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Learning Dutch for children

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October 29, 2024

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It is important for non-native-speaking children to learn Dutch quickly in order to be successful in mainstream basis- or voortgezet onderwijs. Read in this article where and how children can learn the Dutch language.

New to the Netherlands as a child

If you have only recently come to live in the Netherlands and you have children, you not only have to arrange things for yourself, but also for your children. For instance, you have to register your children with the municipality and with a school. It is also important to think carefully about how your children will learn Dutch as soon as possible, so that they can participate fully in school. You can find more advice on what to think about when you have children in the Dutch government's ‘Nieuw in Nederland’ leaflet.

Rights and obligations of children

Like adults, children also have both rights and duties.

Civic integration exam

Children do not have to take an integration exam because they attend school in the Netherlands. They will obtain regular school diplomas and do not have to take an official Dutch language proficiency exam. However, naturalisation can be requested for children under the age of 18. Usually, parents do this at the same time as applying for their own naturalisation. You can read more about the process of naturalisation and its conditions on the website of the Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst (IND).

Compulsory education

Under international treaties, all children under 18 have a right to education. In the Netherlands, compulsory education even applies to all children between 5 and 16 years old, regardless of their residence status. Even children residing illegally in the Netherlands are therefore obliged to attend school. Foreign-speaking children must go to school so that they can prepare themselves for society and the labour market. Read more about compulsory education on the Dutch government's website here.

In the Netherlands, compulsory education applies to all children between 5 and 16 years old

Going to a Dutch school for the first time

From the age of 4, children in the Netherlands can attend primary school until they are about 12. If children have only been in the Netherlands for a short time and do not yet speak Dutch, they often first attend a special switching class at primary school, where they can learn the language. Children between 12 and 18 years old usually go to secondary school. If they do not yet speak the language (well), they first go to an Internationale Schakelklas (ISK). Once they master the Dutch language sufficiently, they move on to regular secondary education.