The Netherlands will continue to recognise polygamous marriages if they took place abroad with Dutch nationals who were not at that time residents of the Netherlands. Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin believes this is in the interests of the women.
Although polygamy is banned in the Netherlands, such marriages performed abroad are recognised. The cabinet now wants to restrict this as far as possible, Hirsch Ballin said yesterday in a letter to parliament.
Nothing however changes for foreigners who stepped into the polygamous marriage boat before they applied for a residence permit. At the time of the marriage, they had nothing to do with the Dutch legal system, reasons Hirsch Ballin.
These marriages, the Netherlands will continue to recognise. The minister says of them that it is in the interests of the women and children. A woman who is not married according to Dutch law can also not divorce her husband. And for children born of that marriage, it can also be disadvantageous, he stated.
At the end of last year, it appeared that the Netherlands has 1,374 people married to at least two men or two women. The new regulations will only apply to new cases.
Foreigners who make polygamous matches abroad after applying for a residence permit can no longer count on having their marriages recognised. According to Hirsch Ballin, such applicants should be in a position to know the Dutch standards and values.
Among foreigners living in the Netherlands, the minister is going a step further. If the foreigner in question travels abroad after some time in order to enter into a polygamous marriage, he can be subject to criminal prosecution for this.
