According to data from the Amsterdam municipality, bigamy and polygamy exist in the Netherlands. 173 people in Amsterdam are registered with two marriages and two people are even registered with three.
The fact that bigamy and polygamy were commonly registered by the municipalities of the major cities despite a legal ban led to some fuss several months ago. In Amsterdam the VVD asked for clarification and received the data for the first time in the Netherlands. According to the current regulations, Amsterdam registers bigamous and polygamous marriages which are legal in the land of origin. Whoever does the integration exam can't become a Dutch citizen as long as he's married to more than one spouse.
Of the 173 people with bigamous marriages, 31 have Dutch nationality in addition to their original nationality. Having multiple spouses does not seem a hindrance to get Dutch citizenship, according to the answer of the Amsterdam city council to the VVD questions.
The mayors of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague and Utrecht think that people who get married with multiple women abroad should not be Dutch anymore. They will send a letter to Dutch minister of justice Ernt Hirsch Ballin asking to change the law, according to mayor Job Cohen of Amsterdam in a response Friday to a written question from the VVD party in the capital. Currently people who get married to multiple women in their land of origin can get Dutch nationality. Dutch are forbidden from marrying multiple partners, also abroad.
Sources: Telegraaf, AD (Dutch)
See also: Netherlands: Statistics Netherlands to look at polygamous marriages
The fact that bigamy and polygamy were commonly registered by the municipalities of the major cities despite a legal ban led to some fuss several months ago. In Amsterdam the VVD asked for clarification and received the data for the first time in the Netherlands. According to the current regulations, Amsterdam registers bigamous and polygamous marriages which are legal in the land of origin. Whoever does the integration exam can't become a Dutch citizen as long as he's married to more than one spouse.
Of the 173 people with bigamous marriages, 31 have Dutch nationality in addition to their original nationality. Having multiple spouses does not seem a hindrance to get Dutch citizenship, according to the answer of the Amsterdam city council to the VVD questions.
The mayors of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague and Utrecht think that people who get married with multiple women abroad should not be Dutch anymore. They will send a letter to Dutch minister of justice Ernt Hirsch Ballin asking to change the law, according to mayor Job Cohen of Amsterdam in a response Friday to a written question from the VVD party in the capital. Currently people who get married to multiple women in their land of origin can get Dutch nationality. Dutch are forbidden from marrying multiple partners, also abroad.
Sources: Telegraaf, AD (Dutch)
See also: Netherlands: Statistics Netherlands to look at polygamous marriages
