Which inburgering exam do I have to take?

Find your situation

• I came to join a partner or family, in 2022 or later
  You almost certainly sit the Staatsexamen NT2 Programma I at B1 level, plus KNM. Not the A2 inburgeringsexamen.
• I have asylum status, granted in 2022 or later
  It depends on the route your municipality assigned you, and the three routes lead to genuinely different places. One of them has no central language exam at all.
• My residence permit is from before 2022
  You sit the inburgeringsexamen at A2 level, run by DUO. You stay under the old 2013 law even though it has been replaced.
• I am on the B1 route but B1 is out of reach
  Your municipality can decide that you sit some or all parts at A2 instead. You then take the A2 inburgeringsexamen for those parts, which is a different exam from the Staatsexamen.
• I want to become a Dutch citizen
  There is no separate naturalisation exam. The requirement is the inburgeringsexamen at minimum A2, and a Staatsexamen NT2 Programma I or II diploma satisfies it too.
• I want a permanent residence permit
  The same language requirement as naturalisation: the inburgeringsexamen at minimum A2. If you already hold a qualifying diploma, there is no second exam to sit.
• I am still abroad and applying to move to the Netherlands
  The basisexamen inburgering buitenland, taken at a Dutch embassy or consulate before you travel. It is at A1 level, and it is not the same exam as the one you will take after you arrive.

A2 and B1 are not the same exam at two difficulties

This trips up almost everyone. The A2 inburgeringsexamen is DUO's own exam. The B1 requirement is met by the Staatsexamen NT2 Programma I, a different exam run by CvTE, with different lengths, different task types and a different marking system. Article 3.5 of the Besluit inburgering 2021 is what routes B1 candidates to it.

Kora is an independent study app and is not DUO, CvTE or the IND. Every claim is sourced on the page it appears on.