How the Netherlands Assigns Inburgering (Civic Integration) Learning Routes: B1, Education, and Self-Reliance

Among the 97,890 newcomers who have a learning route (leerroute) set under Wet inburgering 2021, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) data show about 70% are placed in the B1-route, 23% in the Z-route (self-reliance route), and 7% in the Onderwijsroute (education route). According to CBS, route placement is closely tied to leerbaarheidstoets (learnability test) advice: of everyone advised that B1 is achievable, roughly 83% are assigned the B1-route. CBS produces these official statistics; Inburgering.org analyses and summarises them.

Data last updated: end 2025 (preliminary CBS figures).

• The B1-route has the largest share. Among people with a route set, the B1-route takes about 70%, the Z-route about 23%, and the Onderwijsroute about 7%.
• Test advice and assigned route often match. Of those advised "B1 achievable," about 83% are assigned the B1-route. Of those advised "B1 not achievable," about 64% are assigned the Z-route.
• The Onderwijsroute has the highest switch rate. About 32% of people who start in the Onderwijsroute later switch to the B1- or Z-route, while about 4% of B1-route starters move down to the Z-route.
• Recorded downscaling (afschaling) fell from about 25% of the 2022 cohort to about 1% of the 2025 cohort. Newer cohorts have had less time for downscaling, so the cohort shares are not directly comparable.
• Literacy need is concentrated in the Z-route. About 68% of asylum migrants in the Z-route need an alfabetisering (literacy) course, versus about 12% in the B1-route.

Wet inburgering 2021 (the integration law that started on 1 January 2022) has three learning routes (leerroutes). Your gemeente (municipality) chooses a route after a broad intake and a leerbaarheidstoets (learnability test). It records the route in your Persoonlijk plan Inburgering en Participatie (PIP), the personal integration and participation plan.

• B1-route: work toward Dutch at level B1, plus knowledge of Dutch society (KNM) and participation. It is the standard route for people who can reasonably reach B1.
• Onderwijsroute (education route): follow an intensive language-and-study track aimed at younger newcomers who want to continue into Dutch education.
• Z-route (Zelfredzaamheidsroute, self-reliance route): follow a participation-focused route for people for whom B1 or study is not realistic. It uses hours of language learning and activation rather than high-level exams.

For the rules behind each route, see our guides to the B1-route, the Onderwijsroute, and the Z-route, plus the overview of what changed under Wet inburgering 2021.

The table below shows how the 97,890 people with a learning route set are distributed, according to CBS, summed across the 2022–2025 cohorts. The percentages are of people who already have a route in their PIP; people without a finalised route are excluded.

The B1-route share ranged from about 68% in the 2022 cohort to about 74% in the 2025 cohort, according to CBS. The Z-route share fell from about 27% to about 19% over the same cohorts. The Onderwijsroute remained the smallest route in every cohort.

Before the municipality sets the route, most newcomers take a leerbaarheidstoets (learnability test). The result advises either "B1 achievable" or "B1 not achievable." The municipality is not bound by that advice, but CBS data show that assigned routes often match it. The table uses everyone with each test result, including people whose route is not finalised. The paragraph below the table excludes the "No route yet" group, so its B1-route share uses a smaller base.

Among people who already have a finalised PIP route, about 86% of those advised "B1 achievable" are in the B1-route. About 29% of those advised "B1 not achievable" are also placed in the B1-route. Municipalities can assign a different route because the test advice is not binding.

CBS records leerroutewisselingen (route switches) from a person's first route. About 32% of Onderwijsroute starters move to the B1- or Z-route. About 7% of Z-route starters move to B1, while 4% of B1-route starters move to Z and 1% move to the Onderwijsroute. The percentages below are of everyone who started in the named route.

According to CBS, about 32% of people who begin in the Onderwijsroute later move to the B1- or Z-route. Movement between the B1- and Z-routes runs in both directions: roughly 4% move from B1 to Z, and 7% move from Z to B1.

An afschaling is a switch to a route with a lower language target. CBS records a drop of about 24 percentage points, from about 25% of the 2022 cohort to about 1% of the 2025 cohort. Newer cohorts have had less time for a downscaling to occur, so the cohort shares do not provide a like-for-like comparison of route-placement quality.

The cohort figures alone cannot show how much of the recorded drop comes from more accurate initial placement.

Some newcomers need an alfabetisering (literacy) course before or alongside language learning. They learn to read and write in the Latin alphabet while learning Dutch. CBS reports this for asylum migrants by route: about 68% in the Z-route need a literacy course, compared with about 12% in the B1-route and 6% in the Onderwijsroute.

According to CBS, about 68% of asylum migrants in the Z-route need a literacy course, compared with about 31% of all asylum migrants across the routes. The Z-route focuses on participation and literacy rather than B1 exams.

Your municipality sets your route in your PIP, based on your broad intake and learnability test. These percentages do not determine an individual's route. They show that test advice often matches the assigned route. Most B1- and Z-route starters remain in their first route, while about 32% of Onderwijsroute starters switch. The Z-route focuses on participation and literacy rather than reaching B1.

For the level newcomers actually reach across the routes, see what language level inburgeraars achieve. To read the route guide that matches your PIP, start with the B1-route, Z-route, or Onderwijsroute guide, and for the wider DUO view of the route split see our inburgering routes statistics page.