Benefits of a Dutch Passport – – Emigration law office

Perhaps you’ve heard of increasing numbers of Israelis obtaining European citizenship in recent years, particularly Dutch citizenship, and perhaps you have even entertained the notion yourself. If so, you must be aware that Israelis with an additional European citizenship enjoy many benefits of a Dutch passport and privileges unavailable to those with Israeli citizenship alone.

Our office’s staff of experts on acquiring European citizenship helps hundreds of Israelis eligible for European citizenship every year to exercise this right. We guide them through the various bureaucratic procedures required by the authorities in each country, in addition to the legal procedures required here in Israel.

Whenever the subject of obtaining European citizenship arises here in Israel, the first thing that comes to mind is almost always Portuguese citizenship. However, many Israelis are not even aware of the fact that they are eligible for Dutch citizenship and a Dutch passport, which, like every other European passport, entitles the bearer to many kinds of benefits. In this article we explain the many possibilities open to Dutch citizens and summarize the eligibility requirements for Dutch citizenship, as well as providing a brief overview of the application process. Before we begin, we would like to remind you that you are welcome to contact us to receive professional consultation over the phone at any stage, or to schedule a meeting in our offices in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.

A few words on the European Union

Firstly, it is important to understand that anyone holding a Dutch passport in fact holds a passport of the European Union. The European Union consists of 27 countries in Europe and resembles a super-state, having a joint parliament, laws, a common economy and a common currency – the well-known Euro. The Union we see today may have been officially founded in the early 1990s, but its roots go back to the 1950s, to the economic syndicates created by the European super-powers following the two World Wars. The Netherlands was one of the first countries to join the early versions of the Union under the economic syndicate of Europe’s coal and steel industry, alongside West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg. The Netherlands was and still is one of the longest-standing and most stable members of the European Union.

Dutch citizenship – Benefits and Possibilities

Why, then, have European Union passports become so sought-after in recent years? Well, there are numerous reasons. Here are the most important and notable ones:

Freedom of passage between countries in the European Union: First and foremost, it must be stressed that a European passport grants free entry to any country in the EU—a considerable advantage for tourism purposes. Anyone with a Dutch passport can freely enter any country in the Union without restriction on their length of stay.
Residence: Anyone wishing to live in the Netherlands at some point and to enjoy everything the country has to offer, which by the way is considered one of the most beautiful and economically stable countries in the world, can easily do so without any bureaucratic hurdles on a European passport. Of course, anyone wishing to do reside in the country without a passport may be able to so by taking certain measures, but these measures involve complicated bureaucratic procedures which do not always lead to the desired result. By the way, with a European Union passport it is possible to live in any one of the EU countries, not just the Netherlands.
Livelihood: We must stress the huge economic potential available to European citizens. In addition to the option of residence, a Holland passport also enables employment in any EU country. Likewise, just as an Israeli passport enables you to start a business in Israel, European citizens can start a business in any country in the EU, making it much easier to expand local Israeli businesses to international markets.
Education: While higher education in Israel is usually costly and not always accessible to everyone, countries in the EU, and the Netherlands in particular, encourage their citizens to get an academic degree. European citizens can enroll in the leading institutions across the continent for very little pay or even for free, with many countries offering scholarships covering the cost of living, alongside many other benefits to students.
The benefit of security: Sadly, the State of Israel is a country which lives by the sword. While some are willing to accept this reality and raise their children here, many other Israelis choose to seek a different future for themselves and their children, and this is of course entirely acceptable. A Netherlands passport enables people to take this step with relative ease, and even if some may choose not to go through with the decision, it is always good to have the option to do so.

It is important to know that there many more considerable benefits beyond those listed above, such as substantial tax benefits in most EU countries (Israel is among the notorious top ten countries with the highest tax rates in the world), access to some of the world’s most advanced medical systems, automatic issuance of visas to the United States for European citizens, and more.

How may one obtain a Holland passport?

It must be said that the requirements are rather strict. In general, those eligible for a Holland passport under certain conditions are those with at least one parent who is a Dutch citizen, although it is also possible to obtain a Holland passport by investing in the economy of the Netherlands, even for those with no Dutch roots whatsoever. Note that people with dual citizenship (Israeli and Dutch) risk losing their Dutch citizenship if they do not renew their passport within a certain time frame.

In addition to the above, if you know of some existing family tie to former Netherlands citizens, we strongly recommend checking if you are eligible for a passport. In many cases, the process of obtaining Netherlands citizenship ends up being much simpler than expected.

Contact our experts

In summary – a Netherlands passport is in fact a European passport, therefore whoever holds one gains access to many benefits, as well as the ability to pass the passport on to future generations. If you are unsure whether you qualify for a Netherlands passport or not, or if you know you are eligible but are unsure how to exercise your right and would like to receive assistance and guidance through the entire process from beginning to end – contact our offices today and we will be happy to help you gain all the benefits of a European Union passport. By the way, if you do not end up being eligible for a Dutch passport, we can look into additional possibilities. In many cases we have found an alternative way for a client to acquire a European passport from another country, so it is always worth a try.