6. Dutch or third-state nationality and permanent residence

6.1 General information

When a diplomatic mission or consular post registers a staff member at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry assesses whether the staff member was either a Dutch national or a permanent resident at the time of posting.

Under articles 37 and 38 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, those who are permanent residents (under the Aliens Act 2000) or have Dutch nationality are not entitled to the same privileges and immunities as other diplomatic, technical or administrative staff members. Persons who were permanent residents when they were posted to a mission are given the annotation ‘/DV’ on their identity card, in addition to the regular code on the card (for example: ‘BO/DV’, ‘AO/DV’).

Persons who hold Dutch nationality at the time of posting receive the annotation ‘/NL’ on their ID card, in addition to the regular code on the card (for example: ‘BO/NL’, ‘AO/NL’).


6.2 Diplomatic staff who are not nationals of the sending State

Diplomatic agents must, in principle, have the nationality of the sending State (under article 8 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations). A sending State that intends to post a diplomatic agent who is a national of the Netherlands or of a third State should make a written request for the Ministry’s consent. The Ministry’s express and prior written consent is a precondition for any such appointment. The Ministry’s consent may be withdrawn at any time.

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