🇳🇱 Inburgering · A2 · Wet inburgering 2021

Inburgering exam A2 — the four language exams, and how they relate to NT2

The A2 language exams are the only part of the inburgering language requirement that is genuinely a separate DUO product. At B1 and B2, the inburgering language exam is the Staatsexamen NT2 — the same exam under a different name.

⭐ Under the Wet inburgering 2021, B1 is the default level. A2 survives as the downgrade path, permitted only after demonstrable effort, and as the standard under the older 2013 law.

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The four A2 exams

Lezen — 65 minutes, reading texts and answering questions on a computer.
Luisteren — 45 minutes, video clips and audio texts.
Schrijven — 40 minutes, four writing tasks such as letters and filling in forms. Officially taken on paper.
Spreken — 35 minutes, watching fragments and responding.

What else the integration requirement includes

The language exams are not the whole obligation. You also sit KNM (Kennis van de Nederlandse Maatschappij), and your municipality delivers MAP (Module Arbeidsmarkt en Participatie) and the PVT participation statement. MAP is not a sittable exam — it is an hours-and-conversation module concluded with an eindgesprek, so there is nothing to simulate.

The routes under Wi2021

B1-route — the default. Language at B1, which means the Staatsexamen NT2 Programma I.
Onderwijsroute — a taalschakeltraject toward a Dutch diploma, also at B1. MAP does not apply.
Z-route — 1,600 hours for those for whom B1 is out of reach. No central language exam; completion is via a municipal eindgesprek. Note that a Z-route certificate alone does not qualify you for naturalisation.

FAQs

Is the inburgering exam the same as NT2?

At B1 and B2 level, yes — inburgeren.nl states plainly that those language exams are the Staatsexamen NT2. Only the A2 exams are a distinct DUO product. KNM is separate from both.

If I pass NT2, am I exempt from the inburgering language exams?

Yes, for components already passed at or above the level stated in your PIP. Under Wi2021 this is applied automatically — you do not have to request it. The exemption covers language only; it does not remove KNM, MAP or PVT.

What does it cost?

50 euro per exam. Under Wi2021 that is 250 euro in total including KNM. Asielstatushouders under Wi2021 pay nothing — the municipality funds the course and the first two attempts per component.

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Practise the A2 exams before you sit them

All four language components, plus a separate KNM mock.

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Mock results are indicative practice scores, not official DUO outcomes. Each component is graded separately against the 500-point pass mark.