An Amsterdam court has ruled that immigrants who come through family reunification do not have to take a Dutch test abroad.
A 2005 law enables immigrants to get a residence permit only after they have passed a Dutch test in their land of origin, showing basic knowledge of the Dutch language and culture.
In a case brought by a Moroccan woman who wanted to live with her husband in the Netherlands, the Amsterdam judge said that this demand was inadmissible by law.
The woman's application for a temporary residence permit was denied, since she had not taken her exams in Morocco. As a result of the court decision, the woman may come to the Netherlands to do her exams.
A spokesperson for the IND (immigration and naturalization service) says that they are studying the decision and will consider whether the government will appeal it.
The number of family reunifications has decreased sharply over the last few years, but it is still used by many Turks and Moroccans. there were about 19,000 such applications last year.
Source: Telegraaf (Dutch)
See also: Netherlands: Abuse of family reunification laws
2 comments:
Typically Telegraaf to only present part of the facts. The law passed states that only people from certain countries must sit this exam before entry into the Netherlands, clearly discriminatory in nature. I'm glad someone has finally challenged it.
This is probably a more accurate portrayal of the situation:
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/netherlands/080717-dutch-citizenship-tests
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