Aras Özbiliz is currently in a battle with the state to get his Dutch passport back. The 31-year-old attacker appears to have unintentionally lost his Dutch citizenship when he chose to apply for an Armenian passport in 2011 to play international matches for Armenia. The situation creates a lot of stress, says Özbiliz in an interview with The Telegraph.
Özbiliz was born in Turkey, but he came to the Netherlands at the age of one and grew up there. After nine years in the Netherlands, the Özbiliz family became eligible for Dutch nationality, which resulted in the renunciation of Turkish nationality. It went wrong for Özbiliz when he chose to play international matches for Armenia in 2011. Özbiliz therefore applied for an Armenian passport, thereby unknowingly forfeiting his Dutch nationality. “The law states that you can have dual nationality, but only that of the country of origin – in my case Turkey – and the Netherlands.”
Özbiliz found out about this in 2019, when he wanted to renew his passport and was told that he was no longer allowed to have the Dutch nationality since 2011. “They had found out, because I had filled in that I also have an Armenian passport”, says Özbiliz, who works for Ajax, Kuban Krasnodar, Spartak Moscow, Besiktas, Rayo Vallecano, Sheriff Tiraspol, Willem II and Pyunik Yerevan. played. The 41-time Armenian international is still under contract with the latter club, but is also in the Netherlands to be with his sick mother.
“It is now also impossible to go to Yerevan, because I only have an Armenian passport and – if I want to be with my children or something happens to my mother – I need a visa every time to travel to the Netherlands. This is only available in Georgia. And because of Covid-19, the Armenian-Georgian border has been closed, ”says Özbiliz. He lost a lawsuit against the Dutch state to get his Dutch passport back and has decided not to appeal for the time being, to avoid more stress. Özbiliz is now awaiting an answer to his five-year residence permit application and after a year he could get a Dutch passport again.
For the time being, Özbiliz has applied for a ‘stay with my Dutch children’ permit, as his wife and children do have Dutch nationality. “It’s crazy for words. But by God’s grace I am allowed to stay temporarily in my own home with my wife and children, ”said the 31-year-old attacker. He wants to warn other football players who will play for a country other than the Netherlands. “When I was 21 I made a decision, the major consequences of which I have never seen. I want to protect people from the same pitfall, warn everyone. ”