Dutch bill aims to force immigrants to integrate

IOL:

The government adopted a bill Friday that could force half a million immigrants to take language and culture classes, even if they have been Dutch residents for many years.

Under the bill, exams will become compulsory for newcomers, foreigners raising children, welfare recipients and foreign clerics - apparently targeting Muslim imams.

Immigrants aged 16 to 65, even if they have Dutch citizenship, will have to take integration classes and pass tests unless they have Dutch diplomas or lived in the country for eight years when they were of school age, a government statement said.

Classes and exams will cost thousands of rands per person. Those who cannot afford them will be expected to take loans.

Immigration Ministry spokesperson Maud Brederot said the government hadn't calculated the cost of the program but said those who fail will have "to do it again."

In July, a top political advisory board told the government that a similar integration plan by Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk violated European Union anti-discrimination laws.

The law was redrafted into its current form, and parliamentary approval is seen as a formality because the ruling coalition holds a majority in the 150-seat legislature.

Verdonk said the law will apply to about 500 000 of the country's population of 16 million. A plan that would have made around 250 000 Dutch nationals take exams if they had lived abroad for long periods has been scrapped, Verdonk said.

It is unclear how the government would respond to people who don't cooperate.

"They'll get a letter in the mail that they have to show up. They can't just ignore it. If they fail, or if they don't pass, they may be fined," said Brederot.

The law will mostly affect large groups of immigrants, the bulk of them Moroccan, invited to the Netherlands in the 1970s to fill a labour shortage.

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