# How long does it take to pass the inburgering exam? Source: https://mykora.nl/blog/how-long-inburgering-takes ยท Sources checked 2026-11-08 Nobody can give you an honest number of weeks. It depends on your Dutch now and the hours you can study. Here is what is official: your deadline, the waiting times, and what you can plan around. ## The honest answer first There is no official answer to this question. DUO does not say how many weeks or months it takes to pass. It depends on two things: how much Dutch you know when you start, and how many hours you can study each week. Be careful with numbers you see online. You may read that A2 means a certain number of words, or that it takes a fixed number of hours. We could not trace those numbers to an official source, so we do not use them. What we can give you is the time frame that is official. That is: your deadline, the letters that start it, how long booking and results take, and the rules for people who cannot reach B1. ## Your deadline: 3 years If you have to integrate, you have 3 years. This is your inburgeringstermijn. Mijn Inburgering on inburgeren.nl always shows from which date your 3 years run, and what you have to do. Your 3 years do not start on the day you arrive. They start with a letter from DUO. - Under the Wet inburgering 2021: DUO sends a first letter once you have a BSN, a residence permit and a registration with your municipality. That letter can take up to 8 weeks after all three are arranged. - After that letter, your municipality invites you for an intake with a learnability test. Then you make a personal plan together, the PIP. It says which learning route you follow and which exams you take. - When your PIP is ready, DUO sends a second letter. That letter says the date your 3 years start. - Under the Wet inburgering 2013: DUO sends a letter with the date your integration starts. You take the language exams at A2 or higher, plus the knowledge exams, within 3 years. - [inburgeren.nl: 3 years to integrate](https://www.inburgeren.nl/u-gaat-inburgeren/index.jsp) - [A2 or B1: which route are you on?](https://mykora.nl/blog/a2-or-b1-route) ## Waiting times you should plan for Some of your time goes to waiting, not studying. It helps to know these waits before you make a plan. - Booking: inburgeren.nl says it can take more than 6 weeks before you can sit an A2 exam or KNM after you register. So look at dates early. - The B1 Staatsexamen NT2 has fixed dates in an exam schedule. You cannot choose any day you like. - Results for KNM and most A2 parts usually arrive within 8 weeks. - Results for Spreken A2 and Schrijven A2 take about 16 weeks right now. DUO announced this on 31 July 2026, because there are many exams to mark. - For the Staatsexamen, you can only register for a retake after you have your result. - [Your exam results: when they arrive](https://mykora.nl/blog/inburgering-exam-results) - [How to book your inburgering exam](https://mykora.nl/blog/book-inburgering-exam) ## What changes how long it takes for you These are not official rules. They are the things that make a real difference when people plan their study. Your starting level. Someone who already speaks some Dutch at work needs less time than someone who is just starting. If you are not sure, a school or a practice test can show you where you stand. Your hours per week. Short practice every day often works better than one long session on Sunday. Thirty minutes a day is about three and a half hours a week. Your route. On the A2 route you take five separate exams: Lezen, Luisteren, Schrijven, Spreken and KNM. On the B1 route the language exam is the Staatsexamen NT2 Programma I, which asks more. Which one applies to you depends on your law and your PIP, not on your own choice. Your weakest part. Each part has its own result. If you pass four parts and not the fifth, you only retake that one part. So the part you find hardest often decides your total time. ## If B1 is out of reach: the 600-hour rule On the B1 route under the 2021 law, some people cannot reach B1 in one or more skills. Then your municipality can decide that you take those skills at A2 instead. This is only possible after at least 600 hours of language lessons at a school with a Blik op Werk quality mark. Your municipality checks this, and it can be decided skill by skill. Talk to your municipality about it, not to DUO. - [Downscaling from B1 to A2](https://mykora.nl/which-inburgering-exam/downscaled-to-a2) ## If you get close to your deadline If you risk missing your deadline because Spreken A2 or Schrijven A2 results take longer, DUO gives you 6 months of extra time automatically. You do not have to ask for it, and DUO sends you a letter. Since May 2026, DUO also gives some people extra time when there are not enough exam places. This is for people who only have Spreken A2 or Schrijven A2 (or both) left and whose term is almost over. DUO decides per person and sends a letter. No letter means no extra time. If you finish late and have no extension, DUO can give you a fine. Asylum status holders never get a fine. Read the fines page on inburgeren.nl for the rules that apply to you. - [Not finished in time? Fines and extra time](https://mykora.nl/blog/inburgering-fine-late) - [inburgeren.nl: fines](https://www.inburgeren.nl/u-gaat-inburgeren/boete.jsp) ## A simple way to plan Start from your deadline in Mijn Inburgering and work backwards. Leave room for booking waits, for result times, and for at least one retake. Then pick the part you feel closest to and start there. Practice in the exam format, so you can see which part needs more work. Kora lets you practice every part, with explanations in your own language. It shows what you practiced and what you got right. It cannot tell you how long it will take you, and nobody can promise a result. - [A study plan when you work full time](https://mykora.nl/blog/inburgering-study-plan) ## Questions ### How many months does it take to pass the inburgering exam? There is no official number. It depends on your starting level and how many hours you study. What is official is the deadline: you have 3 years from the date in your DUO letter. ### When do my 3 years start? On the date DUO gives you by letter. Under the 2021 law this is the second letter, after your municipality has made your PIP with you. Mijn Inburgering shows the date. ### How many words do I need for A2? We could not find an official word count for A2, so we do not give one. DUO tests whether you can do everyday tasks in Dutch, not whether you know a certain number of words. ### Can I switch from B1 to A2 to finish faster? Only on the B1 route, after at least 600 hours of lessons at a school with a Blik op Werk quality mark. Your municipality decides, and it can be skill by skill. ### What if the result delay makes me late? If the longer marking time for Spreken A2 or Schrijven A2 puts you near your deadline, DUO gives 6 months of extra time automatically and sends you a letter. ## Sources - [inburgeren.nl: 3 years to integrate, letters, PIP and the 600-hour rule](https://www.inburgeren.nl/u-gaat-inburgeren/index.jsp) - [inburgeren.nl: registering for an exam (more than 6 weeks)](https://www.inburgeren.nl/examen-doen/aanmelden-examen.jsp) - [inburgeren.nl: results](https://www.inburgeren.nl/examen-doen/uitslag.jsp) - [DUO: results for Spreken A2 and Schrijven A2 delayed (31 July 2026)](https://duo.nl/zakelijk/inburgering-ketenpartners/nieuwsartikelen/uitslag-examen-spreken-a2-en-schrijven-a2-vertraagd.jsp) - [inburgeren.nl news: possible extra time for Spreken and Schrijven A2 (18 May 2026)](https://www.inburgeren.nl/nieuwsberichten/artikel.jsp?cid=tcm:94-240376-16) - [DUO: exams under the Wet inburgering 2021 (downscaling to A2)](https://duo.nl/zakelijk/inburgering-ketenpartners/wet-inburgering-2021/examens-wi2021/examen-doen-wi2021.jsp) - [inburgeren.nl: fines](https://www.inburgeren.nl/u-gaat-inburgeren/boete.jsp) Kora is an independent practice app. It is not connected to DUO, CvTE or the IND. Your own letters from DUO and your municipality decide what applies to you.