5 years legal residence → 5 processing steps → passport
Average Total
8.2mo
Range
2–21mo
Speed Rank
#4 of 19
Residency Req.
5 years
Book at gemeente; Amsterdam 3-6mo wait, smaller cities often same-day
Background check, integration test verification; 2024-2026 avg ~3.5mo
King signs the decree; some cases stuck 5+ months
Municipality schedules ceremony; Amsterdam notoriously slow
Naturalization ceremony; some gemeentes do written oath instead
Must pass civic integration exam (inburgeringsexamen). Dual nationality generally not allowed unless exceptions apply. Processing has sped up significantly in 2024-2026 (avg ~7mo vs ~10mo historically).
Community tracker (Google Sheets, ~320 self-reported entries across 2 sheets, 2013–2026)
Median
6.5mo
Average
8.2mo
Fastest
1.8mo
Slowest
21mo
| Municipality | Cases | Avg Months | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | 58 | 9.2mo | Longest waits for appointments and gemeente invites |
| Den Haag | 22 | 8.1mo | |
| Rotterdam | 14 | 7.8mo | |
| Groningen | 12 | 6.4mo | Consistently faster processing |
| Utrecht | 10 | 7.5mo | |
| Amstelveen | 10 | 7.9mo | |
| Eindhoven | 8 | 5.8mo | Among the fastest large cities |
| Leiden | 7 | 5.5mo | Direct IND application (gemeente only collects payment) |
| Haarlem | 6 | 6.8mo | |
| Other | 93 | 7.2mo |
Average naturalization processing time, all 19 countries. Netherlands highlighted.
300+ cases tracked in community spreadsheet
Based on 300 community-tracked data points.
City-by-city processing times with interactive map and all individual records.
Source: Community tracker (~320 entries across 2 sheets, 2013–2026) + IND.nl official guidance · Last updated: 2026-03