Verlenging naturalisatietermijnen

Reactie

Vraag1

I'm a highly skilled migrant who moved to the Netherlands in November 2020 with my family to work in the tech sector. Since we arrived, we've truly made this country our home. I work and pay taxes here, I'm actively learning Dutch to integrate better, and our son (born in 2021) is now in school and speaks Dutch fluently. We're proud to be part of Dutch society and have been looking forward to becoming Dutch citizens ourselves.

When we decided to move here, one of the main reasons we chose the Netherlands was the clear path to naturalisation after five years of legal residence. This timeline gave us something concrete to work towards, a sense that we could soon participate fully in Dutch life, not just economically but socially and civically too. The proposal to extend this to ten years feels deeply unfair and discouraging to families like ours who built our lives here based on the current 5-year rule.

I also think this proposal could backfire for the Netherlands. The country's success depends partly on attracting and keeping highly skilled professionals, researchers, and innovators. Many of us came because the Netherlands has a reputation as a forward-thinking, open society that welcomes talent. Doubling the naturalisation period sends a very different message, one that might make future skilled migrants and researchers think twice about coming or staying. This could gradually weaken the knowledge economy and innovation that the Netherlands is known for.

A 10-year wait is a very long time to be a contributing member of society without full participation rights. The current 5-year rule already seems like a reasonable period to prove commitment and integration.

If the government moves forward with this, I strongly urge that it not apply retroactively to those already living here under current rules. Many of us made major life decisions (career moves, buying homes, family planning) based on the existing policy. Changing it now feels like moving the goalposts halfway through, and it undermines the trust of people who've already committed to making the Netherlands their permanent home.

I fully support ensuring that people who naturalise have a genuine connection to the Netherlands. But this proposal risks being counterproductive for both integration and the country's long-term prosperity. I respectfully ask the government to reconsider the 10-year timeline, or at least grandfather in those already living here under the current framework.