Dual nationality and Israel: do you lose Dutch nationality when making aliyah?
A Dutch national who makes aliyah and so voluntarily becomes Israeli usually loses Dutch nationality. That does not happen if on that day you are married to an Israeli, were born in Israel and live there, or lived in Israel for five years before turning eighteen. An Israeli with a Dutch passport keeps it, if he renews it within 13 years while living in Israel.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
If you make aliyah as a Dutch national, you become Israeli. Under the Netherlands Nationality Act, an adult loses Dutch nationality on voluntarily acquiring another nationality (article 15, paragraph 1, under a). The Jewish Agency itself calls the aliyah application "an official process for requesting Israeli nationality". So anyone who becomes Israeli this way usually loses Dutch nationality. There are three exceptions. The most important: on the day you become Israeli, you are married to an Israeli, or you have a registered partnership with him or her. That partner must already be Israeli. If you make aliyah together as a Dutch couple, you both lose Dutch nationality.
What happens to your Dutch nationality?
| Situation | Consequence according to the source |
|---|---|
| You make aliyah and no exception applies | you lose Dutch nationality |
| On that day you are married to, or the registered partner of, an Israeli | you keep Dutch nationality |
| You live with an Israeli, without marriage or partnership | this exception does not apply |
| You are both Dutch, make aliyah together and become Israeli on the same day | you both lose Dutch nationality: the exception for partners only applies if your partner is already Israeli |
| You were born in Israel and live there when you become Israeli | you keep Dutch nationality |
| Before turning eighteen you lived in Israel for at least five consecutive years | you keep Dutch nationality |
| Your child becomes Israeli together with you | the child loses Dutch nationality, unless the other parent remains Dutch |
| You are Israeli, also have a Dutch passport and live in Israel | you lose Dutch nationality after 13 years without a new passport or declaration |
When does acquisition count as voluntary?
The guide to the Nationality Act explains what voluntary means: an act of will specifically aimed at acquiring another nationality, such as option or naturalisation. If you asked for it yourself, the loss takes effect. Nor, according to the guide, does needing a country's nationality for a job or a course of study make it involuntary.
The guide also deals with a nationality you receive by operation of law, while the other country gives you the option to reject it. If you do not use that option, the acquisition counts as voluntary, and you lose Dutch nationality. Only if rejecting it would force you to leave your country of residence is it different.
Whether and how you can decline Israeli nationality when making aliyah is set out in the Israeli Nationality Law. We could not check it with an official source: the websites of the Knesset and the Israeli Ministry of the Interior refuse automated requests. So ask the Jewish Agency whether and when you can decline Israeli nationality, before you collect your immigrant visa. And ask the IND beforehand what that means for your Dutch nationality.
Only collect your immigrant visa once you know whether an exception applies to you. The exception for partners only applies if you are married or in a registered partnership on the day itself; living together does not count. And your partner must already be Israeli at that moment. If you become Israeli on the same day, because you make aliyah together, you both lose Dutch nationality (guide to the Nationality Act, article 15, section 8.2). So marrying before aliyah only makes the difference if you marry someone who is already Israeli.
And your children?
A minor loses Dutch nationality if his Dutch father or mother voluntarily acquires another nationality and the child shares in it, or already has that nationality. But according to the Nationality Act and the IND, the child remains Dutch as long as the other parent is Dutch. If both parents make aliyah and both lose Dutch nationality, a child who comes along generally loses it too. The IND mentions a few further exceptions for minors.
I am Israeli and also have a Dutch passport. What applies to me?
Then you already have Israeli nationality, and your return does not change your Dutch nationality through a new acquisition. The thirteen-year rule does apply, though. If you live with two nationalities for thirteen consecutive years outside the EU and the Kingdom, and so also in Israel, you lose Dutch nationality if in that time you have not received a new Dutch passport, identity card or declaration of Dutch nationality. See losing your Dutch nationality abroad.
The declaration of Dutch nationality costs € 30. In Israel you show your legal residence with your Israeli passport or identity card, and you have an Israeli birth or marriage certificate legalised with an apostille. Processing takes four weeks on average, and at most twelve weeks if documents are missing. If you have never had a Dutch passport or identity card, you cannot apply for a declaration, and you first apply for a passport.
If instead you want to give up Israeli nationality, you can do so from the Netherlands at the embassy. You show that you have another nationality and live abroad. Processing can take up to six months.
What nationality means for your visa and residence is in the residence routes.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 1 of 5 of the journey, step 1.3: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Israel or go straight to step 1.3 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Netherlands Nationality Act, articles 15 and 16 — loss on voluntary acquisition, exceptions and minors — wetten.overheid.nl
- Guide to the Netherlands Nationality Act 2003, article 15, section 3.2 — what counts as voluntary, and section 8.2 — no exception for partners who acquire another nationality on the same day (in force from 25 September 2026) — wetten.overheid.nl
- IND — losing Dutch nationality, as an adult and as a minor — ind.nl
- NederlandWereldwijd — when do I lose my Dutch nationality — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- NederlandWereldwijd — applying for a declaration of Dutch nationality when you live in Israel — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- Jewish Agency — the aliyah application as an official request for Israeli nationality — jewishagency.org
- Israeli embassy in The Hague — renouncing Israeli nationality from abroad — embassies.gov.il
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