THE HAGUE / GREAT BAY--Updated guidelines governing applications for Dutch nationality in St. Maarten and Curaçao will take effect on November 1, 2026, with further clarification of what applicants must show when they are unable to obtain required official documents from their country of origin.
The changes were established by the Dutch Minister of Asylum and Migration in a decision dated August 5, 2026, amending the manual used to implement the Kingdom Act on Dutch Nationality in Curaçao and St. Maarten.
For most applicants, the November changes do not introduce an entirely new system for proving identity or obtaining foreign documents. Many of the requirements concerning so-called “bewijsnood,” or evidentiary hardship, already formed part of the nationality guidelines.
The updated manual, however, sets out the framework that authorities will use when assessing whether someone can legitimately be excused from producing foreign documents and applies that guidance within procedures for acquiring Dutch nationality.
Under the rules, people applying for Dutch nationality are generally responsible for obtaining the foreign documents required for their application. Depending on the document and country involved, those records may also have to be legalized or carry an apostille and may have to be translated into Dutch or English.
A problem arises when an applicant cannot obtain a required document, such as a birth certificate, despite making genuine efforts to do so.
In those circumstances, an exemption may be possible on the basis of evidentiary hardship. The standard is considerably higher than simply showing that obtaining the document is difficult, expensive or inconvenient.
The guidelines indicate that evidentiary hardship may exist when civil registries in the country where the document must originate do not exist, are incomplete, relevant records cannot be found, or the political or security situation makes obtaining documents impossible.
In practical terms, an applicant has to demonstrate that the document genuinely cannot be obtained, rather than simply showing that obtaining it presents difficulties.
The official manual provides a St. Maarten-specific example to illustrate the distinction.
It describes a 19-year-old Chinese national who has lived in St. Maarten since the age of three and was born in Hong Kong. When seeking Dutch nationality through an option procedure, he is told that he must provide a recent extract of his birth certificate from Hong Kong, together with the required legalization or apostille and translation.
The example explains that being unable to obtain time off from work, not having enough money for the trip or being afraid to fly would not, by themselves, establish evidentiary hardship.
Authorities would first consider whether the document could be obtained through another route, such as having a family member request it, using an authorized representative or engaging professional assistance in the country concerned.
Only where obtaining the required document is shown to be genuinely impossible, supported by evidence from an objective source, can the applicant qualify on the basis of evidentiary hardship.
This distinction is important for residents of St. Maarten who may have lived on the island for many years but were born abroad and must still obtain civil documents from their country of birth or nationality when applying for Dutch nationality.
Length of residence in St. Maarten does not by itself eliminate documentary requirements attached to the nationality procedure.
The guidelines also identify circumstances that can work against an applicant claiming that documents from his or her country of origin cannot be obtained.
Authorities will generally not assume evidentiary hardship if the applicant has, after receiving a residence permit, personally obtained an identity document from authorities in the country of origin.
The same consideration applies when an applicant has voluntarily travelled back to the country of nationality or has requested a legal act or transaction involving authorities of that country.
The reasoning is that recent dealings with those authorities could indicate that access to the country's administrative system remains possible.
These circumstances do not result in an automatic rejection. The guidelines expressly allow authorities to consider the facts of the individual case and determine whether genuine evidentiary hardship nevertheless exists.
Another important part of the guidance concerns alternative documentation.
Where an applicant has attempted to obtain a birth certificate but authorities report that the person's birth information cannot be found in their archives, that statement alone may not necessarily be enough to establish evidentiary hardship.
Authorities may also examine whether the applicant's information is consistent with information supplied during earlier immigration or residence procedures and whether there is anything suggesting that the person may have been born somewhere other than claimed.
Other records can strengthen the applicant's case.
The nationality manual gives examples such as a school diploma or baptism certificate from the country of origin containing the same identifying information. These documents do not automatically replace the required birth certificate, but they can help demonstrate that the applicant's personal information is consistent and that the inability to obtain the official record is genuine.
The November 1 update applies within the manual governing both option procedures and naturalisation applications under the Kingdom Act on Dutch Nationality.
An option procedure is a simplified route to Dutch nationality available only to particular categories of people who meet conditions established under the Kingdom Act, while naturalisation is the broader application procedure through which eligible non-Dutch nationals may request Dutch nationality.
The August decision also makes several administrative changes to the nationality manual.
A number of official forms have been updated to reflect the current division of responsibility for naturalisation matters, with the signature authority changed to the Minister of Asylum and Migration.
An incorrect reference between forms in the manual has also been corrected, while an outdated postal address for the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service, IND, has been replaced with the current address.
These administrative changes do not themselves create a new category of eligibility for Dutch nationality. The more immediate significance for applicants is understanding the documentary standard that authorities will apply when someone says a required foreign record cannot be obtained.
Simply being unable to immediately produce a document is therefore not the same as establishing evidentiary hardship.
Applicants may have to show what efforts were made to obtain the document, why alternative methods of obtaining it did not work, and provide independent supporting evidence showing that obtaining the required record is genuinely impossible.
The amended guidelines take effect on November 1, 2026.
The Dutch government decision states that the amendments are to be published in the Staatscourant as well as the official gazettes of Curaçao and St. Maarten.
