Dutch law does not provide for the adoption of an adult. Article 1:228 of the Civil Code requires the person to be a minor on the day the application is made at first instance, and that condition is stated without exception. Courts have nevertheless granted the adoption of an adult in a small number of exceptional cases, by setting that requirement aside where applying it would amount to an unjustified interference with family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
It is important to be clear about what that means. There is no entitlement and no established procedure. An application of this kind succeeds only on strong facts, and it fails more often than it succeeds. Before considering it, it is worth establishing whether one of the ordinary routes achieves what you actually want.
When a court has been willing to set the age requirement aside
The decisions that have gone in the applicant’s favour share a recognisable pattern. The adopter raised the person from a young age as their own child, so that family life within the meaning of Article 8 plainly exists. There is no other legal route by which that relationship can be given legal recognition — acknowledgement is not available, and there is no legal parent whose position would be displaced, or that parent has died or plays no role. Everyone involved consents, including the adult concerned and, where they are alive, the legal parents. And there is a concrete reason why legal recognition matters now rather than in the abstract.
Where an application fails, it is usually because one of those elements is missing: the relationship arose in adulthood, a legal parent objects, or the practical objective could have been achieved by simpler means.
The conditions that would otherwise apply
Article 1:228 sets out the conditions for adoption generally, and a court considering an adult adoption will still test the application against their substance. The adopter must be at least eighteen years older than the person adopted. The adoption must be in that person’s manifest interest. It must be established that the person has nothing further to expect from their parent or parents in their capacity as parent. Where the adopters are a couple, they must in principle have lived together for at least three years, and have cared for the child for at least a year.
The application is made to the district court by petition, and a lawyer is required. The court will hear the person to be adopted, and where they are alive, the legal parents.
The alternatives, and when they are the better answer
Three routes achieve part of what adoption achieves, with far less difficulty.
Acknowledgement under Article 1:204 of the Civil Code is possible in respect of an adult, and it creates a full legal family relationship, including inheritance rights. It is available only where the adult has no second legal parent, and where the adult is sixteen or older their own written consent is required. Where it is available, it is almost always the better route.
A change of surname by royal decree, under the rules on changes of surname, allows an adult to take the surname of the person who raised them. It gives the outward recognition that many applicants are actually looking for, without altering legal parentage.
A will settles the inheritance question directly. Adoption is sometimes pursued because of concern about succession, and a will combined with an understanding of the inheritance tax rates that apply to non-relatives will often be the more proportionate answer — those rates are set annually.
What adoption does, and does not, change
Adoption creates a family-law relationship between the adopter and the person adopted, and severs the relationship with the original parents. The person adopted becomes an heir at law of the adopter and, in principle, ceases to be one of their original parents. The surname may be changed at the same time.
One consequence is regularly misunderstood. Adoption by a Dutch national does not confer Dutch nationality on an adult. The provisions of the Netherlands Nationality Act under which adoption results in Dutch nationality apply to minors. An adult adoption is therefore not a route to Dutch nationality, and an application presented on that basis will not assist.
Adoption of a minor: the ordinary route
Where the person concerned is still a minor, the position is straightforward and the same Article 1:228 conditions apply directly. Step-parent adoption and adoption by a foster parent are both established procedures, and the practical question is usually one of timing: an application must be filed before the eighteenth birthday, and the preparation — consents, documents, the report of the Child Care and Protection Board where one is required — takes time. Where a family is contemplating adoption of a child who is approaching majority, that deadline is the single most important fact in the case.
How Law & More can help
The first question in any adult adoption enquiry is whether adoption is the right instrument at all, and often it is not. Where it is, the case has to be built on the facts that matter to a court: the history of the relationship, the absence of any alternative, the consents, and the concrete reason for recognising the relationship now. Our family law team assesses the position, advises on the alternatives, and prepares and conducts the application before the district court.
Procedure and costs in outline
An adoption application is made by petition to the district court of the place where the applicant lives, and must be drawn up and filed by a lawyer. Court fees are payable, at rates that are revised annually. The court sets a hearing date, and in an adult adoption will want to hear both the applicant and the person to be adopted, since their own position on the application carries decisive weight.
The documents that have to accompany the petition are largely a matter of establishing the history: extracts from the civil status register for everyone involved, evidence of the period during which the applicant cared for the person concerned, written consents, and where a legal parent is alive and does not consent, an explanation of their position. Where documents originate abroad, legalisation or an apostille will be required, and that step routinely takes longer than applicants expect.
If the application is granted, the adoption takes effect on the day the decision becomes final, and the registrar of births, deaths, marriages and registered partnerships records it. If it is refused, an appeal lies to the court of appeal within three months.
Frequently asked questions
Can I adopt my adult stepchild?
Not as of right. If you raised the stepchild from a young age, both other legal parents are out of the picture or consent, and there is no alternative route, an application can be made and has in comparable cases been granted. If the relationship began when the stepchild was already grown, an application is very unlikely to succeed.
Does the adult have to agree?
Yes. An adoption cannot be imposed on an adult, and their own consent is central to the assessment.
What if one of the original parents objects?
An objection by a legal parent is a serious obstacle, though not always decisive. Article 1:228 allows the court to disregard an objection in defined circumstances, for instance where the parent has long since ceased to play any role in the person’s life. The weight given to the objection depends on the facts.
Does adoption give the adopted adult Dutch nationality?
No. The nationality consequences of adoption in the Netherlands Nationality Act apply to minors. An adult who is adopted does not thereby become a Dutch national, and residence status is decided separately under immigration law.
Is there an upper age limit for the person being adopted?
The statute sets no upper limit because it does not contemplate adult adoption at all. In practice the age of the person concerned matters mainly as an indication of how long ago the family relationship was formed, which is the point the court is really assessing.
How long does the procedure take?
From filing to decision, several months is normal, and longer where documents have to be obtained from abroad or where a legal parent contests the application. Building the file properly beforehand shortens the procedure more than anything that can be done once it is under way.
