Dutch-British scientist and Nobel prize winner Andre Geim has lost his Dutch nationality, after falling foul of a law that strips Dutch citizenship from people who voluntarily adopt another nationality.

Geim, who won the Nobel prize in 2010, took British nationality 12 years ago when he was knighted — a condition for receiving the honour. The Russian-born scientist told broadcaster NOS he had been unaware at the time that doing so would mean he was no longer considered Dutch.

Several weeks ago, Geim said he received a letter from the foreign affairs ministry asking him to hand in his Dutch passport at the embassy in London. If he failed to do so, the letter warned, Interpol would be brought in. “It is surreal but true,” Geim told broadcaster NOS.

Geim has now hired lawyers to fight the decision. They argue that he should be allowed to appeal against the move to rescind his Dutch nationality based on “special circumstances”.

Dutch law does allow an exception if retaining Dutch citizenship is “in the interests of the Dutch state”. At the time of his Nobel prize, the award was described as an “absolute boost to Dutch science”.

Geim lived and worked in the Netherlands for many years, taught at Radboud University in Nijmegen, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Delft University in 2024. He now lives in Britain and teaches at Manchester University.

He is not the only person to have lost Dutch nationality after adopting a second one. The Stichting Nederlanders Buiten Nederland, a lobby group representing Dutch nationals abroad, has been campaigning on the issue for years.

The group argues that the law, which dates from 1892, is “hopelessly outdated” and leaves many emigrants unable to buy a house, get a job or start a business.

Around a million Dutch citizens live abroad, many in countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia, but they must give up their Dutch passports before they can take on citizenship of their host country.

The rule also applies in reverse: people applying for a Dutch passport via naturalisation must renounce their original nationality to qualify.