Inburgering Exemption: Who Can Skip Some or All of the Exams

Yes, some people can skip some or all of the inburgering exams. The common routes are a Dutch school diploma, Staatsexamen NT2 results, 10 years of living here with at least 5 of work, and a serious illness or disability. Some routes exist only under the 2013 law. And a DUO exemption does not always count when you later apply to the IND for a permanent permit or Dutch citizenship.

First: which law are you under?

Obliged to integrate on or after 1 January 2022: the 2021 law. Before that: the 2013 law. Mijn Inburgering shows the date. Under the 2021 law your municipality’s personal plan (PIP) sets which exams and which language level apply to you, and that level decides a lot below.

DUO gives these exemptions only to people who are obliged to integrate. If you integrate voluntarily, for naturalisation for example, the IND’s rules apply instead (see the last section).

Every route, side by side

Route	What you need	2013 law	2021 law	Cost
Dutch diploma	vmbo, havo, vwo, mbo level 2 or higher; hbo or university taught in Dutch; or a Dutch-language diploma from Belgium or Suriname with a pass in Dutch	Full exemption	Full exemption	Free
Staatsexamen NT2 parts	Parts passed (for the 2021 law: at your PIP level or higher)	Those parts; you apply	Those parts; automatic	Free
Foreign diploma	Shows one or more parts at A2 (2013) or B1 (2021), from a school recognised by that country’s government	Partial	Partial	Free
10 years lived, 5 worked	No time abroad in those 10 years; volunteering counts as work; Dutch at A2 (2013) or B1 (2021)	Yes (called ontheffing)	Yes (called vrijstelling)	€90 interview
Serious illness or disability	Permanent: an Argonaut doctor must find you cannot integrate within 5 years	Yes	Yes	€225, refunded if granted
Tried hard enough (AGI)	600 hours of lessons at an approved school, 3 attempts at every open exam	Yes	No	Free (€150 test on the literacy variant)
ONA exemption	6 of the last 12 months in paid work, at least 48 hours a month; or MAP completed; or self-employed on set conditions	Yes	ONA does not exist	Free
Special individual circumstances (BIO)	A lasting situation that means you cannot integrate, and no other route or extension fits	Yes	Yes	—
Reaching pension (AOW) age	The obligation ends at AOW age	Yes	Yes	—

A few smaller rules sit under these. If you passed the old speaking test (TGN) of the basic exam abroad before 1 November 2014 with 37 points or more, and your PIP sets A2, you may be exempt from Spreken. If you became obliged before 1 January 2015 with an entry-level mbo diploma (level 1), you may be fully exempt. Between 2015 and 2022, that diploma only exempts you from ONA, automatically. And a Dutch study programme that leads to a full-exemption diploma gives a temporary exemption while you study (under the 2013 law you must have started by two months after your 18th birthday).

How to apply, route by route

Dutch or foreign diploma. Fill in the DUO form “Aanvraag vrijstelling”. There is one for each law. Post it to DUO with the papers the form lists. DUO decides whether you get an exemption, and what kind.

Staatsexamen NT2. Under the 2021 law, parts you passed at your PIP level or higher count without an application. Under the 2013 law, apply with the same form. DUO answers within 8 weeks.

10 years lived, 5 worked. Send the form with an employer’s statement (werkgeversverklaring), or print your insurance record with hours from Mijn UWV. DUO then invites you for an interview that costs €90 and decides after it.

Illness or disability. Apply in Mijn Inburgering under “Digitale formulieren”. DUO sends a €225 invoice that you have to pay yourself: you cannot borrow it. A doctor from Argonaut examines you and writes to DUO. Bring your medical papers to that doctor, and do not send them to DUO. If the doctor says you can integrate within 5 years, there is no exemption and no refund. If the illness is temporary, DUO points you to extra time instead, which is free.

AGI (2013 law only). Your deadline must have started at least 2.5 years ago. Check that Mijn Inburgering shows at least 600 lesson hours. Only classroom hours count, not online ones, and your school must have been listed on zoekinburgerschool.nl when you started. At most 2 Staatsexamen attempts count per exam. The literacy variant (at least 300 of the 600 hours spent on a literacy course) has no attempts rule. Instead you take a €150 test that checks whether you can learn Dutch. If you can, there is no exemption.

ONA (2013 law only). Completing MAP gives the ONA exemption automatically. For the work route, apply in Mijn Inburgering. If you already paid for ONA, you do not get that money back.

BIO. DUO calls it a route for very exceptional cases. You must have tried to learn Dutch, have no other exemption or extension open to you, and be in a situation that will not change.

A DUO exemption and the IND

The IND handles permanent residence permits and naturalisation, and it has its own list. For a permanent regular permit, an EU long-term resident permit or a permanent asylum permit, you usually need the inburgering diploma. The IND can exempt you if, among other things, you have a medical document showing you cannot sit the exam, you can prove you are sufficiently integrated, you lived here for 8 years or more during school age, or you are under 18 or of pension age. Its “despite efforts” route requires advice from DUO and only applies under the 2013 law.

DUO’s own warning is short: the BIO exemption is not enough to naturalise. If citizenship is your goal, check the IND’s conditions before you choose a route.

Three situations, worked through

Priya finished an mbo level 4 programme in Dutch. The mbo 4 diploma qualifies for a full exemption under both laws. She fills in the vrijstelling form for her law and posts it with a copy of the diploma.

Karim (2021 law) has lived here 12 years and worked for 7, and speaks Dutch well. He meets the 10-and-5 route, as long as his Dutch is at B1, the level the 2021 law asks for here. Before he pays €90 for the interview, he takes our free B1 practice exam to check his Dutch really is at B1. Then he sends the form with his employer’s statement.

Lucía (2013 law) passed two Staatsexamen NT2 parts before her obligation started. Under the 2013 law she has to apply for those two parts to count. Once they do, she has fewer exams left, and she prepares for the rest with free practice exams by part.

If no exemption fits

Most people do not qualify, and the answer is to pass the exams. The practical pages for that: how to reschedule or cancel an exam, how many times you can retake, what happens if you fail, and the deadline, extensions and fines. For the exam as a whole, see our English guide to the Dutch integration exam. When you start preparing, the inburgering.coach app finds the mistakes you keep making and drills those.

Sources

All checked on 23 September 2026. When a personal letter from DUO says something different, the letter wins.

• DUO, Minder of geen examens doen, with the pages on diplomas, Staatsexamen B1 or B2, 10 years lived and worked, illness or disability, AGI, ONA, Dutch study programme and BIO.
• DUO, Extra tijd om in te burgeren.
• IND, Civic integration for more secure residence permit, last updated 27 August 2026.