Oriëntatie op de Nederlandse Arbeidsmarkt (orientation on the Dutch labour market). Not a test you sit on one morning, but a portfolio you build yourself — and one that most people start too late.
Machine translation: this page was translated automatically from the reviewed Dutch text and has not been checked by a person.
In short
Many people read about ONA while they do not have to do it. ONA belongs to the Wet inburgering 2013, the old law. If you became inburgeringsplichtig (obliged to integrate) on or after 1 January 2022, you fall under the Wet 2021 and instead do the MAP at your gemeente (municipality). Nobody does both.
You do ONA if…
You do not do ONA if…
Under the Wet 2013, candidates who became inburgeringsplichtig from 1 October 2017 do the exams Lezen, Luisteren, Schrijven, Spreken, KNM, ONA and the participatieverklaringstraject. You also do the ONA exam if you are integrating voluntarily. Under the Wet 2021, your PIP and your leerroute determine which parts you do.
Sources: inburgeren.nl — Examen doen · inburgeren.nl — Kennisexamens en ONA — accessed 24-08-2026
Not sure which law applies to you? Look in Mijn Inburgering. It shows which parts apply to you. That is the only list that is correct — not the one from your neighbour and not the one from a forum.
ONA has two parts, and the second one only starts once the first has been approved. That is the most important sentence on this page: you cannot do the two parts at the same time.
Eight resultaatkaarten (result cards), with evidence. You send them in through Mijn Inburgering and pay the exam fee at the same time.
Rejected? You adjust it and send it in again. And then the marking starts all over again.
An eindgesprek (final interview) at DUO, or 64 hours of ONA course at a recognised school. One of the two, not both.
Within eight weeks, in Mijn Inburgering.
Each kaart is an assignment with a result you have to show. Some kaarten need a piece of evidence: a vacancy you have found, a report of a conversation, a job application letter you really sent. DUO's toelichting (explanation) says exactly what is asked for on each kaart.
Which occupations exist in the Netherlands, and which of them suit you?
What does that occupation involve in practice? Working hours, training, what you really do all day.
What are you good at, what do you enjoy, and where do you get stuck?
How big is the chance of finding work in that occupation, in your region?
What do you need to be able to do for that work — and what are you still missing?
Who do you already know, and how do you use that to find work?
How do you look for vacancies, and how do you write a job application?
How do things work on a Dutch shop floor? Being late, using "je", calling in sick.
DUO does not help you fill it in and has no example portfolio. That is not unwillingness: the portfolio has to be about your occupation and your situation, and an example would make everybody hand in the same thing. Ask your language school or your klantmanager (case manager) for help.
Amber van der Zalm · NT2 teacher
For kaart 1, choose an occupation you are really considering, not the occupation you think looks good. All eight kaarten build on that choice, and at the eindgesprek they notice straight away if you are talking about an occupation you know nothing about. I have seen people redo the whole portfolio for that reason.
Once your portfolio is approved, you choose how you finish the exam. This choice is final, so read both columns before you make it.
At DUO
Waiting time
About 6 weeks after you register
With whom
2 people from DUO
About what
Questions about your own resultaatkaarten
How long
About 30 minutes
Cost
Included in the exam fee
At a recognised school
Waiting time
None — you start when the school can
Where
A school on zoekinburgerschool.nl that offers ONA
Cost
The school sets the course price; that comes on top, separately
Afterwards
No eindgesprek needed any more
Reporting
The school reports your hours to DUO digitally
The ONA exam consists of two parts: doing assignments (portfolio) and after that 64 hours of ONA course or an eindgesprek. The portfolio consists of 8 resultaatkaarten with evidence; the marking can take 6 weeks. After approval you register for the eindgesprek, which takes place within 6 weeks of registration, is with 2 people from DUO, lasts about 30 minutes and is about your resultaatkaarten. You receive the result within 8 weeks.
Sources: inburgeren.nl — Kennisexamens en ONA · DUO — Toelichting ONA (pdf) — accessed 24-08-2026
Are you sending your portfolio in by post because logging in does not work? Then you cannot finish the exam with the 64-hour course and you do the eindgesprek. Know that before you choose that route.
Choose on time, not on preference
Do you still have plenty of time left in your termijn (deadline period) and would you rather not have an interview? Then the course is a reasonable choice. If your time is short, the 64-hour course is usually slower, not faster: you have to find a school that offers it, and those hours still have to fit in.
The ONA exam currently costs €40. You pay that when you send in your resultaatkaarten through Mijn Inburgering. If you then choose the course instead of the eindgesprek, the cost of that course comes on top, separately — the school sets that.
The ONA exam costs € 40. You pay per exam part, through Mijn Inburgering. These amounts can change; check the current rates with DUO.
Source: inburgeren.nl — Inburgeren betalen — accessed 24-08-2026
Add up the waiting times and you see why this part gets people into trouble, even when they do everything right.
About 6 weeks. If it is rejected, another 6 weeks for your adjusted version.
About 6 weeks after you register.
Within 8 weeks after the interview.
Half a year or more — without you doing anything wrong.
So this is not something you quickly do in your last few months. Start with kaart 1 as soon as you know that ONA applies to you, and work on it while your language exams are running. Those two do not get in each other's way.
Amber van der Zalm · NT2 teacher
I see people get stuck on this planning more often than on the language. The portfolio is not difficult — it is work. And work that you put off because there is no exam date on it is exactly the work that is finished too late.
Work out your own datesThe timeline tool puts your termijn, your exams and the waiting times on one timeline. No DigiD, no BSN.
Make your timelineThen you send your portfolio in again, pay for the exam again and do a new eindgesprek. The same applies if you cancel the interview too late. If you want to know why you did not pass, you can ask DUO for that by e-mail.
Count that whole chain in. Together with the waiting time for your language exams, this is the part where deadlines get tight the fastest.
Work on your language exams in the meantimeWhile your portfolio is being marked, you can simply keep practising. Ten questions free, with explanations.
Start a free practice examThat depends on your law. ONA belongs to the Wet inburgering 2013 and you do it at DUO, with a portfolio and after that an eindgesprek or a course. The MAP belongs to the Wet inburgering 2021 and you do it at your gemeente. Nobody does both. Mijn Inburgering shows what applies to you.
Eight resultaatkaarten, from beroepenoriëntatie to werkcultuur, with evidence attached. You send them in together through Mijn Inburgering and pay the exam fee at the same time. DUO does not help you fill them in and has no example portfolio.
Count on half a year or more. Marking your portfolio takes about six weeks, and if it is rejected, another six weeks for the adjusted version. After that you wait about six weeks for the eindgesprek, and the result comes within eight weeks.
That depends on your time. The eindgesprek lasts about thirty minutes and is included in the exam fee, but you wait about six weeks for it. The course has no waiting time at DUO, but you have to find a school that offers ONA, and those 64 hours cost time and money.
At the moment €40, to be paid when you send in your resultaatkaarten through Mijn Inburgering. If you choose the 64-hour course instead of the eindgesprek, the cost of that course comes on top, separately; the school sets that itself. Rates can change.
Then you adjust the kaarten that were not good enough and send the portfolio in again. The marking then starts over and takes about six weeks again. That is why it is wise to have your kaarten looked at first by your language school or your klantmanager.
Reviewed by Amber van der Zalm, certified NT2 teacher — August 24, 2026 This page is a translation of that reviewed Dutch text; the translation itself was not reviewed. The Dutch version is the source.