Your law and plan determine your study options
You can study at home or take a course under Wet inburgering 2013 (2013 Civic Integration Act). Your gemeente (municipality) sets your learning route under Wet inburgering 2021 (2021 Civic Integration Act). It also chooses the school and course for an asielstatushouder (asylum status holder). Check your official plan before replacing lessons with self-study.
Your plan and deadline
Your required exams, participation steps and deadlines still apply when you study at home. Under the 2021 law, check your persoonlijk plan inburgering en participatie (PIP, personal integration and participation plan) with your municipality.
Read your letters from DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs, the Dutch education service) to check your inburgeringstermijn (integration period). Your letter gives the start date and the date you must finish.
Check your required parts and which law applies in Mijn Inburgering (My Integration, DUO’s online portal). You use DigiD (digital identity) to log in. If you need to set it up, see the DigiD application and login guide.
Course choice by law and residence status
The municipality chooses the school and course for asylum status holders under the 2021 law. Other migrants under that law must choose their own. See DUO school-choice rules (External site, opens in a new tab) and course-choice rules (External site, opens in a new tab).
You can scroll wide tables sideways.
| Your situation | Who chooses? | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Asylum status holder under the 2021 law | The municipality chooses your school and course. | Follow the course in your PIP. Add self-study as extra practice. |
| Gezinsmigrant (family migrant) or other migrant without asylum status under the 2021 law | You must choose your school and course. The municipality sets your learning route. | Check your PIP before changing lessons. A loan-funded course needs an approved school. |
| Learner under the 2013 law | You can take a course or study independently. | Check Mijn Inburgering for required parts and your DUO letters for deadlines. |
| Voluntary learner | You choose how to study. | Check whether you can borrow and whether your goal requires a diploma. |
Self-study with regular feedback
Consider self-study if three conditions apply. You already understand basic Dutch. You can practise regularly. You have a way to check your mistakes. Combine study at home with feedback on pronunciation, grammar and writing. A teacher or language buddy can help you see what to practise again.
Match your study to the parts of the inburgeringsexamen (civic integration exam) you need. Revise vocabulary with flashcards, read short texts and listen to Dutch each day. Include Kennis van de Nederlandse Maatschappij (KNM, knowledge of Dutch society) themes if this exam is required for you.
Start with DUO’s official A2 practice exams and B1 and B2 practice links (External site, opens in a new tab). The B1 and B2 exams are the Staatsexamen NT2 (Dutch as a second language state exam). For extra practice, use Inburgering.org’s free mock exams.
Build these actions into your self-study plan:
- Use official practice before buying extra material.
- Keep an error list for words, sentence patterns and instructions you miss more than once.
- Ask a teacher, volunteer, language buddy or feedback tool to check your speaking and writing at least once a week.
- Before booking, check that you can finish practice tasks within the exam time limit.
Language schools and loan conditions
Ask a school about its timetable if your deadline is close or your Dutch is below the required level. If studying alone is difficult, ask about scheduled lessons and progress checks. If you have failed without knowing why, ask a teacher to review your speaking and writing.
Schools offer courses at A2, B1 and B2. If you need to learn to read and write, ask about an alfabetiseringscursus (literacy course). Check that the course teaches the skills you need before you enrol.
If you plan to use a DUO loan, check the school in the approved-school directory (External site, opens in a new tab) before signing. Listed schools have the Blik op Werk-keurmerk (Blik op Werk quality mark). DUO loan money can pay for courses only at approved schools. See the DUO loan eligibility guide before applying.
Asylum status holders under the 2021 law cannot borrow from DUO. Their municipality pays for the course. Voluntary learners can borrow until 3 years after municipal registration. Check your eligibility before planning to pay with a loan. DUO’s loan rules (External site, opens in a new tab) set these conditions.
A DUO loan can cover classroom or digital courses and course materials (External site, opens in a new tab). Use funds outside your DUO loan for any intake (initial assessment) and administration fees. If you stop a course, use funds outside the loan for any uitschrijfkosten (withdrawal charges). Ask the school which charges apply and for a full cost breakdown before you sign.
A two-week test of your study plan
If you can choose how to study, try this two-week plan before paying for a long course.
Follow these steps in order:
- Set aside four study days in each week. We suggest this schedule to check whether it fits your life.
- Complete one official practice task at your required level within its time limit.
- Write one short answer to a practice task.
- Record one speaking answer.
- Ask someone to check your answers and explain the mistakes.
Review the trial at the end of the two weeks. If you kept the schedule and understand your mistakes, consider self-study with regular feedback. If you avoided tasks, repeated the same errors or could not explain wrong answers, ask about a school or a short exam-training course.
Your choice before paying for a course
If your municipality chooses your course, speak to your contact person before changing lessons. If you choose how to study, use the trial to decide how much feedback you need. Check your deadline before committing to a timetable. If you need a DUO loan, confirm the school’s approval and any costs outside the loan before signing.
Use these pages to check your options:
Official Sources
- DUO — School kiezen (choose a school) (External site, opens in a new tab) - Who chooses the school under each law and which schools qualify for loan funding.
- DUO — Cursus kiezen (choose a course) (External site, opens in a new tab) - Municipal course and learning-route decisions under the 2021 law, and A2, B1, B2 and literacy courses.
- DUO — Lenen bij DUO (External site, opens in a new tab) - Loan eligibility, the exclusion for 2021-law asylum status holders, and the voluntary-learner time limit.
- DUO — Cursus betalen met lening (pay for a course with a loan) (External site, opens in a new tab) - Course costs and materials covered by a loan, and charges excluded from loan funding.
- DUO — Oefenen (practice) (External site, opens in a new tab) - Official A2 practice exams and the link to B1 and B2 state-exam practice.
- DUO — In het kort (overview) (External site, opens in a new tab) - Self-study under the 2013 law, the PIP under the 2021 law, and required parts and deadlines.
- DUO — Inloggen op Mijn Inburgering (External site, opens in a new tab) - Required exams, loan information and DUO letters in the portal, and DigiD login.
- Blik op Werk — approved-school directory (External site, opens in a new tab) - Schools with the Blik op Werk quality mark, required for courses paid through a DUO loan.
- DUO — Kennisexamens (knowledge exams) (External site, opens in a new tab) - Society-knowledge and participation requirements that still apply alongside language study.
- Gemeente Waalre — DUO letters and integration periods (External site, opens in a new tab) - DUO letters give the integration period’s start date and the date you must finish. Local support details apply to Waalre.