Well, as we say in Dutch, "Het is zover." Essentially means "It's a done deal." I'm Dutch. After living here for seven and a half years and navigating a sea of (relatively reasonable) bureaucracy for almost two years, I received a rather boring letter two weeks ago that Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of Orange has made me one of her subjects by royal decree. But don't think I'm anyone special... this is just how it works in Holland. I picked up my new National Identity Card (above) two hours ago from City Hall. Believe it or not, this is the closest I've gotten to any kind of "ritual" associated with my new nationality. The Dutch are decidedly businesslike 'when it comes to conferring Dutchness on foreigners. No pomp and circumstance. "Just be happy you made it through all the paperwork" seems to be the message. Not like the "swearing in" ceremonies you have in the U.S. Perhaps a bit overdramatic, but at least it's a special occasion.
But don't think the fun's over yet. Now comes the tough part. Right now, I'm still temporarily a U.S. citizen. But to get my Dutch citizenship, I had to promise I would give up my U.S. citizenship. The Dutch are not fond of dual nationality, and only allow it in a limited number of cases (most commonly if you marry and Dutch person or if your country doesn't allow you to give up your citizenship - like Morocco). I didn't qualify for any of the exception categories, so in the end, I signed the paper agreeing to let go of my American passport. 9/10ths of the letter I got conferring Dutch nationality was about the procedure I have to follow in order to prove that I've given up my U.S. citizenship. I have three months from the date of the letter to do so, and if I don't, I risk having my Dutch citizenship revoked. I've heard mixed stories about what people actually do in this circumstance. Many people simply fail to ever do so, and have never had any problems with it. But recent conflicts in the country with dual citizens of foreign origin are leading the authorities to crack down, so I'll probably have to march into the U.S. consulate and renounce my U.S. citizenship soon.
To many that may seem like a big deal. To me, it's more of a recognition of a reality. I live here, I love here, I work here. It's become my home. Though I'm deeply concerned about the future of my birth country and the horrible direction I believe it is currently taking, giving up my citizenship isn't really a political statement. I'm proud of where I come from, even if I think the current conservative trend in American politics is returning the country to McCarthyism. I can still visit the U.S. for months at a time without a visa, but I just can't live or work there without jumping through the same hoops that any other foreigner would have to. And the truth is that I can't imagine wanting to live in the U.S. again after having such a wonderful taste of what it's like to live so close to the rest of the world. I'm much more happy working in a company with people from 30 different countries. I'm much more happy being able to hop on a plane for 90 minutes and be in any one of a dozen different completely different countries and cultures where I've never been before. And yes, I'm much more happy knowing that when the time is right, I can marry the man I love, and this country will recognize and respect that relationship without prejudice to my sexual orientation. And I will get the same benefits for my tax payments that heterosexual married couples do.
So for those of you who might think, "How could you give up your American citizenship," I would say that it's because my life is much better here than it ever was in the U.S. I have more opportunity and more respect here than in the place I grew up. The only things I miss are my family and Denny's.
