Dutch Tourist Visa to Taking the Basic Integration Exam

I haven't written in a while but I felt the need to do a few entries before the year ends. I've recently found myself answering questions on expat.com about my visa processing and marriage in Holland. Surprisingly, there are a handful of individuals who wants to move to Holland permanently but were - like me worried about taking the first steps especially taking the Basic Integration Exam. 

As previously included in my entry, in order for an individual to stay longer than 90 days in Holland, one must take the Basic Integration Exam which will test your Dutch Language Skills, Listening/ Reading Skills and Knowledge on Dutch Society. And that's just what I did a few weeks ago. Finally faced my fears and now, just waiting for the results which will be out some time in January.

The Dutch visa is a bit complicated but easy. They only have two types of visa once you decide to apply in the Dutch Embassy in Manila Philippines. The usual is the Tourist Visa which allows one to stay for 90 days and the MVV Visa (long stay/ temporary residence permit visa) which allows one to stay longer than 90 days in Holland. 

My first visa application was three years ago, I opted for the Tourist Visa since it was my first time visiting Martijn and the second option required me to take the Basic Integration Exam. I submitted all my requirements at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Manila Philippines. But as of late, they have already moved the processing via VFS Global. For more information about the visa application and processing, you can check http://www.vfsglobal.com/netherlands/philippines/visa_types.html 

With my first application, I was granted a 90 days visa. When I came back to the Philippines, I reapplied for my next visit and was granted a 2 year visa but was still allowed only 90 days each visit. Since, I got married the last time I went there, we decided to finally go for the MVV and thus taking the exam a few weeks ago.

The exam itself was not as dreadful as I've expected but studying and learning a new language was overwhelming. The first time I had a one on one lesson was last year with my now mother in law. Then I started receiving self study books and dictionaries from my in laws 'til early this year, my husband decided to buy me the Naar Nederland Kit, which helped a lot in letting me understand the Dutch language better.

Learning and understanding a new language is not easy. Having to undergo an exam to prove you can speak is not easy as well but in my personal point of view, this system is a win win for both the country and the person applying for the visa. It is always better when you can understand the language and the system of a country where you want to migrate than having zero knowledge on their lifestyles and culture.

With the exam over and done, I can say the hardest part would be speaking. Although, some of the Dutch words are relatable to English - its the sentence construction that makes it a little tricky. Up to this day, I still find it hard to construct sentences that I don't often use on a daily basis. If everything pushes through with my application, once I live in Holland, I have the option of going to school for a formal language training/ course.

To prepare yourself for the Basic Integration Exam, it is important to be open minded on committing various mistakes in terms of speaking, sentence construction and getting familiar with the Dutch culture along the way. For us, Filipinos it's easier to learn the pronunciation of some words since most of us can speak English. Also today's social media platforms provides a lot of online materials for you to learn basic Dutch. YouTube has a lot of channels that caters to this but I would really suggest for you to get a hold of the Naar Nederland self study kit. It basically is the foundation of where most of the exam content are from. The kit is consists of booklets, cds and online access to their website where you can do an online self study which your partner can check for on your progress. The website also provides practice exams, so you'll have a little idea on how it will be. For more information, you can check https://www.naarnederland.nl/en/category/homeen

The exam itself is not as hard as one would expect if you have studied enough. The Basic Integration Exam is consists of Speaking, Listening/Reading and Knowledge on Dutch Society. Among all three parts, I find the Knowledge on Dutch Society easiest since I am a visual learner. I'm a little bit concern with my Listening/Reading as well as with the Speaking part but whatever the result may be, I am glad to have been able to undergo this step to be with my husband. I would also suggest speaking with your partner once in a while in Dutch. I learned some parts on my own since I'm not comfortable with having a coach but for the practice exam on speaking, my husband did a few one on one lesson with me which helped a lot because he got to correct my sentence construction.

To get an exam schedule, one must register and pay for the Basic Integration Exam on the Naar Nederland website. Payment is only possible if you have a Dutch Bank Account. For this part, your partner can pay on your behalf online. Payment for the exam is 150 euro. Once, you have the payment confirmation, you can then email the Embassy of the Netherlands to schedule an appointment with your payment confirmation attached. Once you get a response, the embassy will provide you details on your confirmed appointment as well as things you need to bring with you. Upon completing the exam, you have to wait for 8 weeks to get the results before applying for the MVV. In the event that you fail on any parts of the exam, you only have to retake the part where you failed and not the entire exam and payment will be by parts.

All in all, don't be scared. I still get a butterflies thinking about it but I have faith, that all will work in my favor. The waiting time is a bit long but at least I get to spend time with my family here. You should have any further questions, you can find me on expat.com under the name smderoos or you can also send me a message here or via my facebook page seasonsofscarletbynikkaantonio. I hope this entry helped a little, if not I hope I've given justice on what I really wanted to say about my experience. All the best, must you plan to take a step in permanently living in Holland.

Sharing a photo of a windmill near our place in Holland. This was taken the day I first arrived there. A little something to remind me of how far I've come in terms of being part of the Dutch culture.