You take lessions and exams

You take lessions in Dutch. You pass if you master the Dutch language at least to level

• Writing

• Speaking

• Listening

• Reading

You can also choose to learn the Dutch language at a higher level. This is especially important if you want to get to work quickly, or study in the Netherlands. You will then need language level

You take classes that cover Dutch society. After that, you will take an exam. This is called

The exam covers 8 topics in Dutch society:

• Work and income

• Behaviour, values and norms

• Housing

• Health and healthcare

• History and geography

• Institutions in the Netherlands

• Constitution and rule of law

• Education and parenting

Each topic describes what you need to know and be able to do to pass the exam. In 'onderwijs en opvoeding' (education and parenting), for example, you will learn how the Dutch education system works and how to pay for an education.

You will also be taught about working in the Netherlands. This is called orientation to the Dutch labor market ('Oriëntatie op de Nederlandse Arbeidsmarkt', ONA). You will learn how to find work in the Netherlands that suits you.

You must pass 3 sections:

• Learning about working in the Netherlands in the preparatory phase

• Creating a portfolio

• 64 hours of courses or a final interview with

  Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (DUO)

Below you can read what each section entails:

If you pass the exams first time, you can pay the exam costs from a loan from DUO. You can do this through your school. Note: if you have to retake multiple exams, your loan may run out. Then you have to pay the costs yourself.