Wet Inburgering 2021: What Changed, Which Route You Follow, and What to Check

The Wet inburgering 2021, usually shortened to Wi2021, applies if your inburgeringsplicht (integration obligation) started on or after 1 January 2022. The biggest change is that your gemeente (municipality) now guides the process through a brede intake and a PIP: a personal integration and participation plan. The PIP says which route you follow, which exams or modules you must complete, and when your official three-year term starts.

• The start date of your inburgeringsplicht decides whether Wi2021 or Wi2013 applies. Check the date in Mijn Inburgering or in your DUO letters.
• Under Wi2021, the municipality invites you for a brede intake and creates your PIP.
• The three routes are the B1-route, the onderwijsroute and the zelfredzaamheidsroute, usually called the Z-route.
• The B1-route aims for Dutch at B1. If B1 is not realistic after enough effort, the municipality can discuss scaling down to A2.
• The Z-route is not an ordinary exam route. It focuses on self-reliance, participation and Dutch at the highest reachable level, often around A1.
• ONA belongs mainly to Wi2013. Under Wi2021, work and participation are handled through MAP and the municipality.

The public dividing line is 1 January 2022. If you became inburgeringsplichtig on or after that date, Wi2021 usually applies. If you already had the duty before that date, the old Wet inburgering 2013 usually remains relevant. Do not guess from your arrival date alone: the useful date is the official start date shown by DUO.

Under Wi2021, DUO first sends a letter after you have a BSN, a residence permit and municipal registration. The municipality then invites you for the brede intake. After the intake and the leerbaarheidstoets (learning potential test), the municipality sets your PIP. DUO sends another letter with the date from which your term starts.

Your route is not just a study preference. It decides the target level, the exams or modules, and the kind of support you should get. Your own PIP and Mijn Inburgering are more important than any general article, but this table gives the basic shape.

PIP means persoonlijk plan inburgering en participatie. In practice, it is the document you should keep close. It records your route, your level, the exams or municipal modules you must complete, and the agreements with the municipality. If something in your life changes, such as illness, study, work, pregnancy or problems with a school offer, the PIP is usually where the practical consequences must be checked.

The PIP also matters for money. For example, asylum-status holders under Wi2021 normally have the course arranged by the municipality, while family migrants and other migrants usually choose and pay for their own course, even though the municipality sets the route. Exam attempts, loans and invoices depend on your status, route and level, so check the dedicated cost and free-attempt rules before booking exams.

The old and new systems can look similar because both use words like inburgering, KNM and exams. The responsibility is different. Wi2013 expected the newcomer to arrange much more directly with DUO; Wi2021 gives the municipality a formal guiding role.

• Log in to Mijn Inburgering and check the law, start date, deadline, route and required exams shown there.
• Read your PIP carefully. If the route, level or support does not match your situation, ask the municipality to explain it in writing.
• If you are in the B1-route and B1 feels unrealistic, ask the municipality what evidence and effort are needed before A2 can be discussed.
• If you are in the Z-route, ask which activities, MAP/PVT steps and final conversation are required before the certificate can be issued.
• Before booking exams, check whether the exam level matches your PIP and whether you pay yourself, use a loan, or have free attempts.

For the wider exam map, read which Dutch exam you need. For route details, continue with the B1-route guide, onderwijsroute guide, or Z-route explainer.