The Dutch civic integration policy has not produced sufficient results. This is the conclusion that has often been drawn by successive cabinets since the legislation and policy on the civic integration of immigrants was introduced in 1998. The current outgoing cabinet came to this same conclusion when they debated the act that is currently in force. A new Civic Integration Act will come into force on 1 January 2022. However, on the basis of past lessons, there is reason to fear that this new act is also destined to fail.
Problems under the current law
First of all, there are the problems that have arisen under the current act, which stipulates that newcomers who are obliged to participate in a civic integration programme must pass their civic integration examination within three years. Under the guise of ‘self-responsibility’, the organisation of preparatory courses has been left in the hands of the market and people who are obliged to pass the integration examination have been forced to find a suitable course and pay for it themselves. Participants may take out a loan for this course, and asylum status holders do not need to pay back the loan if they pass the examination in time. Family migrants, however, must pay back the loan nonetheless. These types of loans can easily run to thousands of euros. It goes without saying that the longer it takes someone to pass the examination, the higher their costs will be.
But that is not all. People who have an obligation to integrate (an obligation which consists of the duty to pass the integration examination) and who fail to pass the examination in time run the risk of being fined. During the 2013-2017 period, almost 8,000 fines were issued; the average fine was €1,041.00. In some cases, bailiffs were even sent in. There are also consequences for the right of residence: for example, passing the integration examination is a condition for the right to a permanent residence permit. The number of applications for permanent ‘regular’ residence permits (i.e. for foreign nationals other than asylum status holders) has decreased by 60 percent since an application for such a permit is declined because the applicant has not passed the examination. The integration requirement provides important grounds for rejection when it comes to permanent residence. In the case of asylum status holders, 95% of rejections of applications for permanent residence permits were based on the failure to pass the integration examination.
Lastly, the integration obligation does not apply to EU citizens because EU law dictates that this type of obligation may not be imposed on EU citizens. The invitation to attend a civic integration programme has never been extended to voluntary EU participants in civic integration programmes, even though this group has accounted for half of all non-Dutch immigrants for many years.
It is hard to determine how the current act contributes to the integration of newcomers. A considerable number of newcomers will be burdened with an enormous debt during their first years in the Netherlands, those who fail to pass the examination will remain stuck in a temporary – hence uncertain – residence , and for those who have not yet fulfilled the obligation to integrate, their access to paid employment will be hindered. After all, employers tend to steer clear of any uncertainties or difficulties.
Essential shortcomings remain
This means that are plenty of options for improving civic integration, and the new act indeed constitutes an improvement on a number of points. Municipalities will play a central role in implementing civic integration, those with an integration obligation will receive guidance, the costs asylum status holders will make in order to prepare fr and pass the integration examination will be paid for by the government, and the ’open’ language training market will be restricted.
However, a number of essential shortcomings will remain. These stem from the obligation to pass the examination within three years, the threat of fines and residency consequences, and from the obligation for family migrants to finance their own civic integration. The negative, because exclusionary effect of the Civic Integration Act will thereby remain intact, and will even be reinforced due to an increase in the difficulty level of the exam. The integration policy will still not apply to all immigrants, which means that for a large number of newcomers, there will be no incentive to learn the language.
It is only a matter of time before a new cabinet draws the conclusion that the integration policy has failed. Let us hope that legislation will subsequently be introduced that is in the interests of those with an obligation to integrate and – consequently - benefits Dutch society as a whole.
Text. Ricky van Oers. This column, which previously appeared on the Centre for Postgraduate Legal Education (CPO) website, is an adaptation of the article ‘Lessen van 25 jaar inburgering in Nederland’ [Lessons from 25 years of civic integration in the Netherlands], which the author wrote with Professors Kees Groenendijk and Betty de Hart for the 33rd edition of the Nederlands Juristenblad [Netherlands Law Journal] (NJB 33).
Ricky van Oers is Programme Manager at the (CPO) and is an affiliated researcher at both the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and the Research Centre for State and Law at Radboud University.
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