Syrians dominate as almost 56,000 people became Dutch last year

A record 49,000 people went through the naturalisation process to become Dutch last year, while a further 7,000 obtained Dutch nationality through the option system or adoption, national statistics agency CBS said on Tuesday.

The total is almost double that in 2019, the CBS said.

Of the 49,000 who became naturalised Dutch nationals, 15,000 were originally Syrian and 3,000 were from Eritrea. Many of them are former refugees who came to the Netherlands in 2014 and 2015 and were now eligible to apply for Dutch nationality.

Almost one third of the 100,000 Syrians in the Netherlands now have Dutch nationality, the CBS said.

To become a naturalised Dutch citizen, people are required to renounce their original nationality, unless this impossible by law.