Your level depends on the law you fall under and, under the 2021 law, on your route. If you had to start integrating on or after 1 January 2022, the 2021 law applies, and its language exams are at B1 or higher. There are two places for A2 in that law. Inside the B1-route, your municipality (gemeente) can let you take some or all of the language exams at A2, after real effort and at least 600 hours of lessons. In the zelfredzaamheidsroute, A2 exams are optional. If you had to start before 1 January 2022, the older law applies and the language exams are at A2 or higher.
Mijn Inburgering shows which law applies to you, and your personal plan shows your route. Check both before you book an exam. This article explains how to read them.
Start with the date your obligation began
Do not work out your law from the day you arrived in the Netherlands. The date your obligation to integrate began is what counts.
| Law | It applies if | Language exams |
|---|---|---|
| The 2021 law | your obligation began on or after 1 January 2022 | B1 or higher; A2 in the two cases described below |
| The older law | your obligation began before 1 January 2022 | A2 or higher |
The 2021 law took the place of the older law on 1 January 2022. The older law still applies to everyone it applied to on the day before. If you are not sure which law is yours, look in Mijn Inburgering: DUO says that is where it is shown. DUO's tables for the older law start at 1 January 2013. If your obligation began before that, ask DUO which rules apply to you.
The older law: A2
Under the older law you take the language exams (speaking, writing, reading and listening) at A2 or higher, and KNM, which is also at A2. DUO lists three sets of requirements, depending on when your obligation began: from 1 January 2013, from 1 January 2015 (the ONA is added) and from 1 October 2017 (the PVT is added as well).
You may also do the language part at B1 or B2. You then take the state exam Dutch as a second language (NT2) instead of the separate language exams.
The diploma shows the difference too. Under the older law it does not show a level and is always A2. Under the 2021 law it shows A2, B1 or B2.
The 2021 law: three routes
Your municipality decides your route. First it does an intake (brede intake) that includes a learnability test (leerbaarheidstoets) and looks at your education, your work history and your personal situation, health included. Then it writes your route into your personal plan, the persoonlijk plan inburgering en participatie (PIP).
| Route | Who it is for | Language level | Ends with |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1-route | people heading for work or volunteering | B1, or B2 if your plan says so | a diploma |
| onderwijsroute | mostly young people heading for vocational or higher education | B1 or B2 | a diploma |
| zelfredzaamheidsroute | people for whom the other two routes are too hard | you learn Dutch at A1; A2 exams are optional | a certificate, not a diploma |
The B1-route also needs KNM, the PVT and the MAP. The onderwijsroute needs KNM and the PVT, and a language bridging course (taalschakeltraject), but no MAP. The zelfredzaamheidsroute has the PVT and the MAP, at least 800 hours of course (language and KNM) and a final conversation with the municipality. In that route you only take A2 language exams if your plan says so.
A route can be changed until one and a half years after your term begins. From the onderwijsroute it can be changed to the B1-route or the zelfredzaamheidsroute at any time in the term. Your municipality sets the route, so ask it before you act on this.
When the 2021 law allows A2
The 2021 law has one way down to A2 in the B1-route. After considerable effort, your municipality may let you take the language exams, all or some of them, at A2. Two things must be true:
- you have followed at least 600 hours of Dutch lessons at a certified school, and
- you have shown enough effort.
The municipality writes the decision into your plan. It is not available in the onderwijsroute. (In the zelfredzaamheidsroute, A2 exams are optional, as the table above shows.)
What changes between A2 and B1
The two levels test the same four skills, but they are different exams, run by different bodies.
| A2 | B1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Run by | DUO | the state exam Dutch as a second language, run by the College voor Toetsen en Examens |
| Fee | €50 each | €50 a part |
| Booked in | Mijn Inburgering | MijnDUO |
| Reading | on a computer, up to 65 minutes | 6 texts, 110 minutes |
| Writing | on paper, up to 40 minutes | typed, 100 minutes |
| Pass mark | none published | a scale score of 500 or more per part |
The state exam does not include KNM. In the B1-route and the onderwijsroute you take KNM as a separate DUO exam. For the parts of each exam, read what the inburgering exam looks like.
Where to check yours
- Mijn Inburgering. Log in with your DigiD. It shows which law applies to you.
- Your personal plan (PIP). Under the 2021 law it states your route, and so your level. If A2 was allowed, it is recorded there.
- The letters from DUO or your municipality. Keep them, and read the dates and levels in them.
If the three do not agree, or you cannot find your plan, ask your municipality before you book or pay for an exam. A wrongly chosen exam can cost €50 each time.
This article is information, not legal advice. Your municipality and DUO decide in your case.
What this means for how you prepare
Decide the level first. Everything else follows from it.
- On A2: writing is on paper and no pass mark is published. Practise by hand and use the official practice exams.
- On B1: the exams are longer, with more text to read. Writing is typed and each listening fragment plays once. The pass mark is public, so you can see what you are aiming for.
- Starting from nothing: begin at the beginning and move up one step at a time, rather than jumping to exam practice you cannot yet read.
inburgeringcoach is an independent course. It is not part of DUO or any municipality. The page about the inburgering exam shows how each part is practised, and what the exams cost and who pays and how to book them are the next two questions most people ask.