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Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Your friend is a Dutch citizen by birth; tell him to apply for a Dutch passport at the nearest Dutch Embassy to where he lives.

However, he needs to be careful as the Netherlands have an issue with people having 2 passports from different countries, so he needs to enquire as to whether he will have to surrender his Australian passport.  It's not totally out of the question, my kids all have UK and NL passports because they have a right to both, as should he, but it's wothwhile checking.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi there,

Based on my experience, he unfortunately may have aged out of being eligible. When I was going through the process three years ago, the Netherlands had a cut-off of 28. If you didn't apply by 28 - you'd never get your Dutch citizenship.

It's good that he was born in the Netherlands. Have him ask his mother if she has her Dutch passport from that time, and if he is listed in the passport as her child. In my experience this will expedite the process greatly. See if he can also get his original birth certificate, his mother's and father's birth certificates, and their marriage license. These can sometimes be requested through the Dutch government and don't necessarily need to be gotten directly from the parents.

Most importantly, don't take my word for anything. Have him email his nearest Dutch embassy and outline his situation. My embassy was incredibly responsive, kind, and way more helpful than they needed to be to help me line up my citizenship. There may be ways he could apply for exceptions to the established laws.

Please feel free to message me if you find you need further guidance.

Canadiandutch wrote:

Hi there,

Based on my experience, he unfortunately may have aged out of being eligible. When I was going through the process three years ago, the Netherlands had a cut-off of 28. If you didn't apply by 28 - you'd never get your Dutch citizenship.

It's good that he was born in the Netherlands. Have him ask his mother if she has her Dutch passport from that time, and if he is listed in the passport as her child. In my experience this will expedite the process greatly. See if he can also get his original birth certificate, his mother's and father's birth certificates, and their marriage license. These can sometimes be requested through the Dutch government and don't necessarily need to be gotten directly from the parents.

Most importantly, don't take my word for anything. Have him email his nearest Dutch embassy and outline his situation. My embassy was incredibly responsive, kind, and way more helpful than they needed to be to help me line up my citizenship. There may be ways he could apply for exceptions to the established laws.

Please feel free to message me if you find you need further guidance.

Hi again.

There is a slight difference in circumstances here.  The OP was born in the Netherlands and already had a Dutch passport.  At the time he travelled, there was no requirement to rescind your Dutch nationality on acquiring Australian citizenship; he has remained a Dutch citizen all this time; he just needs to reclaim his passport.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team