Proportionality test via option procedure

Hello manneke87,

Thank you for starting this thread to share your current situation.

I really hope that you were able to get a positive answer since the day you posted this thread here.

Hopefully, people who have been through the same thing can give you advice and share their personal experiences with you.

Best of luck,

Cheryl

Expat.com team

Thank

@kumararhunga

Welcome to the forum.

Do you have some information you can pass on to the OP?

@Cheryl

Hi,

I am still waiting for a response.

Thank you.

Greetings all,

My name is Manneke.

I have asked severally and with no relevant response in these forums  if anyone has experience with obtaining dutch citizenship by the option procedure.

I would be very grateful if someone shared their experience with me. Thank you

Greetings all,
My name is Manneke.
I have asked severally and with no relevant response in these forums if anyone has experience with obtaining dutch citizenship by the option procedure.
I would be very grateful if someone shared their experience with me. Thank you
-@manneke87

Hi again.

You have previously told us that you have already applied and are waiting for confirmation as to whether the Dutch Government have accepted your application. When they do respond, if it is favourable then life moves on, if it is declined, then they will tell you why and if it is a matter of interpretation of the law, then you can appeal. Until then, I'm not sure what more we can do to help you.  Personally, I hope your application is successful and I wish you the best of luck.

I hope this helps.

Cynic

Expat Team

Thank you and I look forward to your help.

@Cynic thank you for the positive feedback. I understand in theory every possible scenario that you just mentioned.

I just needed to hear from another human being who has gone through the process, about their experience, it's meaning and the journey it took.

Also where  are they now in life? Are they in the Netherlands?

@Cheryl I haven't been so lucky unfortunately in getting a genuine life experience.  Not the theoretical options available

update on my propotionality test status

So the decision deadline for my application passed on 7th December.  I contacted IND via telephone all the way from Kenya, it took about 30 to 45 minutes before someone picked my call. They quickly assisted to check the status of my application and unfortunately it read "still in progress". The nice guy told me to call back in 10 days and check the status again.        Afew days ago my legal representative received the following message when I requested that she inquires on the status of my application....."   

"Apologies for the belated response.  It took a while to find out the status.

I can inform you that your client's file was received by the IND on September 12 for the proportionality test.  I was informed that they have not yet got around to it, but I have requested that this dossier be given priority given the time that has already passed.  I hope to be able to inform you as soon as possible with the advice and our decision"

You can imagine my disappointment at the fact that all this time they  " had not gotten around to it".

Let's hope they can redeem themselves soon because the anxiety I am experiencing right now is too much. I will plan to give a call early January to check on the status. I will keep you updated.

Another update : I gave the IND a notice of default and asked that they provide a decision in two weeks or start serving the penalty.

So let's see what happens in two weeks, hopefully by the new year we have an answer.

Merry Christmas to everyone and all the best to the rest who are desperately waiting for their lives to change.

Hi Guys,

After the IND was given a warning of default they finally made their decision and sent me a very long letter.

Unfortunately they decided not to give me back my Dutch nationality. They sited:

"In view of the facts and circumstances at hand as a whole, the loss of Union citizenship on 6 August 2015 cannot be regarded as disproportionate in the situation of the person concerned on that date.

I therefore conclude that the loss of Dutch nationality should be maintained pursuant to Article 15 paragraph 1 under ..."

Well it's dissapoiting but I tried.

All the best to the rest.  If anyone ever wants guidance in regards to this process kindly just post on this threads I will be here to answer your questions

Happy new year,

So I am back again.

My legal representative has began the objection process. I shall keep updating on this thread on how it goes and what it involves.

Please note that this procedure (proportionality test) is a rather new process and it is about European law. So the policy is not completely clear for the IND. And they usually do not understand European law well.

So it's worth to keep trying and not to loose hope.

Hi Again,

My journey continues.  My objection was posted more than 6 months ago and four weeks ago I had my first  objection case session with the IND where I presented more evidence to support my case. They also asked me questions through a virtual 'court' session with my lawyer.

I was informed that they would create a report from the session  and include the new evidence i had provided and make another decision,  it could either be negative or positive.

But interesting new news happened as well!!

i came across some interesting news. The legal person incharge of representing the IND in my matter wrote an email to my Lawyer after discovering a new possibility . I was informed that there is a chance that when my Dutch citizenship in 2015 was lost,  it could have left me stateless. This was determined by my country's (kenya) old Constitution that didn't allow duel citizenship and it turns out I lost my Kenyan nationality when I turned 23 before the new Constitution was enacted which allows for duel citizenship.

Hypothetically, it means that I also never lost my Dutch citizenship.....because you cannot lose it if it will leave you stateless

I know it sounds confusing but I finally have a shot at this. It's been a very long and tiring journey.  I will keep you updated .

Bye

Hi there, 

just read your thread and want to express my empathy to you. Did you loose your dutch nationality coz you had your kenyan passport at the same time? in any case, i wish you well and hopefully this will settle in a manner that gives you peace and success; indeed you could have found yourself stateless during that loophole when the kenyan const got amended! thank you for  sharing your story.

@mekalia

Thank you for your message of encouragement.

Yes I lost my Dutch nationality automatically because I lived more than 10 years with dual nationality and without applying for a dutch passport.

I recently consulted my government and I found out that I lost my Kenyan Nationality first when I was 23 years. Then I lost my Dutch citizenship at 28 years  , so I was left stateless . I hope that it will help my  case and this is the breakthrough I have been waiting for on my case.

Thank you again.

Hi,

This is my final post on this topic.

I finally got my response from the Dutch government (court).

They ruled that because I lost my Kenyan citizenship before I lost my Dutch nationality then it wasn't possible to lose my Dutch Nationality.

Their ruling was that I am Dutch and have always been Dutch. I will be receiving my Dutch Nationality Certificate soon. In addition I am in the process of applying for my passport.

I cannot wait to see what the future holds for me. I can now start living my life.

All the best to anyone who will find some comfort or guidance with my posts.

Bye and best of luck.

Manneke87

Well done and congratulations; now to make the best of your new life, you should learn to speak Dutch.