Expat Chronicles: Becoming Dutch
Well, friends, this is going to be my very last Expat Chronicles. I know! Sniff. I will miss it as well. But as of last Thursday, I am an expat no longer. I have officially become a Dutch citizen, and my minor children along with me. I have some ideas to continue writing about my life, as well as my experiences in The Netherlands, but we will talk about that later. For today let’s wrap up this series with a summary of my journey to becoming a Nederlander.
Step 1: the Leap
Relocating my family of five to Europe was a gigantic choice, based on loads of research and as much personal contact with people on the ground as possible. But ultimately moving was a leap of faith. I took this job (Stitched in Color) with me, and the was it. No business moved us. No organization assisted our immigration. No family or friends awaited us. We booked plane tickets to a country which we had never visited, with a list of immigration steps I had researched online. We sold our home and put all of our remaining belongings in a shipping container and left America. It was a monumental risk, but I felt internally compelled to follow this path. I couldn’t imagine not trying to improve our lives in this way. And it paid off.
Step 2: A Work Visa
Being American has privileges, also with immigrating to The Netherlands. Enter the Dutch American Friendship Treaty. For someone self-employed, like me, this is a golden ticket for immigrating to The Netherlands. You show up, rent a place to stay, register with the city and then make an appointment with immigration to get a work visa under the treaty. Then, boom (and €1446* lighter), your passport gets sealed with permission to work and live in the Netherlands for two years.
Plus, and this is HUGE, all of your dependents can live with you. Full stop. No further questions.
*That fee has since been reduced to €380.
Step 3. integrate
My teenagers got a head start on cultural integration. Just a few months after arrival, they began their crash course in Dutch via a free integration school. Meanwhile, my preschooler was enjoying subsidized Dutch daycare and high quality medical care to address her speech delay (totally free).
After just 6 months living in The Netherlands, we knew we wanted to stay. That’s when I started studying Dutch at a local continuing education school. The little one and I started reading baby books together, laying the basics of a Dutch vocabulary. When I began sputtering terrible Dutch at my new local friends, my teenagers were already speaking fluently and transitioning into regular Dutch high school.
Step 4: Keep going!
Learning a new culture is a gigantic project, and one that I don’t believe I will ever finish. But it’s really fun! I guess you think so too if you have enjoyed these Expat Chronicles. Still, it takes perserverance and lots of it. Learning the Dutch language was not as difficult as I had feared thanks to my patient friends, who gave me so much space to practice speaking.
For about 2 years I also took a weekly lesson, first at the local continuing education school and then with an excellent private tutor (thanks, Anna!). After those two years I could read Dutch books and speak Dutch comfortably in daily life.
When my original work visa expired, I was able to easily renew it with €380 and a basic accounting audit. My new work visa was good for another 5 years, which would take me to the final milestones - - -
Step 5: Choosing citizenship
After living in The Netherlands for five years, a person has the right to apply for a permanent visa and/or citizenship. I opted for citizenship because it has big benefits for my children. My minor children can become citizens along with me, giving them the right to live in The Netherlands (or any EU country) their entire lives, plus the right to a practically free college education.
I am freely choosing Dutch citizenship, without any associated reason. For example, I am not married to a Dutch person or a refugee or stateless. Because it is freely chosen, I do have to give up my American citizenship to have it. That’s something I am willing to do. Fortunately, my children do not have to do that, since they are gaining Dutch citizenship in association with their mother. They can always be dual citizens, should they like.
Step 6: Becoming Dutch
I completed a number of steps this year in order to become Dutch. First of all, I passed some very simple language exams and one cultural exam. These cost €250 and required minimal to zero preparation, since I had been actively integrating for years.
In June the kids and I had an appointment at city hall to begin the citizenship application process. It was amazingly well-organized and easy, but came with a €1325 price tag. A month later I received notice that the king had approved our application, which was really a formality since we fulfilled all the requirements as applicants (basically, living in The Netherlands for five years and not being criminals).
Finally, last week, we returned to city hall to pledge our citizenship. There we received official proof of our new status and took this cheesy photo, which says “Congratulations, you are Dutch!” Elora was SO excited, and said also that she feels different, haha. I can imagine that is so. Since we moved when she was 2, she only remembers living here. She is quite Dutch culturally, and now she is also Dutch officially. I can imagine that it resonates all the way through.
Myself, I will always be an American inside. I chose to move to The Netherlands because I believed it would better fit my life choices and provide a happier, safer life for us all. And that is so. Still, I will never be really, fully Dutch like a person with Dutch ancestry or a Dutch childhood. My Dutch-ness is a journey, an always-growing, always-developing thing.
I am very proud of the choices I have made, all I have achieved and of the person I am every day still becoming. I remain thankful for those who have made my journey possible, most of whom are Americans - of course - and some of whom are Dutch, and to each and every one of you who have walked along with me. xoxo
