The Netherlands implemented its first strategy in the 1980s to integrate guest workers who ended up permanently residing in the country. The Dutch government then introduced a two-track policy consisting of social and economic integration and support for ‘identity development’. Since then, integration policies have changed along with the different governments and their visions.
Responsible for integration in the Netherlands is the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. The country’s new Civic Integration Act came into force on 1 January 2022. Now, municipalities are responsible for the integration of newcomers: both TCNs and beneficiaries of international protection who need to follow the civic integration pathways. The new pathways are meant to allow newcomers to learn the Dutch language more quickly, and to gain work experience at the same time. The new system laid out by the Civic Integration Act also gives more space for personal integration plans.
There are 3 learning routes which take into account differences among the different types of migrants:
- The B1 pathway: a focus on language learning and doing paid or unpaid work. Within 3 years, participants are meant to have learned to speak and write in Dutch at the B1 level. They can also participate in society by doing paid or unpaid work.
- The educational pathway: primarily for young people, this route allows them to learn Dutch at the B1 level or higher. The track also includes preparation for further education at the secondary vocational (MBO), professional (HBO) or academic level.
- The self-reliance pathway: a route for newcomers for whom neither the first nor second route is an option. They learn Dutch to a lower level (A1) and prepare for a ‘basic level of participation’ in Dutch society.
Currently, everyone between the ages of 18 and 65 who migrates to the Netherlands from outside the EU, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Türkiye, is obliged to take a civic integration exam. Some other exceptions may apply and lead to dispensation from the civic integration exam.
This civic integration can be started while an individual is still abroad, before they arrive in the Netherlands – see a brochure in Dutch about starting the process from a third country. Each year, a report like this one from 2021 is presented to the government with statistics about those following civic integration courses abroad.
As of 1 July 2017, newcomers also must sign a declaration of solidarity, or Verklaring van Verbondenheit, which states that they agree to respect the shared Dutch values.
Finally, to request a naturalisation test (inburgeringsexamen voor naturalisatie or naturalisatietoets), an individual needs to have passed the civic integration programme described above and obtain a diploma. A ceremony for all new Dutch citizens is organised by municipalities every year on 15 December. Naturalised persons over 16 years old are required to attend and make a statement of commitment.
