Inburgering for partners and spouses

Before you read: this is general information

This guide explains the common rules for people who move to the Netherlands to live with a partner. It is not advice about your own case, and we never ask about your residence status.

Your own letters from DUO and your municipality decide what applies to you. Mijn Inburgering on inburgeren.nl shows which exams you must do and your deadline.

Step 1, before you move: the exam abroad

Many partners must pass an exam before they travel. It is called the Basisexamen Inburgering Buitenland (BIB), the basic civic integration exam abroad. Rijksoverheid says your integration starts in your own country if you will live with your partner in the Netherlands and you need a provisional residence permit, the mvv.

You need to pass this exam before you apply for the mvv. You take it at a Dutch embassy or consulate, or at an external provider. It has three parts: Lezen, Spreken and KNS (knowledge of Dutch society). It is at A1 level, one level below A2.

• You register with DUO first, then make an appointment with the Dutch embassy or consulate.
• A full exam costs 150 euro, according to naarnederland.nl.
• The result comes from DUO within 8 weeks, by email, as a PDF.
• If you fail a part, you register and pay again for that part. Parts you passed stay valid until you pass the whole exam.
• The result is valid for 1 year. Apply for the mvv within that year.
• Some people are exempt, for example because of their nationality or a Dutch diploma. The IND decides this.

• IND: the civic integration exam abroad ↗
• naarnederland.nl: self-study package and practice ↗
• You are still abroad: what to expect →

Step 2, after you arrive: integration in the Netherlands

Passing the exam abroad does not finish your integration. The IND says that once you live here with your mvv and residence permit, you need to integrate further. That is a different exam, at a higher level.

DUO sends you a letter when you have to integrate. Under the 2021 law, that letter comes once you have a BSN, a residence permit and a registration with your municipality. It can take up to 8 weeks after all three are arranged. You then have 3 years.

• How long inburgering takes, and your 3 years →

Which law and which level

There are two integration laws. Which one applies depends on when your integration duty started, not on when you take the exam.

• Wet inburgering 2021: if your residence right was announced on or after 1 January 2022. Your municipality makes a personal plan with you (the PIP) and places you on a learning route. Most family migrants are on the B1 route: the language exam is the Staatsexamen NT2 Programma I at B1, plus KNM, MAP and PVT.
• Wet inburgering 2013: if you already had to integrate on 31 December 2021. The language exams are at A2 or higher, plus KNM, and depending on your start date ONA and PVT.
• On the B1 route, your municipality can move some skills down to A2, but only after at least 600 hours of lessons at a school with a Blik op Werk quality mark.

• Which exam do family migrants take? →
• My residence permit is from before 2022 →
• A2 or B1: which route are you on? →

Paying for it: the DUO loan

Partners and other family migrants usually pay for their course and exams themselves. Rijksoverheid says family migrants pay the costs fully or partly. You can often borrow the money from DUO.

• You apply in Mijn Inburgering. DUO pays the school or the exam fee directly. The money does not go to your bank account.
• You can only borrow for a course at an approved school, and for the exams. So the loan cannot pay for books, private tutors or apps like Kora.
• How much you can borrow depends on your income. DUO looks at your income from 2 years ago. If your income went down, you can ask DUO to look at your new income.
• You get a letter that says exactly how much you can borrow.
• You start paying back 6 months after you finish inburgering, over 10 years, with interest. Sometimes part of the loan is cancelled.

• inburgeren.nl: borrowing from DUO ↗
• inburgeren.nl: how much you can borrow ↗

What the exams cost

On inburgeren.nl (checked 8 November 2026), each A2 language exam and KNM costs 50 euro. Each part of the Staatsexamen NT2 costs 50 euro, or 200 euro for all four, according to DUO. The course price differs per school, so ask the school. Fees can change, so check before you book.

• Retakes and costs →

What your diploma is used for later

When you pass all your exams, you get your inburgeringsdiploma. Since 1 January 2026 it is digital. You download it in Mijn Diploma's, through Mijn Inburgering. You can also ask once for a free paper diploma.

The diploma matters later, for two common steps:

• A stronger residence permit. The IND says you usually need a civic integration diploma at A2 level to apply for a permanent residence permit. The IND decides on your application.
• Naturalisation, becoming a Dutch citizen. inburgeren.nl says you first need the inburgering exam at A2, or the Staatsexamen NT2 at B1 or B2. You apply at your municipality, and the IND decides. The IND and municipalities accept the digital diploma.
• Both have other conditions too, such as how long you have lived here. Those are set by the IND, so check ind.nl for your own case.

• Which exam do you need for naturalisation? →
• Permanent residence and the exam →

Practicing for the exams in the Netherlands

Kora prepares people for the exams taken in the Netherlands, at A2 and B1. It is not built for the exam abroad: for that one, use the official self-study package on naarnederland.nl. Once you live here, Kora lets you practice every part, with explanations in your own language. It is practice, not an official result.