The Hague, June 30, 2020 (AFP)
Dutch senators on Tuesday passed a law to allow nationals living in Britain to keep their Netherlands citizenship, if they need to become British to ensure their residency rights there.
A majority of parties in the upper house of parliament voted for the dual nationality law, seen as a safety net for Dutch people living in Britain should their rights worsen after Brexit.
The lower house of parliament had already approved the measure.
"They are making a mess of it on the other side of the North Sea, so Dutch politicians are stepping in," said D66 party MP Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, who helped to table the legislation.
"Dutch nationals in the UK should not become hostage to Brexit... After four years of chaos, this legislation offers them certainty," Sjoerdsma told the Dutchnews.nl online news website.
Normally the Netherlands attempts to restrict dual nationality as much as possible.
A Dutch citizen can only hold two passports under strict conditions and the practice is discouraged.
People who want to acquire Dutch nationality through naturalisation are normally required to give up their other nationality if possible.
Now, if the rights of Dutch nationals deteriorate as a result of London's post-Brexit agreement from the European Union "the law can be enacted in order to help Dutch citizens hold their positions in Britain by offering them the choice of dual nationality", the Senate said in a statement.
The legislation backdates to June 23, 2016, when Britain held a historic referendum in which it decided to leave the then 28-member bloc.
The draft legislation originally offered the same deal to British nationals in the Netherlands, but that idea was dropped because there was not enough support in parliament.
Two years ago, Dutch judges also sank an attempt by Britons living in the Netherlands to have their legal rights as EU citizens -- including freedom of movement -- protected by the Netherlands even after Britain's withdrawal from the EU bloc.

Sumber : AFP