VZCZCXRO7442
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHTC #0610/01 0810613
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220613Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5152
INFO RUEHAT/AMCONSUL AMSTERDAM 0547
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 000610 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PTER KISL PGOV PINR SOCI SCUL KPAO NL
SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/MUSLIM OUTREACH: INTEGRATION EXAM 
REQUIRED PRIOR TO IMMIGRATION 
 
 
THE HAGUE 00000610  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. Summary: Effective March 15, certain nationalities will 
need to pass a civic integration exam to immigrate to the 
Netherlands.  Initial reactions in local and foreign press 
have been divided on whether such a policy will result in 
better integration of immigrants in the country or only 
further limits on immigration, especially from Muslim 
countries.  End Summary. 
 
NEW IMMIGRATION ENTRANCE EXAM 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. The Netherlands' Civic Integration Examination Abroad, 
which became effective March 15, requires potential 
immigrants to take a Dutch language and culture test at a 
Dutch foreign mission abroad before applying for a 
temporary residence permit.  Test takers can purchase an 
education package for 65 euros, which includes a DVD film 
on the Netherlands, a booklet with images from the film, a 
CD with questions from the "Knowledge of Dutch Society" 
section of the test, and three mock Dutch language tests. 
Sitting for the exam costs approximately 350 euros. 
 
¶3. The two-hour film "To the Netherlands" is intended to 
provide a realistic picture of life in the Netherlands, 
including information on Dutch politics, work, education 
and healthcare.  It also shows aspects of liberal Dutch 
culture, such as two gay men kissing in a bar and a topless 
woman on the beach.  An edited version with no homosexual 
or nudity scenes is available for distribution in countries 
where such images are prohibited (e.g., Iran).  The film 
features run-down neighborhoods where poorer immigrants may 
live and warns of traffic jams, integration problems, 
unemployment, and other issues that new immigrants may face 
in the Netherlands. 
 
EXEMPTED GROUPS 
--------------- 
 
¶4.  The following persons are exempted from taking the 
test: 
 
-- Persons of EU, U.S., Australian, Canadian, Icelandic, 
Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norwegian, Polish, 
Swiss, or Vatican nationality; 
-- Persons of Surinamese nationality who have written proof 
of completion of primary education in the Dutch language; 
-- Persons coming to the Netherlands for a temporary 
reason, such as study, au pair work, an exchange, or 
medical treatment; 
-- Persons (and family members) coming to the Netherlands 
with a work permit, the self-employed, and knowledge 
migrants; 
-- Family members of a person with an asylum-seeker's 
residence permit; and 
-- Skilled workers making more than $54,000 per year. 
 
PROMOTING INTEGRATION 
--------------------- 
 
¶5. The new entrance exam is part of a government effort to 
promote integration of immigrants and is based on the 
belief that immigrants with a basic knowledge of Dutch 
society and the Dutch language will have a better chance of 
integrating.  The exam is also intended to force potential 
immigrants to consider carefully whether they would fit 
into one of Europe's more permissive societies and to 
discourage immigration of those with little education. 
Most first generation Turkish and Moroccan immigrants, the 
two largest immigrant groups in the Netherlands, are not 
well educated and often speak little Dutch.  Second 
generation immigrants are doing far better, but up to 80 
percent of this group marry partners from their ancestral 
countries, who also largely lack secondary educations and 
Dutch language skills. 
 
¶6.  To counter this trend and to promote integration of 
newcomers, the government has implemented a range of 
measures, including a requirement that anyone marrying a 
partner from a non-exempt country must show that they earn 
at least 120 percent of the legal minimum wage (about 1,270 
euros/month) and can assume financial responsibility for 
the immigrating partner.  Previously, immigrating partners 
only needed to enroll in unpaid integration and Dutch 
language courses upon arrival in the Netherlands.  Now they 
must complete the entrance exam in their home country as 
well as the integration and language courses in the 
Netherlands. Private organizations have already started 
offering test preparation courses in Turkey and Morocco. 
 
AN INFORMED IMMIGRANT . . . 
--------------------------- 
 
THE HAGUE 00000610  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7.  An editorial in the leading NRC Handelsblad (liberal 
evening daily) observed that immigrating partners with a 
basic knowledge of Dutch society will be better prepared to 
handle problems and lead an independent life without being 
at the mercy of their future partners.  Dutch 
parliamentarian Ayaan Hirsi Ali was quoted by foreign press 
as saying, "the film is meant for people not yet in Holland 
to take note that this is normal here and not to be shocked 
and awed by it once they arrive."  Mohammed Sini, chairman 
of the Islam and Citizenship Group and an Embassy contact, 
also defended the film, saying that homosexuality is "a 
reality."  He urged all immigrants "to embrace modernity." 
Other local press reports have focused on the relevancy of 
the exam questions to effective integration and how 
educators in Turkey and Morocco are preparing potential 
immigrants for the exam. 
 
. . . OR A MEANS FOR LIMITING IMMIGRATION 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  Meanwhile, media in the U.K. and U.S. have quoted a 
spokesperson from Buitenlandse Partner, a lobbying group 
for mixed Dutch/immigrant couples, as saying this "is a 
black day for people intending to bring partners to 
Holland."  In a statement to the Associated Press, Dutch 
theologian and University of Utrecht professor Karel 
Steenbrink criticized the DVD film as offensive to some 
Muslims, adding that it was not a "prudent way of welcoming 
people to the Netherlands."  Famile Arslan, an immigration 
lawyer and Embassy contact, told the press she has lived in 
the Netherlands for 30 years and "has never witnessed two 
men kissing in the park," and questioned why the GONL chose 
to "confront people with that."  She also accused the GONL 
of "preaching tolerance about civil rights while targeting 
non-westerners with harsh and discriminatory immigration 
curbs." Abdour Menebhi, chairman the Moroccan interest 
group Emcemo in Amsterdam, told the press that the "film 
was just another example of how the Netherlands was trying 
to limit immigration from Muslim countries." 
 
COMMENT: EXAM'S COST STRONG DETERRENT 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  The GONL hopes the new entrance exam, which was 
developed in close consultation with immigrant 
organizations, will ease immigrants' integration into Dutch 
civil society and the job market.  With the addition of the 
Civic Integration Examination Abroad, the Netherlands now 
has some of the strictest immigration policies in Europe. 
Other West European governments are reportedly watching to 
see the results of the new test. Only time will tell what 
effect the testing will have on immigration to the 
Netherlands, although the cost of the exam alone is likely 
to be a strong deterrent. 
 
ARNALL