compared to the actual requirements found in the Dutch section.

There are better websites, for instance: http://www.buitenlandsepartner.nl

That's the one that's most useful to me, though it does specialize mostly in people immigrating to the Netherlands on condition of forming a family with a Dutch citizen. Still, it's the most civil and helpful forum I've found for expats in NL and it's English language section includes references to several respected immigration lawyers that are available to answer questions.

Answer 4

Regarding Dutch nationality - you will not be able to obtain a Dutch passport through descent if your closest link is a great grandparent.  You would need a parent to be Dutch.  You can read more here

http://www.minbuza.nl/en/welcome/DutchCi...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_natio...

It is a similar situation for British nationality.  A great grandparent will not entitle you to a British passport

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_nat...

http://www.britainusa.com/sections/artic...

EDIT - I assumed from reading your question that you were looking at obtaining citizenship from a family line, and living abroad.  If you want to obtain citizenship from living in NL (as mentioned by so many others) then this is another story, and to live her you will need to obtain a visa which is not easy these days (unless you are an EU passport holder).  You can read more on the official immigration dept site http://www.ind.nl/EN/index.asp