Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao): Information on how to obtain resident status and/or citizenship in Curaçao and the Netherlands Antilles

According to information provided by a consular officer from the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington, DC, during a 2 October 2003 telephone interview, the Netherlands Antilles enjoy autonomy from the Netherlands in matters of residence and citizenship.

Regarding residence permits, the Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB) states that foreigners "will need to apply for a resident permit if [they] plan to stay for longer than three months," adding that they "are not allowed to work or live on Curacao without a work permit" (CTB 21 May 2003).

The Royal Netherlands Embassy in Ecuador provides the following information on the subject:

Tourists [in the Netherlands Antilles] are not allowed to work, look for, or accept work without the explicit consent of the Lieutenant Governor of the respective island territory.

...Foreigners who wish to reside in the Netherlands Antilles need a residence permit, which has to be applied for at (and is issued by) the Lieutenant Governor of the concerning island territory, at the following [address]:Lieutenant Governor of the island territory of Curacao Concordiatraat 24, Willemstad, Curacao, N.A. ...

To work in the Netherlands Antilles foreigners need a work permit, which has to be arranged by the future employer of the concerning person (Royal Netherlands Embassy in Quito 25 June 2003).

Please find attached a September 2003 document published by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) of the Ministry of Justice of the Netherlands entitled How Can You Become a Dutch National? The Procedure on the Netherlands Antilles. This document provides an overview of, and detailed information on eligibility, procedures, consequences of naturalization and other matters related to becoming a Dutch national in the Netherland Antilles.

Among the information provided in the attached document, is a summary of key aspects to becoming a Dutch national in the Netherlands Antilles:

In general, there are three ways of becoming a Dutch national.

1 By law: by birth or legitimation. Any child with a Dutch father or mother is automatically Dutch at birth, even if he or she is born outside the Netherlands. A child becomes Dutch by legitimation if the legitimation takes place before his or her birth.

Dutch nationality can also be obtained by law through adoption..

2 Via the option procedure: by making a statement that you want to become a Dutch national. This procedure is valid for a number of groups. For example, for children of immigrants who are born in the Netherlands.

3 Through naturalisation: this is the other possibility for an alien to become a Dutch national. (ibid., 20).

...

If you want to become a Dutch national, you will have to deal with two official bodies:

1 the office of the Lieutenant Governor or official body appointed by the lieutenant governor for the island territory where you are resident, to whom you submit your application and to whom you must hand over a number of documents.

The Lieutenant Governor drafts a recommendation and, through the intervention of the Minister of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles, sends it to:

2 the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) in the Netherlands. The IND ultimately decides whether or not you can become a Dutch national.

Anyone submitting an application for naturalisation outside the Netherlands can contact the Dutch Embassy or Consulate, in which case the same conditions apply to them as for an application made in the Netherlands.

Conditions

First of all, you must check that you satisfy the conditions...[of which there are two kinds]: those for the option procedure and those for the naturalisation procedure. If you satisfy the conditions for the option procedure, you can complete an option statement at the Lieutenant Governor's office. If you satisfy the conditions for naturalisation, you can submit an application for naturalisation to the Lieutenant Governor's office (ibid., 21).

The document notes that the term "Lieutenant Governor," which is used throughout for brevity means, for the island territory of Curaçao, the Department of Births, Deaths and Marriages Population Registry & Elections (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Curaçao Tourist Board, Curaçao. 21 May 2003. "Things to Know: Entry Requirements." [Accessed 2 Oct. 2003]

Royal Netherlands Embassy in Ecuador, Quito. 25 June 2003. "Travelling to The Netherlands." [Accessed 23 Sept. 2003]

Royal Netherlands Embassy, Washington, DC. 2 October 2003. Telephone interview with consular official.

The Netherlands. September 2003. Ministry of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND). How Can You Become a Dutch National? The Procedure on the Netherlands Antilles <http://www. immigratiedienst.nl/pdf/antillen_eng.pdf> [Accessed 2 Oct. 2003]

Attachment

The Netherlands. September 2003. Ministry of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND). How Can You Become a Dutch National? The Procedure on the Netherlands Antilles, pp. 19-33. <http://www. immigratiedienst.nl/pdf/antillen_eng.pdf> [Accessed 2 Oct. 2003]