The Dutch senate has passed new legislation which allows the justice ministry to remove Dutch nationality from dual nationals who are said to be a risk to national security.

The legislation allows the justice minister to cancel people’s Dutch nationality without the intervention of the courts. It can only be applied to people with dual nationality because it is not legal to render people stateless.

The plan was approved by a narrow majority made up of the ruling VVD, anti-immigration PVV, the Christian Democrats, fundamentalist Christian SGP and populist pensioner party 50Plus. The Labour party, which is part of the current coalition with the VVD, voted against.

The lower house of parliament also voted narrowly in favour of the plan last year.

Passports

Senators also approved legislation which will cancel people’s passports automatically if they have been banned from travelling abroad. This measure too is aimed at protecting national security by stopping people from joining jihadist movements, the justice ministry said.

At the beginning of this month, counter-terrorism chief Dick School said some 300 Dutch nationals have had their passports cancelled since autumn 2014.

Most of those involved had already gone to Syria or Iraq. Now their passports have been cancelled, the authorities will be alerted if they attempt to cross back into the Netherlands or use their travel documents elsewhere.