Learn Dutch, show you know the Netherlands, and do it within 3 years. This is what integration looks like, from the letter from DUO to your diploma. With a real sample task.
Machine translation: this page was translated automatically from the reviewed Dutch text and has not been checked by a person.
Inburgering, civic integration, means that you learn Dutch and show that you know how the Netherlands works. You do that with exams at DUO. Pass everything and you receive an inburgeringsdiploma.
The process starts with a letter from DUO and ends with that diploma. You have 3 years. This page shows what integration is, what the exam looks like and which steps you go through.
The government expects two things of you:
Enough to work, go to the doctor and talk to your children's school.
How you look for work, how health insurance works, and which rules and values matter here.
You show it with exams: 4 language exams (Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking) and the KNM exam, Knowledge of Dutch Society. Alongside those you follow a few short modules at the municipality. They are in step 5.
Integration is not a test of how clever you are. It is a fixed format, and a format can be learned. Most people who fail do not fail because their Dutch is poor, but because nobody showed them the format. So we show it below.
Whether you have to integrate depends on your nationality and your residence permit. Read Do I have to do inburgering? for that. This page is about what comes next.
This is a writing task like the ones in the Writing A2 exam. First the task, then a good answer. The task is ours, in the format of the exam. The real exam questions are secret. Both stay in Dutch, because the Dutch is the point; the gloss is underneath.
Writing A2, an e-mail task
Situatie
Je dochter Sara is ziek. Ze kan morgen niet naar school. Schrijf een e-mail aan haar juf, mevrouw De Boer.
Schrijf in je e-mail
1. dat Sara ziek is
2. wat ze heeft
3. wanneer ze weer naar school komt
All 3 points are there, in short sentences
Beste mevrouw De Boer,
Sara is ziek. Ze heeft koorts en keelpijn. Daarom kan ze morgen niet naar school. Ik denk dat ze donderdag weer komt.
Met vriendelijke groet,
Fatima Yilmaz
Why this is good
Points 1, 2 and 3 are all there (in bold). The sentences are short. There is a greeting and a sign-off. Nothing more is needed.
Gloss: your daughter Sara is ill and cannot go to school tomorrow. Write an e-mail to her teacher, Mrs De Boer, saying that Sara is ill, what she has, and when she will be back. The answer: "Dear Mrs De Boer, Sara is ill. She has a fever and a sore throat. So she cannot come to school tomorrow. I think she will be back on Thursday. Kind regards, Fatima Yilmaz."
Notice what is not there: no long sentences, no difficult words. Every task tells you what to write. Write all the points, in sentences that can be understood, and you have done what was asked.
The Writing A2 exam is done with pen and paper. You get 4 writing tasks in 40 minutes, for example a short letter or a form. Writing is marked by assessors, not by the computer.
Source: inburgeren.nl — Taalexamens A2, B1 en B2 · Examenreglement, artikel 10 — accessed 28-07-2026
Reading and Listening are multiple-choice questions on the computer. In Speaking you record your answers. Each part has its own format. Want to see all four? Read The language exams A2 and B1 explained.
Try it yourselfDo 10 Reading or Listening questions, with an explanation after every answer. No account needed.
Start for freeYou keep hearing A1, A2 and B1. Those are language levels. How do they differ? Here is one message, written 3 times. Someone cancels an appointment with the family doctor.
The message
Hallo. Ik ben ziek. Ik kom niet. Morgen nieuwe afspraak?
What you see
Loose, short sentences. "Hello. I am ill. I am not coming. Tomorrow new appointment?" Understandable, but no more than that.
Who reaches this level
The Z-route. You finish with an interview at the municipality.
The message
Goedemorgen. Ik heb vandaag om 10 uur een afspraak. Ik ben ziek en kan niet komen. Kan ik een nieuwe afspraak maken?
What you see
Full sentences. You say what is wrong and what you want: "I have an appointment at 10 today. I am ill and cannot come. Can I make a new appointment?" Simple, but complete.
Who reaches this level
People under the 2013 act, or who may drop to A2 in the B1 route.
The message
Goedemorgen. Ik heb vanochtend om 10.00 uur een afspraak bij dokter De Vries, maar ik heb sinds gisteren koorts. Daarom kan ik helaas niet komen. Kan ik de afspraak verzetten naar volgende week, het liefst in de ochtend?
What you see
You explain why, and you say what you would prefer: "I have had a fever since yesterday, so unfortunately I cannot come. Could I move the appointment to next week, preferably in the morning?" With words like "daarom" (so) and "helaas" (unfortunately).
Who reaches this level
The B1 route, the standard route under the 2021 act.
All 3 messages do the same thing: the appointment is cancelled. The difference is how much you can explain. That is also what the exam measures.
Under the Wet inburgering 2021 there are 3 learning routes. The B1 route: you sit the language exams at level B1 within 3 years. The education route: mainly for young people, towards mbo, hbo or university, at B1 or B2. The Z-route: you learn Dutch at level A1 and finish with an interview at the municipality. The municipality chooses the route, based on the brede intake.
Source: inburgeren.nl — U gaat inburgeren — accessed 19-08-2026
Which route you get is in your PIP (step 3). Want the difference between the levels in more detail? Read the difference between A1, A2 and B1.
3 years. The clock starts on the day after the date on your PIP, the plan the municipality draws up for you. Not on the day you arrive in the Netherlands, and not on the day of the letter from DUO.
Everything has to be finished within those 3 years: the language exams, KNM, PVT and MAP. You do not have to sit the exams at once. Most people spread them over a few months.
You have 3 years to meet your integration duty. The period starts on the day after the date of your PIP. If your PIP is revised later, the start does not move.
Source: Wet inburgering 2021, artikel 11 — accessed 19-08-2026
Cannot manage it within 3 years? In certain situations you get extra time: if you first have to learn to read and write, during a study programme, illness, a death in the family, giving birth, homelessness or a stay in an institution. How much extra time, DUO does not say. You can get it only once per period.
DUO names no fixed extension on its page about extra time. It does say: "U kunt in een periode maar 1 keer extra tijd krijgen" (you can get extra time only once per period), even if several situations apply at once.
Source: inburgeren.nl — Extra tijd — accessed 20-08-2026
How long it actually takes differs. Some people finish within a year. Others need the full 3 years. What happens if you are late is in Fine and deadline.
This is the order under the Wet inburgering 2021. It applies to almost everyone starting now.
The Wet inburgering 2021 is called 2021 but applies from 1 January 2022. If you had to start before that, you fall under the older act of 2013. That one has different rules: you arrange everything yourself and the language level is A2.
Source: rijksoverheid.nl — Nieuwe Wet inburgering — accessed 19-08-2026
You register with your municipality. DUO then checks whether you have to integrate. If so, you get a letter. It states that you are required to integrate and what to do now.
Keep this letter safe. You will need it later.
Your municipality invites you for an interview and a short test. It is an introduction, not an exam. It covers your education, your work, your health and your family.
You also take the leerbaarheidstoets, the learnability test. It measures how easily you learn a new language. That is how the municipality chooses a route for you.
Tip: bring someone who speaks good Dutch or your own language. You may also ask for an interpreter.
Amber van der Zalm · NT2 teacher
Do not be afraid of the leerbaarheidstoets. It is not an exam you can pass or fail. It only looks at how easily you learn a new language, and you take it on a computer. There is no need to prepare. Would you like to get used to the system in advance? You can, in DUO's official practice environment.
After the brede intake the municipality draws up your PIP: your personal integration and participation plan. It states your route, what support you get and how intensive your programme is.
The municipality must set your PIP no later than 10 weeks after the letter from DUO. Were you not yet registered with the municipality at that point? Then the 10 weeks run from your registration.
Source: Besluit inburgering 2021, artikel 5.3 — accessed 19-08-2026
The date on your PIP matters. Your 3-year period starts the day after. Disagree with your PIP? Then you can object. The letter with it explains how.
B1 route, education route or Z-route. You saw them above, next to the 3 levels. The municipality chooses, based on the brede intake and the leerbaarheidstoets.
Is B1 genuinely out of reach in the B1 route? Then under conditions you may sit exams at A2.
Switching from B1 to A2 is only possible in the B1 route. You must have had at least 600 hours of language tuition at a school with a quality mark, and be able to show that you made the effort.
Source: Besluit inburgering 2021, artikel 5.5 — accessed 19-08-2026
Everything about the 3 routes and the 2 acts is in Which act and which route applies to me?.
Now the real work begins: the language lessons. Alongside them, these 3 modules belong to your integration:
Knowledge of Dutch Society. How the Netherlands works, from work and income to housing and healthcare. KNM is part of every route.
Participation declaration programme. A short course on freedom, equality, solidarity and participation. You finish by signing the participation declaration.
Labour Market and Participation Module. How you look for work in the Netherlands: applications, your CV, the labour market. MAP belongs to the B1 route and the Z-route.
KNM covers 8 themes: work and income · manners, values and norms · housing · health and healthcare · history and geography · public bodies · the constitution and the rule of law · education and raising children.
Source: Regeling inburgering 2021 — eindtermen KNM (Stcrt. 2024, 15802) — accessed 19-08-2026
Following the B1 route or the education route? Then you sit 5 exams at DUO:
| Exam | What you do |
|---|---|
| Reading | Read texts and answer multiple-choice questions |
| Listening | Understand video and audio fragments |
| Writing | Write short texts, like the e-mail above |
| Speaking | Record your answers at the computer |
| KNM | Questions about Dutch society |
You register through Mijn Inburgering, DUO's website. You choose when you sit which exam.
You sit the knowledge exams and the A2 language exams at one of six exam locations: Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Rijswijk, Rotterdam, Utrecht or Zwolle. Exams at B1 or B2 are the staatsexamen NT2, which has its own locations.
Source: inburgeren.nl — Examenplaatsen — accessed 19-08-2026
Amber van der Zalm · NT2 teacher
In my lessons I see that most students find Reading and Listening easiest. Writing and Speaking they often find harder. So start with Reading or Listening, and divide your time well. Try not to plan several exams on one day — that way you keep enough energy.
Passed everything? Then you receive your inburgeringsdiploma. You download it from Mijn Diploma's at DUO. With that diploma you can later apply for permanent residence, or become a Dutch citizen.
The result of a knowledge exam or an A2 language exam normally arrives within 8 weeks. For Writing A2 and Speaking A2 DUO is currently taking longer: up to 16 weeks (notice of 31 July 2026). If that puts your deadline at risk, you automatically get 6 months extra.
Source: inburgeren.nl — nieuwsbericht 31-07-2026 — accessed 19-08-2026
Failed a part? You only resit that part. What you have already passed stays. Read Failed the integration exam? Here is what happens now.
Every exam costs money. At the moment that is €50 per part at DUO. For the 5 exams together that is €250, if you pass everything first time. Lessons come on top.
At the time of writing each exam part (Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking, KNM) costs €50. Under the Wet inburgering 2021 that is €250 in total. Check the current fee at DUO.
Source: inburgeren.nl — Inburgeren betalen — accessed 28-07-2026
Who pays, and whether you can borrow, depends on your situation. That is in What does integration cost?.
You now know what integration is and what a task looks like. The rest is practice, in the format of the exam. On this site you do that with practice exams written and checked by an NT2 teacher.
Amber van der Zalm · NT2 teacher
I made these practice exams because there are still few places where you get personal feedback. With Speaking and Writing in particular, feedback matters. On this site you get immediate feedback on what you write and say, based on my marking model — and I review the assessments myself. That is what makes these practice exams different.
The rules around integration change regularly. For official and current information, always check inburgeren.nl and rijksoverheid.nl. This page is intended as an explanation, not as legal advice.
Inburgering means that you learn Dutch and show that you know how the Netherlands works. You sit language exams and the KNM exam at DUO, and you follow a few modules at the municipality. Pass everything and you receive an inburgeringsdiploma.
3 years. The period starts on the day after the date on your PIP. In certain situations, such as illness or giving birth, you can get extra time. That is possible once per period. How long it actually takes differs: some people finish within a year.
Under the Wet inburgering 2021 it is usually B1. If B1 does not work out, in the B1 route you may sit exams at A2 under conditions. In the Z-route the target is A1. If you fell under the older 2013 act, the level is A2.
Integration is the duty to learn Dutch and get to know the Netherlands. Naturalisation is the application to become a Dutch citizen. You need your integration diploma if you want to naturalise, but they are not the same thing.
KNM is part of every learning route under the Wet inburgering 2021. In the B1 route and the education route you sit the KNM exam; in the Z-route you take lessons on it. The questions cover 8 themes, from work and income to the constitution.
At the moment each exam at DUO costs €50. For the 5 exams together that is €250, if you pass everything first time. Lessons come on top. Asylum status holders do not pay for their course themselves; others can often borrow from DUO. Check the current amounts at DUO.
DUO has a number of practice exams on inburgeren.nl. If you want to practise more, this site offers free practice exams for Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking, with an explanation for every question.
Reviewed by Amber van der Zalm, certified NT2 teacher — August 19, 2026 This page is a translation of that reviewed Dutch text; the translation itself was not reviewed. The Dutch version is the source.