The Inburgering Exam: Your Questions, Answered

Inburgering is the Dutch civic integration programme: you learn Dutch and you learn how people live and work in the Netherlands. The exam is not one test. It is four language exams (lezen, luisteren, schrijven, spreken) and the KNM exam, Kennis van de Nederlandse Maatschappij.

Some people have extra parts. Under the 2013 integration law that can be ONA (orientation on the Dutch labour market). Under the 2021 law you do MAP and the participation declaration (PVT) with your gemeente.

DUO tells you. If you have to integrate, you get a letter from DUO, and Mijn Inburgering shows the date you started and which exams you need. Under the 2021 law your gemeente also makes a personal plan with you (the PIP) that names your learning route and your exams.

You can also integrate by choice, for example because you want to naturalise.

It depends on which law you fall under. Under the 2013 law you pass the exams at A2 or higher. Under the 2021 law the standard is the B1 route: you take the language exams at B1, which is the Staatsexamen NT2.

On the B1 route, if you have followed at least 600 hours of lessons and B1 is not working, you can ask your gemeente whether you may take exams at A2 instead. Mijn Inburgering shows your level.

Three years. DUO calls this the inburgeringstermijn. Mijn Inburgering shows your start date and what you still need to do.

Sometimes you need fewer exams, or none. DUO lists situations such as a serious illness or disability, a diploma you earned in the Netherlands (or in Dutch in Belgium or Suriname), having lived in the Netherlands for 10 years and worked for at least 5 of them, or an NT2 certificate or diploma, which gives a partial exemption.

The rules differ between the 2013 and the 2021 law, and you have to apply. Check DUO's page for your own situation before you count on it.

Each exam costs 50 euros: schrijven, spreken, luisteren, lezen and KNM. That is 250 euros for all five under the 2021 law, where MAP is free at your gemeente. Under the 2013 law ONA adds 40 euros, 290 euros in total.

If you are an asylum status holder under the 2021 law, the first two attempts at each exam are free, as long as you take the exam at the level in your plan. The Staatsexamen NT2 (B1 or B2) costs 50 euros per part and 200 euros for all four.

For the A2 language exams, KNM and ONA you log in to Mijn Inburgering with your DigiD and choose a date and a place. You get a confirmation by email and by letter. Register early: DUO says it can take more than six weeks before you can sit the exam.

You can change the date or place, or cancel and get your money back, until one week before the exam. For B1 and B2 you register in Mijn DUO, about eight weeks before the exam date, and you can cancel for a refund until four weeks before.

At A2: lezen 65 minutes, luisteren 45, schrijven 40 and spreken 35. KNM takes 45 minutes. Schrijven is done with pen and paper and has 4 tasks. The others are on the computer.

At B1 and B2 (Staatsexamen NT2): spreken about 30 minutes, luisteren 90, schrijven 100, and lezen 110 minutes at B1 or 100 at B2.

For A2 spreken and schrijven: after about 16 weeks, by letter. For the other A2 and knowledge exams: usually within 8 weeks. You can also see the result in Mijn Inburgering.

If the long marking time for spreken or schrijven makes you nearly late, DUO gives you 6 months extra automatically. For the Staatsexamen NT2 you see your result in Mijn DUO after about 5 weeks.

The Staatsexamen NT2 diploma has no expiry date, according to the official NT2 site. You get a certificate for each part you pass and the diploma when you have passed all four.

Your inburgering diploma can be downloaded for free in Mijn Diploma's, and the digital version has the same value as a certified copy, for example for naturalisation.

Practise in the form of the exam, not only the language. Do one official practice exam early, so you know which part is weakest, then spend most of your time there.

Keep the others alive with ten minutes a day. Short daily practice beats one long evening a week, because exam Dutch is mostly speed: recognising a question type and answering without translating.

Know the format of each exam by heart: how many minutes, computer or paper, how many tasks. Schrijven A2 is with pen and paper, so practise by hand, with a clock.

For spreken you talk to a computer after watching short films. Practise saying your answer out loud in one go, and stop when you have answered. A short correct answer is better than a long one with mistakes.

Register on time, because the wait can be more than six weeks. Plan backwards from your deadline, and remember that spreken and schrijven results take about 16 weeks.

Bring valid ID and the letter from DUO with your date, time and place. Only candidates may enter the exam location, so family and friends wait outside.