As of 15 March 2006, certain categories of aliens seeking to settle in the Netherlands who need an authorisation for temporary stay (MVV) to enter the country will have to take an integration test before coming to the Netherlands. This mainly concerns people who want to marry someone in the Netherlands or join family members. Religious leaders (such as imams or other clergy) coming to work in the Netherlands will also have to take the examination.

• The civic integration examination
• Higher pass level for spoken Dutch

What is the civic integration examination?

It is a test that an applicant must take at the Dutch embassy or consulate in his/her country of residence before travelling to the Netherlands. People applying for anMVV must first prove that they have passed the examination. You need an MVV to apply for a residence permit – which is necessary for a stay of over three months in the Netherlands. The civic integration examination is an oral test given in Dutch. Candidates will be tested on their knowledge of Dutch society and their command of the Dutch language. Anyone who prepares properly should be able to pass the examination.

It is not possible to take the examination at honorary consulates, nor are candidates who pass the examination able to submit an MVV application for family reunification/formation at honorary consulates.

Before arranging with the embassy to take the civic integration examination you have to pay the examination fee (€350) into the bank account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands. To start this procedure, you first need to fill in the application form (see top link on right).

To find out whether you have to take the civic integration examination, go to the Immigration and Naturalisation Service website, and click on ‘ Residence Wizard: planning to stay in the Netherlands’.If you want to know more about the examination, you can order an information leaflet. Either call 0900 1234561 (€0.10 a minute) or go to the Immigration and Naturalisation Service and click on ‘ Brochures/forms’

The embassy cannot provide teaching material or preparation material for the examination. If you want to know more about the examination and how to prepare for it, go to http://www.naarnederland.nl .

Starting December 2007: higher pass level for spoken Dutch

Starting December 2007: higher pass level for spoken Dutch in civic integration test

On 1 December 2007, changes are expected to be made to the Spoken Dutch test that prospective immigrants have to take under the Civic Integration Abroad Act. Research conducted by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) shows that the current proficiency levels required to pass the test are below the A1-minus level of the Common European Framework of Reference on which they are based.

The test itself will not change, but the method of grading will. The level required to pass will remain A1-minus. The pass level is expected to be raised from 1 December 2023 by requiring candidates to give a higher proportion of correct answers.

At the request of the House of Representatives, the minister is currently commissioning further research to ensure that the new pass level is appropriate. If this research contradicts the TNO’s findings, the pass level will have to be examined yet again. This may not be done by 1 December 2007. But for the time being, it remains the target date.

Important dates:

• The new grading system for the Spoken Dutch test will become effective on 1 December 2007.
• Candidates who enrol for the test and pay the fee before 15 September 2024 will have the guarantee of being able to take the test before the pass level is raised.
• Candidates who enrol or pay after 15 September 2024 will not have this guarantee. They will be able to take the test as places become available.
  The test fee must be received by Ministry of Foreign Affairs by 15 September 2024 at the latest.
• Candidates should therefore take account of the time required by the bank to process payment.
• As soon as they have received their confirmation of payment, candidates must contact the Netherlands embassy or consulate-general in time to make an appointment to take the examination
• Candidates who ask for their test date to be postponed will not have the guarantee of being able to take the test before the pass level is raised.