Who chooses their own school and for whom the gemeente decides
Whether you select your own inburgering language school depends on your legal residence status and the civic integration law governing your obligation.
Under the Wet inburgering 2021 (Civic Integration Act 2021), newcomers who received an integration requirement on or after 1 January 2022 undergo a brede intake (broad intake) through the local gemeente (municipality). If you arrive as an asielstatushouder (asylum status holder), the municipality maintains full responsibility for your education. Officials determine your educational track, select the school, and pay for your coursework as well as your first two examination attempts. You cannot take out a tuition loan from DUO under this regime.
Rules differ by cohort.
For gezinsmigranten (family migrants) and other non-asylum newcomers governed by the 2021 act, the framework shifts accountability back to you. The municipality still assesses your skills and establishes your leerroute (learning track) inside your binding Persoonlijk Plan Inburgering en Participatie (PIP). However, you must find, evaluate, and enrol in the language school on your own. You must also fund the tuition yourself, though you have the legal right to apply for a DUO loan if you meet the financial criteria.
If your integration duty started between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2021 under the Wet inburgering 2013, you must choose your own school regardless of your immigration channel, and asylum status holders under this older law could borrow up to €10,000 from DUO, which they never have to repay. European Union, EEA, and Swiss nationals carry no mandatory integration duty under Dutch immigration law. If they settle in the Netherlands and voluntarily decide to learn the language, they can choose any provider they prefer. Furthermore, they remain eligible to apply for DUO financing up to three years after their initial municipal registration date.
Why the Blik op Werk Keurmerk is the condition for a DUO loan
DUO will only disburse loan money to education providers holding the official Blik op Werk Keurmerk Inburgeren (civic integration quality mark).
If you borrow funds to pay for your education, DUO never transfers liquid money into your private bank account. Instead, the school generates a digital invoice that travels directly to the agency. You receive an email notification whenever an invoice lands in Mijn Inburgering, giving you the legal responsibility to inspect the hours billed and click to accept or reject the charge. Once you approve the billing statement, DUO remits payment directly to the training centre out of your approved credit facility.
If you pay your tuition entirely from personal savings without using state loans or municipal subsidies, you are free to enrol at an unaccredited private school. Choosing an unaccredited school, however, rules out a DUO loan, and the childcare benefit linked to an inburgering course also requires a school on zoekinburgerschool.nl. Borrowing limits reflect income and status rather than uniform lump sums. For family migrants, DUO establishes borrowing ceilings based on joint household earnings, and borrowers repay the balance with interest over up to ten years.
Your loan covers specific integration costs:
- Language classes covering A2, B1, or B2 levels
- Remedial literacy modules
- Official books and mandatory course binders
- Official DUO examination fees
DUO's list of what the loan does not cover: laptops or tablets, withdrawal fees if you stop the course, copying, food and drink, administration fees, intake fees and postage.
Finding keurmerk schools: zoekinburgerschool.nl and the register
The official directory for finding approved language schools is maintained on zoekinburgerschool.nl alongside the central Blik op Werk register.
Blik op Werk acts as an independent supervisory body monitoring Dutch integration education across the country. To obtain and retain the quality mark, institutions must pass regular audits evaluating three core standards: internal administrative organisation, actual student examination results, and verified customer satisfaction ratings. In addition to financial and performance reviews, schools undergo classroom inspections conducted by ITTA on behalf of Blik op Werk every four years. You can review these regulatory standards directly through the Blik op Werk portal.
The directory shows schools near you and ratings by earlier inburgeraars. Finding a local school matters because travel costs are not automatically reimbursed by authorities. Some municipalities choose to assist with public transport expenses when no local provider exists, but they have no legal obligation to do so.
Attending an accredited school listed on the register carries immediate practical benefits for working parents. If you receive an integration duty letter from DUO and place your young children in licensed daycare while attending classes at an approved school, you can request kinderopvangtoeslag (childcare benefit) from the Dienst Toeslagen (Benefits Authority). DUO transmits your course attendance records directly to the tax authorities to validate your childcare entitlement.
Two administrative databases hold accreditation data:
- The zoekinburgerschool search engine for public consumer ratings
- The Kwaliteitsregister Inburgeren for active licensing records
Checking both databases confirms whether a school maintains an active accreditation or merely holds provisional aspirant status.
What to look at: course level, NT2 teachers and the course contract
Accreditation standards dictate that certified language schools must deliver at least 80 percent of their instruction through registered NT2 instructors.
Qualified teachers hold professional accreditation registered with either the Kwaliteitsregister NT2-docent or the professional registry run by the BVNT2 (Beroepsvereniging van docenten Nederlands als tweede taal). Blik op Werk also requires a Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag (VOG, certificate of conduct) from a school's board and from freelance teachers at the start of an assignment.
Check your contract terms.
Before you commit your funds, the school must execute a standard cursuscontract (course contract) prescribed under Blik op Werk governance. This contract is mandatory for family migrants, candidates under the 2013 act, and self-paying students, though it does not apply to 2021-act asylum holders funded directly by a municipal tender. The contract functions as your primary legal safeguard if a training provider fails to deliver scheduled hours or closes unexpectedly.
Read the contract before you sign: it records what you and the school agreed, and it is what you fall back on if the school does not deliver.
Prices differ per school. DUO says not every school charges the same for an A2 course, and Blik op Werk takes no position on rates, so ask the school. You should therefore compare prices, group sizes, and average exam pass rates between several providers before signing. Once you put your signature on paper, you become contractually obligated for the agreed tuition sum.
Which course fits your exams: A2, B1 or literacy first
Your official integration plan establishes whether your language curriculum must target A2 elementary fluency, B1 independent proficiency, or foundational literacy.
Under the 2021 act, municipal case managers assign candidates to one of three legal routes during the PIP intake process. The B1-route combines Dutch language instruction with volunteer or paid labour, targeting European reference level B1 within a three-year deadline. The Onderwijsroute (educational route) prepares younger newcomers for Dutch vocational or academic higher education, targeting level B1 or B2 under the direct oversight of the national Education Inspectorate rather than Blik op Werk. The Zelfredzaamheidsroute (Z-route) is structured for individuals facing significant learning hurdles, aiming for basic A1 communication and concluding with an interview at the municipal office instead of centralised exams. DUO outlines these trajectories in detail in its course selection guide.
If you cannot read or write Latin script comfortably, you must first complete an alfabetiseringscursus (literacy course). Literacy training teaches fundamental reading and writing mechanics alongside basic spoken Dutch, after which students transition into standard A2 or B1 coursework.
In the B1-route, the law provides an official mechanism called afschalen (scaling down from B1 to A2). If you show sustained effort but cannot pass B1 exams, you can request an adjustment after finishing at least 600 instruction hours at an accredited school. The municipality reviews your documented study hours, determines whether you qualify, and adjusts your PIP accordingly. For individuals fulfilling civic duties under the 2013 act, passing civic integration exams at level A2 remains sufficient to earn the integration diploma.