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Integration test angers 'old' immigrantsThursday 18 December 2008 Amsterdam’s city council's efforts to make long-time residents from outside the EU get their compulsory integration certificate is angering all sorts of people who consider themselves completely at home, the Parool newspaper says. No-one who is supposed to have a certificate is exempt, even a Turkish interpreter who has worked here for 30 years, the paper says. Natasha Cloutier, a French Canadian who has her own company and has lived here for almost 10 years was asked to take her school certificates and work permit along when she went for an ‘intake chat’. 'The person on the phone spoke worse Dutch than I do', she tells the paper. And American John Collins (59) who tried to buy a book about queen Juliana and prince Bernhard and was asked by the shop assistant ‘who are they?.‘ ‘Who needs integrating?’ he asks. And there is South-African Tjaart Theron, who studied philosophy, theology and economics in his home country and the Netherlands – all in English. He works as a translator and documentary maker and says the emphasis on compulsory integration, with no exceptions, creates aggression. Theron says he has no intention of taking the course. ‘My residency permit still has 10 years to run,’ he says. Have you been asked to take the integration test or have you gone through the system? Use the comments form to share your experiences. © DutchNews.nl Get the DutchNews.nl newsletter in your mailbox: Click here to subscribe
I moved here from America 18 months ago and am attending school to learn Dutch and the information needed to pass the integration exams. My language skills are coming along bit by bit and I've been able to navigage the community using that, English and my friend's translations. My friend and I spent a considerable amount of money (shipping personal goods, plane tickets, fees for all kinds of paperwork, both in America and here) to move my son and I here. He is supporting us so that I can go to school. The alternative would be to use my English skills for a 40-hour per week international-type job, probably about 10 hours per week transporation time and then try to go to school and study in the evenings. If I didn't have these exams to take, I'd probably have a job and be paying taxes by now. Needless to say, we are all budgeting much more than we'd like until I finish school and pass the exams! By Cathy | December 19, 2008 12:34 PM In many countries, people still have this image of The Netherlands, and especially Amsterdam, of being really tolerant, progressive and laid back. It seems the authorities are trying hard to get rid of that image. By Keith Beker | December 20, 2008 9:13 AM This test can be waived...a friend of mine who was commanded to take it, (has lived here for 25 years and teaches at a university) took his credentials in and they told him there was no reason for him to take it... By AW | December 20, 2008 7:21 PM In my case it is waived, but nobody at the city district bothered to check. Canadians do not have to take a language test, nor do some 20 other nationalities. But they can't be bothere to check. Hear hear to everything @DeepThroat said. By Natasha Cloutier | January 7, 2009 5:16 PM Place your comments: |
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The compulsory integration certification clearly shows the deep rooted racism in Dutch society. It serves to remind we foreigners, especially the ones who have been here for many, many years, that we will never truly belong in this country. It obviously does not matter that we pay large contributions to the Dutch economy. We are little more than unwelcome foreigners and we must never be allowed to forget.
By DEEP THROAT | December 18, 2008 3:45 PM