What an IDW credential evaluation is
An IDW credential evaluation (in Dutch, a diplomawaardering) compares your foreign diploma with the Dutch education system. The document states your name and date of birth. It also lists the programme you completed and how long it took, where and when you completed it, and the diploma you obtained. Finally, it names the Dutch level of education your diploma is comparable to.
IDW Netherlands, short for Internationale Diplomawaardering, is run by Nuffic and SBB for the Dutch government. Nuffic evaluates diplomas comparable to havo, vwo, hbo and wo. SBB evaluates those comparable to vmbo and mbo (who IDW is).
IDW evaluates one diploma per application. The diploma must be nationally recognised and the programme must have taken at least 1,000 hours. IDW does not evaluate short courses, diplomas that are not nationally recognised, Dutch diplomas or work experience.
If you finished at least one year without completing the programme, you receive an educational evaluation instead. If you completed it but have no diploma yet, upload a statement from your school. When IDW cannot evaluate your foreign diploma at all, you receive a Bericht geen waardering.
When you need an IDW diploma evaluation
The evaluation is usually not mandatory, but many organisations in the Netherlands ask for it:
- Work. Employers use it to understand your level, and an employer can apply on your behalf with your consent. If your profession is regulated in the Netherlands, such as doctor, nurse or teacher, contact the authority for that profession first instead.
- Study. Usually you do not need one: ask the school or university, which gets free advice on your diploma itself. An evaluation does not guarantee admission.
- Inburgering, naturalisation or permanent residence. In these cases the evaluation can be free, as explained below.
IDW notes that an evaluation is advice: you cannot derive legal rights from it.
Free IDW diploma evaluation for inburgering
You can apply for one free credential evaluation if one of these applies to you (IDW inburgering):
- you have to complete inburgering from 1 January 2015 or later and received a DUO letter about it, such as Kennisgeving Inburgeringsplicht Wet 2021;
- you are applying to become a Dutch citizen (naturalisation);
- you have applied for a permanent residence permit.
For naturalisation and permanent residence, DUO decides whether you qualify after IDW receives your application. Once you have your inburgeringsdiploma, the free option ends; you can still apply, but you pay.
If you have refugee status and cannot safely request documents from the country where you studied, apply anyway. IDW checks what it can do with the documents you have. With no documents at all, IDW can assess an Indicatie Onderwijsniveau, an estimate of your level that is not based on study documents.
How to apply in Mijn IDW
You apply online in Mijn IDW. Create an account with your email address and a password, activate it, and start the application. You upload everything; you do not send originals, certified copies or legalised documents by post unless IDW asks for them later.
Upload clear colour scans of (required documents):
- your passport, ID card or residence permit, valid for at least 3 more months (for inburgering, the front and back of your residence permit);
- for inburgering, the DUO letter about your inburgeringsplicht; for naturalisation or permanent residence, an official document showing your BSN;
- the diploma and all transcripts, or the full diploma supplement;
- a certified translation if your documents are not in Dutch, English, German, French or Afrikaans;
- proof of a name change, such as a marriage certificate, if your name differs from the one on your diploma.
Do not upload apostilles. For a master's degree IDW may also ask for your bachelor's diploma and transcripts. On the inburgering route IDW checks within 5 working days whether your file is complete and emails you if anything is missing.
IDW evaluation costs and processing time
A paid IDW diploma evaluation costs €148.83. After you submit, you get an email with a payment link (iDEAL or credit card), and IDW starts once it has received the payment (IDW to work).
IDW is busy (longer processing times). The first check of your file happens about 6 working weeks after you apply, and the evaluation itself then takes about 8 working weeks. If documents are missing or unclear, the file waits another 6 working weeks after you upload them, so check the document list before you submit.
What you receive
When the evaluation is ready, IDW emails you and you download the PDF from your Mijn IDW account. The evaluation is in Dutch and electronically signed. The signature is legally valid on the digital file but not on a printout, and you only see it when you open the PDF in Adobe. The evaluation stays valid and you can download it from your account for 3 years.
To fix a spelling mistake or a wrong date of birth, send a request in Mijn IDW. If you disagree with the result, you can file a complaint in Mijn IDW within 6 working weeks of the date on the evaluation.
What the KNM exam asks about this
KNM questions on work and income can ask which organisation does what: IDW compares a foreign diploma with a Dutch education level, and DUO handles inburgering. Practise with DUO's official practice exams.