DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs, the Dutch education service) late-completion fines apply to family and other migrants
Family and other migrants can receive a fine if they miss their deadline without a right to extra time. Learning-route fines are up to €1,000 under Wet inburgering 2021 (Civic Integration Act 2021). Diploma fines are up to €1,250 under Wet inburgering 2013 (Civic Integration Act 2013). Asylum status holders receive no DUO late-completion fine and must continue integrating. Check DUO’s deadline and send missing records.
A DUO (External site, opens in a new tab) letter can announce a possible fine or give a final decision.
Which law and fine amount apply to you?
Check your law and migrant category in Mijn Inburgering (My Civic Integration portal) (External site, opens in a new tab) and your letters. Wet inburgering 2021 applies if your obligation started on or after 1 January 2022. Many earlier cases remain under Wet inburgering 2013. The government’s explanation of the 2013 Act (External site, opens in a new tab) confirms this date; our comparison of the 2013 and 2021 Acts explains the different duties.
The amounts below apply to family and other migrants in October 2026. The table lists fines for separate parts of integration: your leerroute (learning route), participatieverklaringstraject (PVT, participation declaration process) and Module Arbeidsmarkt en Participatie (MAP, Labour Market and Participation Module).
You can scroll wide tables sideways.
| Law | Unfinished part | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 Act | Leerroute | Up to €1,000 |
| 2021 Act | PVT | €340 |
| 2021 Act | MAP | €340 |
| 2013 Act | Inburgeringsdiploma (civic integration diploma) | Up to €1,250 |
| 2013 Act | PVT | €340 |
Under the 2013 Act, a late PVT fine also stops further borrowing from DUO. If a fine affects your loan, read the DUO integration loan guide before making repayment decisions.
Which fines can the municipality give?
Your gemeente (municipality) first sends a written warning and another invitation if you miss the brede intake (initial assessment) under the 2021 Act. It does the same if you do not cooperate with the intake. The municipality can fine you if you do not attend or cooperate by the new deadline.
The municipality can also fine you for not cooperating with the support in your persoonlijk plan inburgering en participatie (PIP, personal integration and participation plan), or for missing required PVT or MAP activities. For asylum status holders, these duties also include attending the required learning-route activities, such as language lessons. The 2021 Act’s municipal fine rules (External site, opens in a new tab) set these duties.
The asylum-status-holder exception covers DUO’s late-completion fines. Your municipal duties continue. Follow the instructions and deadlines in a municipal letter if you receive one.
Which letters arrive before a fine?
DUO sends family and other migrants under the 2021 Act a letter 2 months before the end of their inburgeringstermijn (integration period). It shows the course hours, exam attempts and results in DUO’s records. Follow the letter’s instructions to correct missing information.
If you have not completed integration when that period ends, DUO sends a Vooraankondiging termijnoverschrijding (advance notice of a missed deadline). It shows a possible fine amount. DUO still has to decide whether to fine you. The amount can change when you send missing evidence. A final fine letter states the amount and how to pay.
Family and other migrants under the 2013 Act also receive an advance notice if they have not completed integration in time. If you do not respond, DUO sends a letter with the fine amount and payment instructions. See DUO’s explanation of the fine letters (External site, opens in a new tab).
What can lower your fine?
For a learning-route fine under the 2021 Act or a diploma fine under the 2013 Act, DUO uses your recorded course hours, exam attempts and passed parts. Under the 2021 Act, your learning route also affects the calculation. For both laws, only course hours at a school listed in DUO’s school directory (External site, opens in a new tab) count. Under the 2013 Act, these may include integration, literacy and Dutch-as-a-second-language courses.
How much extra time do you get after a fine?
After a DUO fine, family and other migrants still have to finish the outstanding parts. DUO gives a new period of 6 months to 2 years, depending on the late part and recorded progress. Asylum status holders do not receive these fines, so the periods below do not apply to them.
For a learning-route fine under the 2021 Act, the period depends on your B1-route (B1 learning route), onderwijsroute (education route) or Z-route (self-reliance route). DUO lists the extra-time periods after a fine (External site, opens in a new tab); the table below shows them.
You can scroll wide tables sideways.
| Late part | Recorded progress | New period |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 Act: B1-route or onderwijsroute | 0 passed exam parts | 2 years |
| 2021 Act: B1-route or onderwijsroute | 1 passed exam part | 1.5 years |
| 2021 Act: B1-route or onderwijsroute | 2 passed exam parts | 1 year |
| 2021 Act: B1-route or onderwijsroute | 3 or 4 passed exam parts | 6 months |
| 2021 Act: Z-route | Course hours | 6 months to 2 years, depending on hours |
| 2021 Act: PVT or MAP | Which part is late | 6 months for one; 1 year if both are late |
| 2013 Act: diploma fine | Unfinished diploma | 2 years |
If you receive more than one fine with extra time, only the longest new period applies.
For example, you are a family migrant on the B1-route. You have passed 2 exam parts. You get 1 extra year after a learning-route fine. If you also get 6 extra months for a late MAP, the 1-year period applies.
How do you respond to a warning or fine?
When you receive a DUO letter, check it in this order:
- Read the reason and deadline.
- Identify whether the letter is an advance notice or a final decision.
- Compare DUO’s records with your proof of course hours, exam attempts, results and municipal confirmations.
- Send any missing evidence using the route and deadline in the letter.
If illness or another serious reason delayed you, check DUO’s extra-time rules (External site, opens in a new tab). If DUO has already fined you, include any relevant extension evidence with your objection.
If you disagree with a final DUO fine, follow these steps:
- Call DUO.
- If DUO cannot resolve the problem, submit a Bezwaarschrift boete (notice of objection to a fine) in Mijn Inburgering within 6 weeks after the decision.
Follow DUO’s objection instructions (External site, opens in a new tab), including the postal option if you cannot log in. If you need help with the letter, use our guide to free and subsidised legal help.
Keep your address and email current in Mijn Inburgering so DUO can contact you. If you pay your fine in instalments and change bank accounts, update the account in the portal. If you move abroad, send DUO your new address using Doorgeven buitenlands adres (report a foreign address), the form linked on DUO’s fines page.
If you are an asylum status holder, DUO says you need to take no action about its late-completion fine exception. Continue integrating. DUO will write to you if your situation changes.
Which action fits your situation?
If your deadline is approaching, check whether you qualify for extra time. If you have an advance notice, send missing records before DUO decides. If you disagree with a final DUO fine, keep the 6-week objection deadline. Paying a fine leaves your integration obligation in place: continue studying and finish within the new period.
Use the page that fits the part you need to arrange:
Official Sources
- DUO: civic integration fines (External site, opens in a new tab) - Late-completion fines, the asylum-status-holder exception, warning letters, calculation criteria and extra time after a fine.
- DUO: extra time to integrate (External site, opens in a new tab) - Situations where you may qualify for extra time under the 2013 or 2021 Act.
- Regeling inburgering 2021 (Civic Integration Regulation 2021): fine tables (External site, opens in a new tab) - Fine calculation tables for the B1-route, onderwijsroute and Z-route.
- Besluit inburgering 2021 (Civic Integration Decree 2021): enforcement rules (External site, opens in a new tab) - Rules for calculating fines under the 2021 Act.
- Wet inburgering 2021: municipal enforcement (External site, opens in a new tab) - Municipal intake fines following warnings and repeat invitations, plus separate fines for failure to cooperate with support or attend required activities.
- Beleidsregel boetevaststelling inburgering (External site, opens in a new tab) - Calculation policy for late-completion fines under the 2013 Act, linked by DUO.
- DUO: log in to Mijn Inburgering (External site, opens in a new tab) - The portal for checking letters, results and registrations, and viewing or changing personal details.
- DUO: boete (fine) (External site, opens in a new tab) - Dutch source for fine amounts, notices, course records, new periods after a fine and changes to bank or address details.
- DUO: bezwaarschrift (notice of objection) (External site, opens in a new tab) - How to object to a fine, the six-week deadline, supporting evidence and the postal option if you cannot log in.
- Rijksoverheid (Dutch central government): Wet inburgering 2013 (External site, opens in a new tab) - The 2013 Act continues to apply to people already required to integrate before 1 January 2022.
- Wet inburgering 2021: original legal publication (External site, opens in a new tab) - Articles 14 and 22 require an intake warning and repeat invitation; Articles 15 and 23 distinguish support and participation duties from learning-route attendance duties for asylum status holders.
- Beleidsregel boetevaststelling inburgering: original policy publication (External site, opens in a new tab) - Article 1 contains the 2013 fine calculation criteria; Article 3 gives the policy name.
- DUO school directory (External site, opens in a new tab) - Directory of approved integration schools, linked by DUO when explaining which course hours count.
- Gemeente Leeuwarden: integration before and after 2013 (External site, opens in a new tab) - Distinguishes older municipal cases from later integration obligations, which is why you should check the law in your own letters.
- Gemeente Zwolle: intake warnings and fines under Wet inburgering 2021 (External site, opens in a new tab) - The 2026 policy confirms a written warning and repeat invitation before a fine for continued nonappearance or insufficient intake cooperation.