Short answer: if you fall under the Civic Integration Act 2021, the municipality makes a plan for you. It is called the PIP: the Integration and Participation Plan. The municipality usually finalises it within 10 weeks after you are registered in the municipality. Before that, the municipality has a conversation with you and you take a test.
How it works, step by step
- DUO informs the municipality that you have to integrate.
- The municipality invites you for a conversation. That conversation is called the broad intake.
- You take the learnability test.
- The municipality writes your PIP and discusses it with you.
- You receive the PIP at home as an official decision.
- You start your learning route and the other agreements in the plan.
What is the broad intake?
The broad intake is a conversation in which the municipality maps out your situation. It covers your education, your work experience and your personal circumstances. Think of your health, your family and your housing. It is not an interrogation: the more honest you are about what is difficult, the better the plan will fit you. Bring your diplomas if you have them, including ones from your own country.
What is the learnability test?
The learnability test looks at how quickly you are expected to learn a language. The outcome helps decide whether language level B1 is achievable within your deadline. It is not an exam. You cannot fail it and you do not have to study for it. The test helps determine which learning route you get.
What is in your PIP?
- Which learning route you follow and at which language level you take your exam.
- When you start and how many hours a week you work on your integration.
- Agreements about MAP, the part about work, and about the PVT.
- What you do besides the language to take part in Dutch life, for example volunteering.
- What support you receive from the municipality.
Do you disagree with your PIP?
Your PIP is an official decision. That means you can object to it, usually within six weeks of the date of the decision. The letter itself states how to do that and by when. If you feel you can handle more than the municipality thinks, say so straight away. Do not wait, because after those six weeks the decision is final.
What if your situation changes?
A PIP is not forever. If you fall ill, start working, or the route turns out not to fit, the municipality can adjust the plan. Report such a change to your contact person yourself. In the meantime, keep a close eye on your integration deadline, because it simply keeps running.
Start now, even without a PIP
Waiting for your appointment at the municipality can take weeks. With Inburgerify you do not lose that time, you use it.
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