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How does the Netherlands define “uninterrupted” residency for the purposes of a citizenship application?

A few years ago I invested in a Dutch business and am on my way to acquiring permanent residency. My ultimate goal is to become a Dutch citizen. However, I spend nearly half of the year in my home country, running some of my affairs in the Netherlands from there. How does Dutch law define residency? Is there a set amount of days?


Answers
  • Delissen Martens
    December 14, 2018

    "Uninterrupted" residency, first of all, implies that the holder of the resident permit has continuously held main residence in the Netherlands. The holder of a resident permit is assumed to have moved his main residence out of the Netherlands when being: deregistered from the municipal registry; absent from the Netherlands for a continuous period of six months; or absent from the Netherlands for a continuous period of four months in three consecutive years. Exceptions may apply to specific situations. The holder of a residence permit as an investor/wealthy individual may be absent from the Netherlands for a period of up to eight months per year without his resident permit being affected. Also, "uninterrupted" residency means that there should be no "gap" or interruption in the buildup of resident permits. If a new resident permit takes into effect after the previous permit has already expired, this may result in an interruption, causing the buildup of residency to be reset to zero. This can affect the eligibility for a permanent resident permit and/or for Dutch nationality.