ONA Exemption: When You Can Skip the ONA Exam

For the Oriëntatie op de Nederlandse Arbeidsmarkt (ONA) exam, DUO may give you a vrijstelling ONA (ONA exemption) if you completed MAP, worked enough in paid employment in the Netherlands, run your own business under the listed conditions, are a DGA or international-organisation worker, or are fully incapacitated for work or fully on early retirement. Most work-based exemptions must be requested by you. A MAP-based exemption is usually reported by your gemeente.

• ONA mainly applies to people integrating under the Wet inburgering 2013 or integrating voluntarily. People under the Wet inburgering 2021 usually have MAP instead.
• If you successfully completed MAP, you usually do not request the ONA exemption yourself. Your gemeente reports the MAP final conversation date, and DUO sends a letter within 8 weeks.
• For paid employment, DUO lists 3 conditions: you worked in loondienst, worked at least 6 months in the past 12 months, and worked at least 48 hours per month.
• Self-employed people, DGA workers and some international-organisation workers use separate paper forms and evidence routes.
• DUO also lists possible ONA exemption routes for people who are volledig arbeidsongeschikt or volledig met vervroegd pensioen.
• If you already paid for the ONA exam and later receive an exemption, DUO says you do not get that exam fee back.

Use this article if ONA still appears in Mijn Inburgering or in a DUO letter and you think work, MAP or health/retirement status may remove that exam. If you are not sure whether you need ONA or MAP, first compare them in the MAP, ONA and PVT guide.

The routes below are not interchangeable. Check the route that matches your real situation, because the application method and evidence are different.

If you completed Module Arbeidsmarkt en Participatie (MAP), DUO says you can get an ONA exemption and do not need to apply for it yourself. Under the 2021 law, this route matters when you made a PIP with your gemeente and told DUO that you voluntarily want the A2 inburgeringsdiploma. Under the 2013 law or voluntary integration, the gemeente sends the MAP final conversation date to DUO. In both situations, DUO says it sends a letter within 8 weeks.

If you worked in the Netherlands in paid employment, you must request the ONA exemption yourself. DUO's listed conditions are: you worked in loondienst, you worked at least 6 months during the past 12 months, and you worked at least 48 hours per month. Apply in Mijn Inburgering. If you cannot log in, DUO provides the paper form Aanvraag vrijstelling Oriëntatie op de Nederlandse Arbeidsmarkt. DUO says it decides within 8 weeks.

If you work in your own business, DUO asks you to meet at least 1 listed condition. The official page lists: at least 6 months registered with the Kamer van Koophandel during the past 12 months and profit of at least €4,575.40 in that period or the previous calendar year; receiving Bbz2004 support from the gemeente; or a residence permit with the residence purpose Arbeid als Zelfstandige. You use the self-employed ONA exemption form and send the requested documents by post.

There is a separate route if you are a directeur-grootaandeelhouder (DGA) or if you work for a Dutch branch of an international organisation or company that does not pay Dutch social-security contributions. DUO uses a separate form for this route and asks you to send the form and evidence by post.

DUO also lists a possible ONA exemption if you are volledig arbeidsongeschikt (fully incapacitated for work) or volledig met vervroegd pensioen (fully on early retirement). This is not the same as simply being unemployed. Use the general ONA exemption form and follow the evidence instructions on the form.

• Check Mijn Inburgering first. If ONA is no longer listed, you may already have a DUO decision or another route.
• Do not assume work automatically removes ONA. Wait for DUO's letter or Mijn Inburgering update.
• Keep evidence: contracts, payslips, employer statements, KvK documents, annual figures, Bbz2004 decisions or residence-permit details, depending on your route.
• If you already paid for ONA, plan for the possibility that the fee will not be refunded.
• If you worked in the Netherlands for 5 years or longer, check whether a broader integration exemption may fit better than ONA-only exemption.

Start with the route that matches your evidence. For paid employment, log in through Mijn Inburgering. If login is the blocker, use the DigiD troubleshooting guide. If your situation is broader than ONA, compare it with the full exemptions and special cases guide before you send forms.