Arrange MAP through your municipality
MAP is a free programme about work and taking part in Dutch society. Your gemeente (municipality) arranges it under Wet inburgering 2021 (Civic Integration Act 2021). It includes at least 40 hours of practical work-related activity. Check your integration plan to see whether you must do MAP. If required, finish it by your integration deadline.
What is MAP?
MAP is short for Module Arbeidsmarkt en Participatie. It connects your work plans to inburgering (civic integration) in the Netherlands.
Who must do MAP?
MAP is part of the B1-route (B1 learning route) and Z-route (self-reliance route) under the 2021 law. The onderwijsroute (education route) has a MAP exception: you are exempt while following or after completing its taalschakeltraject (language bridging programme).
Your PIP (persoonlijk plan inburgering en participatie, personal integration and participation plan) and Mijn Inburgering (My Integration) show whether you must do MAP. Check these records rather than choosing by your Dutch level.
Your municipality explains MAP during the brede intake (initial integration assessment). It makes your PIP with you after this assessment. DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs, the Dutch education service) explains this process in its MAP explanation (External site, opens in a new tab).
What do you do during MAP?
MAP has two parts: labour market and participation. Your municipality chooses the assignments to fit your skills and work plans.
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| Part | What you learn | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Arbeidsmarkt (labour market) | How to find work in the Netherlands. | Suitable jobs, vacancies, applications, work culture, networking and workplace expectations. |
| Participatie (participation) | How to take part in society through practical tasks. | Volunteering, an internship or paid work. |
MAP includes at least 40 hours of practical labour-market activity. Your municipality sets the total length of your programme. The Regeling inburgering 2021 (Civic Integration Regulation 2021) (External site, opens in a new tab) sets this minimum. Ask your municipality which activities and hours count. If it proposes local activities or workplace visits, ask how they meet the practical requirement.
MAP ends with an eindgesprek (final interview) with your municipality. The municipality checks your practical hours and what you have learned. It takes your abilities into account when assessing your progress, as the MAP rules (External site, opens in a new tab) explain.
For help with job applications, use our guide to applying for a job in the Netherlands. Ask your municipality which application tasks are part of your MAP programme.
What does MAP cost, and when must you finish?
MAP is free, according to DUO’s cost page (External site, opens in a new tab).
If your PIP requires MAP, you must finish it by the end of your inburgeringstermijn (integration period). Under the 2021 law (External site, opens in a new tab), this period is normally 3 years. It starts on the day after the date on your first PIP. Check your current deadline in Mijn Inburgering.
Asylum status holders are exempt from DUO’s late-completion fines, as its fines page (External site, opens in a new tab) explains. If your PIP requires MAP, you must still finish it.
If you are a family migrant or another migrant without asylum status, DUO can fine you €340 for late MAP completion in 2026. This applies when you are late and have no right to an extension. After a MAP fine, you get 6 extra months to finish. If both MAP and the participatieverklaringstraject (PVT, participation declaration process) are late, you get 1 extra year. If several fines give you extra time, the longest period applies; the periods are not added together.
The municipality can give a separate fine if you fail to cooperate with PIP support or meet required MAP, PVT or learning-route activities. This is a different rule from DUO’s late-completion fine. Article 23 of Wet inburgering 2021 (External site, opens in a new tab) sets out municipal enforcement.
How do you arrange MAP?
You arrange MAP and PVT through your municipality. Language exams, Kennis van de Nederlandse Maatschappij (KNM, Knowledge of Dutch Society) and ONA have separate booking routes. DUO’s registration page (External site, opens in a new tab) explains these routes. To arrange MAP, follow these steps:
- Check your PIP and Mijn Inburgering for the MAP requirement.
- Contact your municipality about a start date if MAP is required and you have no invitation.
- Ask which activities, hours and attendance records you need for your programme.
- Keep the records your municipality asks for until it confirms that you have completed MAP.
Keep written proof of your messages if you are waiting for a place. If municipal delays, illness, family events or other serious reasons affect your schedule, check DUO’s extension conditions (External site, opens in a new tab). DUO decides whether you get extra time.
How does MAP differ from ONA?
MAP and ONA both cover work in the Netherlands. In October 2026, your municipality arranges MAP. ONA goes through DUO, with a course provider if you choose the 64-hour course.
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| Task | Law | Who arranges it | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAP | Wet inburgering 2021. | Municipality. | Local programme, practical activities and final interview. |
| ONA | Wet inburgering 2013 or voluntary integration. | DUO; course provider if chosen. | Approved portfolio (folder of completed assignments) plus a 64-hour ONA course or final DUO interview. |
There is an exception for people who need ONA. If you cannot take an ONA course, DUO says to ask your municipality about MAP instead (External site, opens in a new tab). After you complete MAP, the municipality reports your final interview date to DUO. DUO then checks whether you qualify for an ONA exemption. If it grants the exemption, it sends you a letter.
What should you do in your situation?
If your PIP requires MAP and you have no start date, contact your municipality. If you already work or volunteer, ask which hours count toward MAP before relying on them. If your deadline is close, check the conditions for extra time with DUO. Waiting for an invitation does not itself change your deadline.
Official Sources
- Inburgeren.nl (DUO's civic integration website): knowledge exams and MAP (External site, opens in a new tab) - DUO's explanation of MAP, the two parts, and how PIP and Mijn Inburgering show whether MAP applies.
- Inburgeren.nl: registering for PVT and MAP (External site, opens in a new tab) - DUO's instruction that MAP is handled through the municipality.
- Inburgeren.nl: inburgering costs (External site, opens in a new tab) - DUO's cost page, including that MAP is free and done with the municipality.
- Inburgeren.nl: fines (External site, opens in a new tab) - DUO's late-completion fine exception for asylum status holders and MAP fine rules for family and other migrants.
- Regeling inburgering 2021 (External site, opens in a new tab) - legal rules for the practical labour-market activity part of MAP.
- Wet inburgering 2021 - municipal enforcement (External site, opens in a new tab) - separate municipal fines for not cooperating with PIP support or route obligations.
- Inburgeren.nl: fines under the 2021 law (External site, opens in a new tab) - Conditions for a late MAP fine, the asylum-status exception, extra time after a fine and the rule that extra periods are not added together.
- Regeling inburgering 2021: official publication (External site, opens in a new tab) - Article 3.1 sets at least 40 practical labour-market hours. The explanation covers workplace experience, employer visits and the absence of a fixed total duration.
- Wet inburgering 2021: official publication (External site, opens in a new tab) - Articles 8, 11 and 23 cover the education-route MAP exception, the three-year period from the first PIP and separate municipal enforcement.
- Besluit inburgering 2021 (Civic Integration Decree 2021): official publication (External site, opens in a new tab) - Article 3.2 and its explanation set MAP themes and the final municipal interview, with assessment adapted to the participant’s abilities.
- 2025 amendment: MAP completion and ONA exemption (External site, opens in a new tab) - The amendment allows MAP completion to lead to an ONA exemption. Its explanation confirms the 40 practical hours, local format and final interview.
- Inburgeren.nl: MAP instead of ONA (External site, opens in a new tab) - Ask the municipality about MAP if you cannot take an ONA course. The municipality reports completion and DUO assesses the ONA exemption.
- Inburgeren.nl: extra time to integrate (External site, opens in a new tab) - Situations in which an extension may be possible, including illness, family events, municipal or school delays and other reasons.