Renunciation requirement: South African applicants for Dutch naturalisation
The IND has recently published their Information Notice (IB 2025/48). A South African citizen who has submitted their application for Dutch naturalisation will be asked to fill out the M2.4 form, declaring that they will be willing to renounce their South African nationality, unless they qualify for one of the statutory exceptions in the Dutch Nationality Act. This new requirement will be applicable to a South African applicant who submitted their naturalisation application before 6 May 2025, as long as their application has not been granted by His Majesty the King. South African applicants who are not willing to sign the M2.4 form will be given the opportunity to withdraw their naturalisation application and will qualify for a refund of their application fee.
This IND information notice is in response to the latest case law development in South Africa. In Democratic Alliance v Minister of Home Affairs and Another [2025] ZACC 8, the South African Constitutional Court held that "s. 6(1)(a) of the South African Citizenship Act 88 of 1995 is inconsistent with the [South African] Constitution and is invalid from its promulgation on 6 October 1995, and that those South African citizens who lost their citizenship by operation of s. 6(1)(a) are deemed not to have lost their citizenship." The Constitutional Court of South Africa looked at the nationality laws of various countries/regions. For example, as the South African Constitutional Court says, "in the European context, the entire European Union (EU) project presupposes dual loyalty, that is, loyalty to the EU and its institutions through EU citizenship, and loyalty to the nation state [...] In a world of increasing globalisation and transnational mobility, permitting dual nationality is the norm and not the exception."
The Netherlands is one of the few EU countries where the nationality laws still need to be modernised. If you are interested in dual nationality, please feel free to contact Mynta Law and book a consultation with one of our experienced lawyers.
