Dual passports issue continues to plague Dutch-based footballers

Dutch-born footballers who were called up to play for former colonies such as Suriname and Indonesia are still in limbo over their national status, six months after the “passportgate” crisis first flared up.

Suriname’s parliament passed a law in September enabling players who are selected for the national team to gain citizenship automatically.

But the Dutch immigration service IND said the law passed in Suriname made no difference to the rules on dual nationality in the Netherlands.

“The fact that Surinamese nationality has been obtained by legal means is not enough on its own to qualify for one of the exceptional categories under our law,” a spokesman for the Dutch justice ministry told broadcaster NOS.

The law was intended to settle the question of dual nationality for footballers, which arose last March when NAC Breda challenged the eligibility of Go Ahead Eagles defender Dean James.

James took Indonesian citizenship last year after accepting an invitation to play for the national team, but under Dutch dual nationality rules he was required to give up his original passport.

KNVB investigation

The Dutch football association KNVB launched an investigation into the employment status of players who were called up by countries such as Suriname, Cape Verde and Indonesia. In the meantime it arranged for Dutch-based players to be given temporary work permits so they could keep playing for their clubs.

Losing Dutch nationality also stripped them of their EU citizenship, meaning they would need to obtain visas and meet stricter criteria, such as an annual salary threshold of €600,000, to be eligible to play in the Eredivisie.

Several players have passed up invitations to join the Surinamese squad because of the uncertainty, including Danilho Doekhi of Lazio, Milan van Ewijk of Coventry City and Jayden Oosterwolde of Fenerbahçe.

National team manager Henk Fraser said it was “inexplicable” that players’ livelihoods were being damaged by their desire to play international football.

“Both countries have to get together and clarify the situation,” he told NOS. “This is a straightforward case of people following their hearts and wanting to play for Suriname, but not knowing where they stand.”

“Sports passports”

Some players said they felt misled by the Surinamese football association, which told them they were playing for the national team on “sports passports” that allowed them to remain Dutch citizens.

Former Feyenoord winger Jean-Paul Boëtius said he only discovered after he was first called up for Suriname last year that he had inadvertently renounced his Dutch citizenship as a result.

Shortly afterwards he received a letter from the city council in Rotterdam telling him to hand in his Dutch passport, which he had recently renewed, because it was no longer valid.

“I now have a sticker in my Surinamese passport that says I have a residency permit allowing me to live in the Netherlands,” he told NOS. “But that’s only for a year. It’s a very difficult situation. I want to become Dutch again. I was born and brought up here.”