Over the years, the Dutch civic integration system has become incredibly complex, since each successive government wants to demonstrate that it is tougher on immigrants. In most cases, passing the civic integration exam (the “inburgeringsexamen”) is a condition for obtaining an independent immigration status or Dutch citizenship. And immigrants with certain immigration statuses (family reunification, in particular) are required to pass the civic integration exam within three years, or otherwise be penalized with a fine every two years.
Attorney Jeremy Bierbach can advise you about what exactly the civic integration requirement entails, and if you qualify for an exemption from it. With regard to the fines for not passing the civic integration exam, he has already taken a case all the way to the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the Court ruled that the Dutch civic integration requirement may not be disproportionately punitive.
