A Dutch passport is an identity document issued to citizens of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for the purpose of international travel. As the Netherlands only distinguish one category of citizen (Nederlandse (Dutch), NLD), for all countries in the Kingdom, passports are the same for all four countries. The passport also serves as a means of identification as required by the Dutch law since 1 January 2005 for all persons over the age of fourteen. Dutch passports are valid for a period of ten years from issuing date. The passport complies with the rules (EU Council Regulation 2252/04) for European Union passports. Since 26 August 2006 all passports are issued as a biometric passport with an embedded contactless smartcard RFID chip for storing biometric data. Every Dutch citizen is also a citizen of the European Union. The nationality allows for free rights of movement and residence in any of the states of the European Union, European Economic Area, and Switzerland.

History

The first passport regulations in the Netherlands were enacted in 1813, shortly after the country regained its independence from the First French Empire in the Battle of Arnhem (1813). Around 1950, a new Dutch passport booklet was introduced. This passport, nicknamed the "black rag" (zwarte vod) from the colour of its cover, became increasingly prone to misuse after the 1970s due to its lack of security features. In 1983, the Dutch government decided to develop a new, EU-format machine readable passport, and entered negotiations with the Sdu publishing house and other interested parties. On 6 June 1986, the KEP BV (a partnership between Kodak, Elba (a Schiedam-based printing company) and Philips) was awarded the contract to develop the new passport type, reportedly because the then-state-owned Sdu publishing house was undergoing privatisation. The development of the new passport type was marred with controversy from the beginning, and was the subject of a parliamentary inquiry in 1988. KEP BV was declared insolvent on 27 December 1988 as a result of said controversy, and a new design by the Sdu publishing house was chosen instead. A new biometric Dutch passport design, designed and manufactured by IDEMIA, is expected to be issued from end-2024.

Design

In line with other EU passports, Dutch passports are burgundy in colour, with the Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands emblazoned on the front cover. The words "EUROPESE UNIE" (European Union) and "KONINKRIJK DER NEDERLANDEN" (Kingdom of the Netherlands) are inscribed above the coat of arms as well as "PASPOORT" (passport), consistent with the design standards as set forth by the European Union. The Model 2011 biometric passport also features the ICAO biometric passport symbol at the bottom of the cover. The regular passport contains 34 pages, 28 of which may be used for visas. Each chip contains a digital record of the person's fingerprints.

Identity Information Page

The Dutch passport includes the following data on the identity information page: The information page ends with the Machine Readable Zone starting with P<NLD.

Languages

For each item in the passport captions are provided in Dutch, English and French. These captions are numbered and translations into the twenty-three official languages of the European Union are given on the last two pages of the passport.

Passport note

The Dutch passport contains on its inside cover in Dutch, English and French the words: ''In naam van Zijne Majesteit de Koning der Nederlanden, Prins van Oranje-Nassau, enz. enz. enz., verzoekt de Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken alle overheden van bevriende staten aan de houder van dit paspoort vrije en ongehinderde doorgang te verlenen alsmede alle hulp en bijstand te verschaffen'' The term etc. etc. etc. reflects the large number of other titles the King holds and which are not normally mentioned.

Validity

The regular and business passports are valid for a ten-year period from date of issue (five years for minors). A second passport is valid for a period of two years from date of issue. Emergency passports are valid for the duration of the journey, but no longer than a period of one year from date of issue. Foreigners passports are valid for the same period as the corresponding residence permit is valid.

Types of passports

Visa free travel

Visa requirements for Dutch citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of the Netherlands. As of 21 September 2022, Dutch citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 188 countries and territories, ranking the Dutch passport 5th in the world (tied with the passports of Austria, Denmark, and Sweden) according to the Henley Passport Index. Although a passport is often used for travel, it is the nationality rather than the passport that visa-free travel is based on.

[Visa requirements for Dutch citizens

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