Medical Ontheffing for Inburgering: Illness, Disability, and Adapted Exams

If a serious illness, disability or psychological condition makes inburgering difficult, DUO does not automatically cancel your exams. The official route depends on what you can still do: an adapted exam, extra time for your inburgeringstermijn, or in the most serious lasting situations a medical ontheffing. Ontheffing means DUO releases you from one exam or from the whole integration obligation, but DUO decides after medical advice.

Do not start with the strongest request just because the word exemption sounds helpful. DUO and Staatsexamens NT2 describe several different solutions for illness or disability. The practical question is whether you need the exam changed, the deadline changed, or the obligation removed.

An aangepast examen is for people who can still do an exam, but not in the standard way. For A2 language exams and knowledge exams, DUO says you can request advice through Mijn Inburgering with the form Aanvraag advies aangepast examen. If you cannot log in, you can use the paper form for an adapted exam request.

• After an A2 adapted-exam request, Argonaut may invite you for a medical assessment.
• The Argonaut doctor sends advice to DUO about whether you may take an adapted exam.
• If DUO approves the adaptation, DUO sends a letter explaining what will be arranged.
• DUO says you must register for the adapted inburgeringsexamen with the paper Aanmelding inburgeringsexamen form, not through Mijn Inburgering.

For B1 or B2 Staatsexamen NT2, the request works differently. When registering, indicate that you have persoonlijke omstandigheden. DUO then contacts you about the adaptation and the document you need. The NT2 site says an adapted exam may be scheduled on a different date or in a different place. Wheelchair-accessible locations are standard, so wheelchair access alone does not require an adapted-exam request.

Extra time is not the same as ontheffing. It keeps your obligation alive but gives you longer to finish. DUO lists illness of you or certain close family members as a possible reason. The illness must have lasted longer than 3 months, the sick person must have been treated by a doctor in the Netherlands, the illness must have prevented you from finishing on time, and your integration period must have started at least 2.5 years ago.

DUO asks for evidence such as a medical file, a stamped medicine list from the pharmacy, or a medical statement from another doctor. Medical documents go through SecureTransfer, not on USB sticks or original paper files. If you cannot get the evidence, DUO can request it with your authorization, but the application may take about 3 months longer. DUO says it normally decides on the extension within 8 weeks.

A medical ontheffing is for a serious illness or disability that means you cannot integrate. You can request it only if DUO says you are required to integrate under Wet inburgering 2013 or Wet inburgering 2021. If you are unsure whether you are inburgeringsplichtig, first check your DUO letter, Mijn Inburgering, and the broader guide to who must integrate.

• Apply in Mijn Inburgering under Digitale formulieren with Aanvraag ontheffing bij ziekte.
• If you cannot log in, use DUO's paper form Aanvraag ontheffing van de inburgeringsplicht om medische of psychische redenen.
• Do not send medical papers with the first paper form. DUO says only Argonaut needs your medical papers; take them to the Argonaut doctor.
• DUO sends an invoice for EUR 225. You cannot pay this with a DUO integration loan.
• After payment, Argonaut examines you and sends advice to DUO.
• DUO decides whether you get ontheffing. If it is granted, DUO refunds the EUR 225.

• Check your law and route in Mijn Inburgering or your DUO letters.
• Ask your doctor which documents describe the limitation clearly and recently.
• For a temporary illness, compare the extra-time route before requesting permanent ontheffing.
• For an A2 exam adaptation, start in Mijn Inburgering and wait for DUO's advice letter before booking the adapted exam.
• For B1/B2 NT2, mark personal circumstances during registration and wait for DUO's NT2 team to tell you which document is needed.
• If the issue affects naturalisation or a stronger residence permit, check IND guidance as well as DUO's inburgering rules.

This article is a practical map, not a medical or legal decision. For the broader exemption landscape, read the guide to inburgering exemptions. If your main problem is the deadline, read the guide to the three-year clock and extra time. If your question is whether you are required to integrate at all, start with who must integrate.