Ministers Sign For a
Naturalisation Exam
The Daily Herald
St. Maarten
June 26, 2007
THE HAGUE–Dutch Justice Minister Ernst Minister Hirsch Ballin and Justice Minister David Dick signed the documents regulating introduction of the naturalization exam for the Netherlands Antilles. As of October 1, it will be mandatory in the Netherlands Antilles to take the naturalization exam when applying for Dutch citizenship. The exam can be taken in Dutch, English or Papiamentu.
Hirsch Ballin spoke of a first step indicating that the second step will be preparing of a draft law regulating that the naturalization exam will be administered only in Dutch. Dick said that he welcomes the higher standards being set to obtain Dutch citizenship as it has been too easy to become Dutch.
However, Dick stressed the importance for the Netherlands Antilles to ensure that potential Dutch citizens in the Netherlands Antilles have good knowledge of English and Papiamentu as well.
In the Netherlands, the naturalization exam has been introduced since 2003. People wanting to obtain the Dutch citizenship are tested on their knowledge of the Dutch language and the Dutch society.
The Ministers of Justice of the Netherlands, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles started with their tri-partite meeting at the Ministry of Justice in The Hague on Monday. The meeting takes place twice a year.
Topics discussed were combating of drug trafficking, border control, the Kingdom Detectives Corporation Team RST, naturalization and immigration.
During the press briefing, after the tri-partite meeting, Hirsch-Ballin said that the Dutch marechaussee and Customs personnel in the Netherlands Antilles will return to the Netherlands, because the number of drug couriers from the Antilles to the Netherlands has dropped considerably.
The times when dozens of couriers board a flight from Curaao to the Netherlands are over. It has dropped considerably due to a combination of better controls and maintaining.
The thirteen Dutch Customs personnel stationed in Curaao will return to the Netherlands at the end of the month while the 13 members of the marechaussee will return by the end of the year.
Dick said that the controls made it less attractive for couriers to transport drugs through the Netherlands Antilles. He stressed that the level of controls will be maintained despite the Dutch Customs and marechaussee personnel returning to their homeland.
Extra Customs dogs and scanners will be used at the airport. The Coast Guard too will be reinforced, mainly to help against human trafficking, Dick said.
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