Verlenging naturalisatietermijnen

Reactie

Vraag1

The proposed extension of the naturalization period to ten years under the amendment to the National Law on Dutch Nationality (RWN) is a deeply concerning development. While intended to serve a specific policy goal, this measure risks alienating valuable residents and undermining the contributions of established expats.
As someone who arrived in 2018, contributing through taxes, professional improvements, and civic engagement, I've committed to life here—even weathering the professional and personal hardship of the COVID-19 period. The abrupt loss of two years' accrued residency due to a pandemic-era job loss and subsequent visa reset painfully illustrates the precarity of expat life.
This extension from five to ten years doesn't just make an already challenging path harder; it sends a clear, negative message:
• It undervalues stability and contribution: Five years is already a significant commitment; a decade is an overly punitive waiting game that dismisses the years of economic and social input already made.
• It risks a "brain drain": Faced with an uncertain ten-year wait, highly skilled, contributing residents will be incentivized to look elsewhere, taking their tax contributions and professional expertise with them.
• It stifles commitment: Why commit fully to society, long-term investments, and civic life when the ultimate goal of citizenship is pushed so far out of reach?
The Netherlands gains nothing by making its most committed residents feel unwelcome. This extension is not a positive change; it is a measure that diminishes the willingness of good citizens to stay and contribute. I urge you to reconsider this counterproductive amendment.