Useful information about integration

When do you have to pay?

To civicize, you usually take a course and have to take an exam. An integration course and the exams cost money. If you are an asylum migrant (refugee), the municipality pays the civic integration course and exam(s) for you. The first two attempts at each exam are free. You cannot borrow money from DUO. Are you not a refugee, but a family migrant, for example? Then you must pay for the course and exam yourself or borrow money from DUO. Read more about the costs and the possibility to borrow money below.

Costs

The civic integration exam costs €250 for the 5 parts Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking and KNM together. You can also take the partial exams separately. The MAP (Module labor market and participation) and the PVT (participation statement pathway) are free. An overview of the costs of all partial exams can be found on Inburgeren.nl. Taking an integration course also costs money, but the total cost of a course varies from school to school.

Borrowing money

To pay the costs of the exam and a possible civic integration course, you can apply for a loan from the Education Executive Agency (DUO). You can also use this loan to pay for a literacy course. DUO is part of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. You repay DUO in parts. The amount of the loan depends on your situation, such as the amount of your income. There are a few conditions for borrowing money. You can only borrow money for a course given by approved schools, these are schools listed on the Blik op Werk website. Also, you must pass the integration diploma within 3 years. If you fail to do so and don't have a good reason, you can be fined. Read more about the cost of civic integration and borrowing money here.

Language schools

The Blik op Werk website has a list of language schools that have a quality mark. At these schools you can take literacy courses, civic integration courses and Dutch as a Second Language (NT2) courses. 

Valuing a diploma: how do you do it?

Did you get a diploma in your home country? And can you use that diploma to find work in the Netherlands? Then you can have your diploma evaluated. A credential evaluation shows what your diploma is worth in the Netherlands.

You can apply for a credential evaluation once for free. You can do this through the website of the Information Center Diploma Valuation. Apply for your credential evaluation as soon as possible. It takes at least four weeks before you receive the evaluation.

Useful websites

• Inburgeren.nl: here you will find all the information about civic integration, the exams and the costs. You can also take practice exams here.
• Rijksoverheid.nl: on this website of the Dutch government you can find all rules around civic integration and practical information.
• IND.nl: the website of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Here you will find information about exemptions from the civic integration exam, among other things.
• BlikOpWerk.nl: this website offers an overview of language schools in the Netherlands that have a quality mark. Here you can easily find a language school in your area.