UK Moving to Holland (British marrying Lithuanian)

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

To answer your specific questions:

Will you become an EU citizen?  No; your nationality is generally decided by the nationality of your birth parents at the time of your birth.  If they were citizens of the UK, then so are you until you do something to change it; marriage is not one of those.

Marriage - notwithstanding your academic ambitions, if your boyfriend is living/registered in the Netherlands, then you can get married there; Brexit notwithstanding, you may need to apply for a Schengen visa to visit the Netherlands and there are restrictions placed by the EU on how long you can stay there in a given period.  Similarly, if you live in the UK, you can also get married there; if the trade negotiation is completed, then your boyfriend will need a marriage visa if you decide to get married in the UK.  If you are in the Netherlands on your uni course when you decide to get married, there is currently nothing stopping you doing so.

Naturalisation in the Netherlands - yes, 5 years residence required as you surmised.

While the UK has now left the EU, there is still an ongoing negotiation with regards to future trade and who knows where this will take us.  I'll give you a couple of links for both the UK Home Office and the Dutch IND, but it's a bit early to start making plans.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi Cynic, you are an angel, thank you for your reply!

Unfortunately he doesn't actually live/work in Holland, just for a Dutch company that have outsourced a branch to Lithuania.

If he rented a place in Holland, would this count as living/registering there? Or does he have to put that as his main residence (certain amount of time per year)
I mean I would love it if he got a place there and I could get direct flights from Bristol whenever I have uni breaks. How long do you have to spend somewhere to count it as your main residence?

Also about having children, if it's before the 5 years - because clock is ticking - and I haven't been able to get naturalisation yet but I'm studying/working, what would their nationality be?

I have tried to get the information but there's only so much I can google, and asking a person can be better for the subtleties X-D

Thank you!
Kind regards,
Emilia

Hi again.

Your boyfriend has the right to live and work anywhere in the EU, so could do that in the Netherlands; there are EU treaties about the right to a family life, so I don't think you joining him there will be an issue, the details are in the IND link I gave you.

He won't be able to rent anywhere in the Netherlands unless he is registered somewhere there; kind of a chicken/egg situation; he needs a BSN number in order to open a bank account; register with a doctor, register a car, get Health Insurance etc.  You get a BSN number when you register yourself with the Town Hall, so most people start off in a temporary address (stay with friends/family, or Airbnb, hotel etc), register to get their BSN, then start looking for somewhere to live once they've done all the administration, but remember to ask if the person owning the place you start off with will permit registration, if not it he will have to find somewhere that does.

Uni breaks would not count towards residence; you would need to have moved to the Netherlands and be registered as resident at the Gemeente, that's when the clock starts ticking.

Children will always inherit the nationality of their parents on the date they were born - the Dutch do not grant citizenship to people born there of non-Dutch parents, so assuming you're a Brit, they would have dual nationality (British/Lithuanian).  My kids are dual UK/NL citizens because I'm a Brit, their mother is Dutch) - Google "Jus sanguinis" if you want to know more.  I'm wondering if it would not be easier for you to wed in Lithuania, certainly worth asking the question; there are no advantages to be gained by getting married in the Netherlands and as neither of you lives there, it will be a nightmare to plan.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Cynic wrote:

Hi again.

Your boyfriend has the right to live and work anywhere in the EU, so could do that in the Netherlands; there are EU treaties about the right to a family life, so I don't think you joining him there will be an issue, the details are in the IND link I gave you.
He won't be able to rent anywhere in the Netherlands unless he is registered somewhere there; kind of a chicken/egg situation; he needs a BSN number in order to open a bank account; register with a doctor, register a car, get Health Insurance etc.  You get a BSN number when you register yourself with the Town Hall, so most people start off in a temporary address (stay with friends/family, or Airbnb, hotel etc), register to get their BSN, then start looking for somewhere to live once they've done all the administration, but remember to ask if the person owning the place you start off with will permit registration, if not it he will have to find somewhere that does.

OK, so that's something that we could look into down the line then, it looks like if I'm starting as a student I may also be able to get a BSN? (as in, being there for more than 4 months)

Cynic wrote:

Uni breaks would not count towards residence; you would need to have moved to the Netherlands and be registered as resident at the Gemeente, that's when the clock starts ticking.

Ok, that makes sense and good to know, thank you.

Cynic wrote:

Children will always inherit the nationality of their parents on the date they were born - the Dutch do not grant citizenship to people born there of non-Dutch parents, so assuming you're a Brit, they would have dual nationality (British/Lithuanian).  My kids are dual UK/NL citizens because I'm a Brit, their mother is Dutch) - Google "Jus sanguinis" if you want to know more.  I'm wondering if it would not be easier for you to wed in Lithuania, certainly worth asking the question; there are no advantages to be gained by getting married in the Netherlands and as neither of you lives there, it will be a nightmare to plan.

Would the children have to wait until they are 18 to decide if they want to become citizens?
Will I be able to do it on their behalf if I become naturalised when they are say ~3-4 or so? (or if they have been residents for a certain period)
Will a non-Dutch dual nationality affect their access to educational and vocational opportunities within the Netherlands?

What are the connotations of marrying in Lithuania vs UK?

Thank you so much for this Cynic, it's very good to be aware of these things now - one can dream of cycling through Tulip fields with windmills in the background but the hard clarity of legalities can soon get you in a tangle.

Kind regards,

Emilia

Hi again - forgive my snipping your post.

Lotusflowerz wrote:

OK, so that's something that we could look into down the line then, it looks like if I'm starting as a student I may also be able to get a BSN? (as in, being there for more than 4 months)

No, while you are a student in the UK, you can't register with the Gemeente in the Netherlands, you don't need to as a short-term visitor; you only register when you move there to live permanently at the end of your Uni course.

Lotusflowerz wrote:

Would the children have to wait until they are 18 to decide if they want to become citizens?  Will I be able to do it on their behalf if I become naturalised when they are say ~3-4 or so? (or if they have been residents for a certain period).  Will a non-Dutch dual nationality affect their access to educational and vocational opportunities within the Netherlands?

Your children will have the nationality of you and your partner, nothing will change that; you can't change that; who knows how the world will be in 20 years time - perhaps a UK passport will be an advantage.  There is nothing stopping them applying for Dutch nationality when they become of age.  Access to schools etc are exactly the same, there is no discrimination except what they will get from School mates.  Your kids will be born in Holland and will look/sound just like all the other Dutch kids; they will only be different if you make them different.  Our daughter just had her first child in Holland; she tells me that the medical care was first class (if a little bit bossy), but the social benefits were crap (maternity leave/pay etc) in comparison to the UK.  You may find it a bit overwhelming on your own, she certainly missed her mum being there through her pregnancy; but 3 months after the birth, everything is working out fine.

Lotusflowerz wrote:

What are the connotations of marrying in Lithuania vs UK?

Don't know, apart from knowing where it is on a map, I know nothing about the place; perhaps your boyfriend could start asking questions, get his family to ask around.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Thank you Cynic, your help has been truly invaluable and given me many things to consider. Much to mull over the next three years, hopefully investing time in the things I can do in the meantime - learning Dutch and to visit as many places as possible will help ease the transition.

Kind regards,

Emilia

One last piece of advice (unless you have any further specific questions); as you're going through all this Expat stuff, if something appears to be too good to be true, then it's probably a scam, please be careful.

Thank you, yes, I understand - hopefully I won't be suckered into sending money off for special licences, fees or documents or false information repositories. I'm also a little nervous of 'flats for expats' as I wonder what's in it for them, are they more expensive? going to have rip off terms hidden in the agreements? etc.
I plan to put in as much as I get out of moving there (if not more), hopefully by putting in the research, listening out for the Brexit developments as well as making connections with locals and expats will help us.