Under the 2021 law, the PVT and the MAP are not exams. They are two free modules that your municipality (gemeente) arranges. The B1 route and the zelfredzaamheidsroute include both; the onderwijsroute includes only the PVT. The ONA is different: it is an exam, and it belongs to the older law. You can also meet it if you integrate voluntarily. The 2021 law replaced it with the MAP.
If you are not sure which law you are under, Mijn Inburgering shows it.
The three at a glance
| Name | What it is | Law | Who arranges it | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PVT | Module on Dutch core values, ending with a signed statement | Both laws, from 1 October 2017 under the older law | The gemeente | Free under the 2021 law. Under the older law, free for asylum status holders and €150 for others |
| MAP | Module on work and the labour market | 2021 law (not in the onderwijsroute). A gemeente may also offer it instead of the ONA | The gemeente | Free |
| ONA | Exam on the Dutch labour market | Older law, and voluntary integration | DUO | €40 |
Under the 2021 law, your duty to integrate has three parts: finish the PVT, finish the MAP (not in the onderwijsroute), and pass the exams or finish the route. Your gemeente sets the route, the support you get and how intensive the PVT and MAP are in your personal plan.
The PVT
PVT stands for participatieverklaringstraject. It is an introduction to the core values of Dutch society. It takes at least 12 hours and ends when you sign the participation statement (participatieverklaring).
DUO lists the PVT on its page about the knowledge exams, but under the 2021 law you do not book it with DUO. You arrange it with your gemeente, and it is free.
The PVT is not the same as KNM. KNM is an exam, run by DUO, with questions about eight themes of life in the Netherlands. You can read about it in what the inburgering exam looks like and on the KNM page.
The MAP
MAP stands for module arbeidsmarkt en participatie, the module on the labour market and taking part in society. It covers eight themes:
- career orientation (beroepenoriëntatie)
- employee skills (werknemerscompetenties)
- a realistic picture of a job (realistisch beroepsbeeld)
- job prospects (beroepskansen)
- gaining job skills (beroepscompetenties verwerven)
- building a network (netwerk opbouwen)
- finding work (werk vinden)
- work culture (werkcultuur)
You do practice assignments, and the MAP ends with a final conversation between you and your gemeente. It is free.
Only the B1 route and the zelfredzaamheidsroute include the MAP. The onderwijsroute, which prepares young people for study, does not.
The ONA, an exam from the older law
ONA is the exam on the Dutch labour market. You take it only if you have to integrate under the older law, or if you integrate voluntarily. DUO splits the older law into three groups, by the date you became obliged:
| You became obliged | Exams |
|---|---|
| 1 January 2013 to 1 January 2015 | Four language parts at A2 or higher, and KNM |
| 1 January 2015 to 1 October 2017 | The same, plus the ONA |
| 1 October 2017 to 1 January 2022 | The same, plus the ONA and the PVT |
For the ONA you build a portfolio of 8 result cards. Then you either follow a 64-hour ONA course or take a final interview. The two official pages give different lengths for the interview: about 30 minutes, or up to 40. It is judged pass or fail by certified assessors, and no pass mark is published.
You do not need the ONA if you were obliged before 1 January 2015, if you have a Dutch MBO-1 (entry level) diploma, or if you have an exemption for work in the Netherlands: DUO's page mentions six months of work in the past year. The ONA costs €40 and is never refunded. Because ONA courses are declining, a gemeente may offer the MAP instead to people who integrate under the older law or voluntarily.
Terms and fines
Under the 2021 law you have three years, from the day after the date of your personal plan, for the whole route. Under the older law, the term for the PVT is one year, and the term for the exam parts is three years from the moment you became obliged. Extra time is possible in some cases: see deadline extensions and fines.
After the term ends, DUO can fine you if a module is not finished. DUO does not fine asylum status holders for this (see the warning below). Under the 2021 law, a late PVT costs €340, and so does a late MAP. This is separate from the fine for the route itself, which is never more than €1,000. After a fine you get extra time: 6 months if the PVT or the MAP was late, 1 year if both were. A gemeente can also fine people for not cooperating during the route.
Under the older law, a late PVT also costs €340 and means no more DUO loan, and a fine is never more than €1,250.
What this means for how you prepare
You cannot practise the PVT or the MAP like an exam, because they are modules you do with your gemeente. What helps is the Dutch around them: understanding a conversation about work, a job advert or a form, and saying what you can do.
- Ask early. Your gemeente offers the PVT and the MAP, so ask when yours start. Under the 2021 law the term is three years from the date of your plan.
- Learn the words of work. The MAP themes are about work, so words like werk, sollicitatie and collega are useful. Learn them in whole sentences.
- Keep the exams separate in your head. The language exams and KNM are booked with DUO; the PVT and MAP are not.
The course has units on everyday situations, among them work. For the exam parts, start at the inburgering exam.