Verlenging naturalisatietermijnen

Reactie

Vraag1

Dear Sir/Madam,

I would like to express my opposition to the proposed extension of the naturalization period from 5 to 10 years. I am a highly skilled migrant who has been living in the Netherlands for a little over three years with my wife and our 3-year-old daughter. I would like to share my personal experience, which I believe reflects the challenges many highly skilled migrant families face.

During our first years in the Netherlands, we encountered significant difficulties, especially with housing. Finding a rental property was extremely challenging — we had to move three times within two and a half years before finally being able to buy a house.

My wife could not work initially, both because of our young child and her limited language skills. She has worked hard to learn the language, and after much effort, she managed to find a job once our daughter obtained a daycare placement. Balancing daycare availability, job searching, and language learning was not easy, but things have gradually improved, and we are finally starting to feel at home here.

After three years, we are now well integrated into Dutch society and continuing to build our lives here. We have been looking forward to reaching the five-year mark, when we would finally become eligible to apply for Dutch citizenship.

However, extending this period to ten years would create significant uncertainty for families like ours. The business environment has become increasingly unpredictable. As the main visa holder under the Highly Skilled Migrant program, I must find a new job within three months if I lose my current one — a difficult task, especially in today’s job market. If I were forced to leave the Netherlands before qualifying for citizenship, all the years of effort, integration, and emotional investment would be lost.

Waiting two more years might be tolerable, but doubling the period to ten years would create serious insecurity for families who have already made the Netherlands their home and contribute actively to its society and economy. It would discourage skilled migrants from settling long-term and integrating deeply into Dutch life.

For these reasons, I kindly urge the government to reconsider this proposal and maintain the current five-year requirement for naturalization.

Thank you for your time and consideration.