{"id":232,"date":"2015-06-06T15:50:09","date_gmt":"2015-06-06T13:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.franssenadvocaten.nl\/english\/?p=232"},"modified":"2016-01-09T17:37:41","modified_gmt":"2016-01-09T15:37:41","slug":"what-did-the-eu-court-say-about-the-civic-integration-exam-inburgeringsexamen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.franssenadvocaten.nl\/english\/what-did-the-eu-court-say-about-the-civic-integration-exam-inburgeringsexamen\/","title":{"rendered":"What did the EU Court say about the civic integration exam (inburgeringsexamen)?"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 4 June 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union handed down its decision<\/a> in the case\u00a0P. and S.,\u00a0<\/em>about two clients of attorney Jeremy Bierbach. (Press release from the Court<\/a>) It is now up to the Centrale Raad van Beroep, the Dutch court of appeals\u00a0which had referred the preliminary questions to the EU Court, to make its final judgment in the appeals of P. and S., respectively.<\/p>\n

What did the EU Court say?<\/em><\/p>\n

P. and S. are each holders of Dutch permanent residence permits with the endorsement ‘langdurig ingezetene’ (long-term resident), a status which exists thanks\u00a0to an instrument of EU legislation, Directive 2003\/109. They were of the opinion that they therefore had to be treated equally to Dutch citizens, and that they could not be subjected to a civic integration requirement, especially considering that at the time they got their permanent residence permits, prior to 2010, there was no requirement to pass the exam in order to apply for\u00a0that status. The Court rejected this claim of theirs.<\/p>\n

The Court said that it\u00a0is permissible, in principle, for Dutch law to impose a fine on\u00a0long-term residents for not passing the civic integration exam.\u00a0However,<\/strong>\u00a0the Court went on, the way in which the Dutch government implements this fine system can, in practice,\u00a0constitute a violation of what the EU legislature intended for long-term residents.\u00a0\u00a0It appears that the fine system can work out to be unreasonably punitive for many long-term residents, and also does not sufficiently\u00a0take personal circumstances into account.<\/p>\n

Can I fight a fine for not passing the civic integration exam on time?<\/em><\/p>\n

If you hold a permanent residence permit with the endorsement ‘langdurig ingezetene’* (* and possibly if you hold an ‘ordinary’ permanent residence permit, or if you hold a residence permit for the purpose of stay with a family member, since the EU Court’s decision may have indirect relevance for holders of these other types of residence permits), and if your municipality or the DUO has fined you, or is threatening to fine you, for not passing the civic integration exam, you can possibly fight it if one of the following statements applies to you:<\/p>\n