Short answer: look at the date on which the IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Service) announced your residence permit. Was that before 1 January 2022? Then you fall under the Civic Integration Act 2013. Was it on or after 1 January 2022? Then the Civic Integration Act 2021 applies. There are exceptions, so the letter from DUO (Education Executive Agency) is always decisive.
Why that one date matters so much
The two laws arrange almost everything differently. Your language level is different. Your exams are different. And there is a different answer to the question of who arranges and pays for your course. Below you can see the differences side by side.
| Civic Integration Act 2013 | Civic Integration Act 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Language level | A2 | usually B1, depending on your learning route |
| Who arranges your course | you arrange it yourself | the municipality |
| Who pays | you pay yourself, borrowing from DUO is possible | the municipality, if you are an asylum status holder |
| Part about work | ONA | MAP |
| Personal plan | no | yes, the PIP |
| Participation statement (PVT) | yes | yes |
How to check it yourself
- Find the letter from the IND stating that you are getting a residence permit. The date on that letter is what counts.
- Log in to Mijn Inburgering with your DigiD.
- Check under your details which law applies to you and when your deadline ends.
- Not sure? Call DUO. Do not go by what a classmate says: their date is not your date.
You fall under the 2013 law
Then you arrange your integration yourself. You find your own language school, you register for the exams yourself and you pay for them yourself. You take exams at A2 level and you also do ONA, the part about work. No money for a course? Then you can often borrow from DUO.
You fall under the 2021 law
Then the municipality takes the lead. You receive an invitation for a meeting. After that, the municipality draws up a personal plan, the PIP. It states which learning route you will follow. Besides the language exams you do MAP and PVT: two parts organised by the municipality.
Can you switch laws?
Not on your own. The law that matches your date stays in place. The transitional rules do contain a few exceptions, for example for people who were already required to integrate earlier. If your situation is complicated, check with DUO. While you are figuring it out, also look at your integration deadline, because it keeps running in the meantime.
Practise at the level that applies to you
Inburgerify practises at both A2 and B1, with KNM included. You choose your own level and your own pace.
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