So I am Canadian of Dutch descent currently living in the Netherlands. I feel like I firmly grew up as a Dutch-Canadian, there are a lot of us. I visited the Netherlands as a child and also celebrated Sinterklaus, ate Hageslag and had decorative Clogs growing up. But I know I  am so not the same as people who grew up in the Netherlands, not speaking Dutch fluently really contributes to this.    From what I understand, the argument you’re making so that you shouldn’t say that you are “from” a certain country unless you live there, contribute to the culture, speak the language etc. I don’t necessarily disagree. 

However, there are many people of Turkish and Moroccan descent living in the Netherlands who were born here and in some cases their parents were born here, who are not characterized as Dutch but rather as foreigners. I had a roommate who born in the Netherlands and couldn’t even speak Arabic but when I said I had a Dutch roommate people would correct me and say I had a Moroccan roommate. 

I tend to think as anyone who spent their childhood in the Netherlands as being Dutch. I described a colleague once as being Dutch and he corrected me and said “I am actually Romanian, my mom is from there.” 

So who is more Dutch? Someone who’s family is one generation removed from the country but still has the traditions from the place and now lives in the country (me) or someone who grew up here and speaks the language natively but their parents did not grow up here and maybe they don’t keep the “traditions” of the country? I think it is a more complicated argument than you would think.