Dutch Citizenship Test Study Guide (KNM) 2026

How naturalisation works

Naturalisation (naturalisatie) is the main way for adults born abroad to become Dutch. The IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Service) decides on your application. The IND has a decision period of 12 months.

The main conditions

You are 18 or older.
You can prove your identity and nationality with valid documents.
You have lived in the Kingdom of the Netherlands for at least 5 years in a row with a valid residence permit. In some cases you can apply sooner.
Your residence status is still valid when you apply, during the procedure and on the day of the ceremony.
You have passed the civic integration exam at least at level A2, or you are exempt.
You are not a danger to public order or national security.
You give up your current nationality, unless an exemption applies.
You are willing to make the declaration of solidarity.

The ceremony

After a positive decision you attend a naturalisation ceremony. There you make the declaration of solidarity (verklaring van verbondenheid): you state that you know the laws of the Kingdom also apply to you. You must attend within 1 year, or you have to apply again. Children aged 16 and over must also attend.

The civic integration exam and KNM

The civic integration exam (inburgeringsexamen) is run by DUO. It has several parts. If you take it in the Netherlands, you normally need:

Part	What it tests
Reading, listening, writing, speaking	Your Dutch, at level A2 or higher
Knowledge of Dutch Society (KNM)	How Dutch society works, for example work and income, housing and the system of government
ONA (2013 Act) or MAP (2021 Act)	Orientation on the Dutch labour market
Participation Statement Process (PVT)	A required step in the integration process; Mijn Inburgering shows if it applies to you

The KNM exam is taken on a computer and lasts 45 minutes. DUO says you answer questions on several themes, such as housing (wonen) and work and income (werk en inkomen). The government also names manners, norms and values, and the system of government as themes.

Changes from 1 July 2025

Since 1 July 2025, KNM follows new exam goals (eindtermen), the first update since 2015. Questions focus more on knowledge than on behaviour. There is more attention to:

Women's self-determination: what women's right to make their own choices means in the Netherlands.
The Holocaust: many Dutch Jews were murdered in the Second World War, and antisemitism and discrimination are forbidden.

Other ways to meet the requirement

The NT2 state exam (Dutch as a second language) at level B1 or B2.
Certain Dutch, Belgian or Surinamese diplomas taught in Dutch.
Living in the Netherlands for at least 8 years between ages 5 and 16.
A medical or other exemption decided through DUO or the IND.

The Constitution and your rights

The Dutch Constitution is called the Grondwet. It dates from 1814, and the version in force now dates from 1983. Chapter 1 lists the fundamental rights of everyone in the Netherlands, not only Dutch nationals.

Article	What it says (in short)
1	Everyone in the Netherlands is treated equally in equal cases. Discrimination is not allowed.
6	Everyone may freely practise their religion or belief.
7	You do not need permission to publish your opinions in the press.
10	Everyone has the right to privacy.
23	Everyone is free to provide education.
54	Dutch nationals aged 18 or over elect the House of Representatives.
114	The death penalty may not be imposed.
120	Courts do not test Acts of Parliament against the Constitution.

Changing the Constitution is hard on purpose. It takes two readings in parliament, and at the second reading two-thirds of both Houses must agree.

The Constitution itself sits under the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Statuut), which governs the whole Kingdom.

Government and elections

The Netherlands is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy (since 1848). The King is head of state, but the ministers are responsible for what the government does. The government is the King and the ministers together.

Body	Members	How chosen
House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer)	150	Elected directly by Dutch nationals aged 18+, normally every 4 years
Senate (Eerste Kamer)	75	Chosen by the members of the provincial councils
Provincial council (Provinciale Staten)	Varies	Elected directly
Municipal council (gemeenteraad)	Varies	Elected directly every 4 years
Mayor (burgemeester) and King's Commissioner	1 per municipality or province	Appointed by Royal Decree, not elected

Together, the two Houses form the States General (Staten-Generaal), which represents the whole Dutch people.

Who may vote in municipal elections

Dutch nationals and citizens of other EU countries aged 18 or over who live in the municipality.
Non-EU nationals aged 18 or over who have lived in the Netherlands legally for at least 5 years.

Only Dutch nationals vote for the House of Representatives. Becoming Dutch gives you that vote.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Kingdom of the Netherlands has four countries: the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Since 10 October 2010, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba are special municipalities of the Netherlands itself.

1954: the Charter for the Kingdom gave Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles self-government.
25 November 1975: Suriname became an independent republic.
1986: Aruba left the Netherlands Antilles and became a separate country in the Kingdom.
2010: the Netherlands Antilles ended; Curaçao and Sint Maarten became countries.

Key moments in Dutch history

Year	Event
1568–1648	Eighty Years' War: revolt against Philip II of Spain, led by William of Orange
1579	Union of Utrecht: seven northern provinces agree to fight on together
1581	Act of Abjuration: Philip II is no longer recognised as ruler
1588	Republic of the Seven United Provinces
1602	Founding of the VOC (Dutch East India Company)
1621	Founding of the WIC; start of the Dutch transatlantic slave trade
1815	United Kingdom of the Netherlands, including present-day Belgium
1830	Belgian revolt; independence recognised in 1839
1839	First railway line in the Netherlands
1848	Thorbecke's Constitution: ministers responsible, start of Dutch democracy
1863	Slavery abolished in Suriname and the Caribbean on 1 July
1917	All men get the vote; women may be elected
1919	Women get the vote (first used in 1922)
1940–1945	German occupation
1949	Sovereignty transferred to Indonesia (27 December)
1953	Great flood in the south-west (1 February)

The Golden Age and slavery

In the 17th century, Dutch trading companies such as the VOC (founded 1602) and the WIC (1621) traded around the world. Part of this trade was in enslaved people. Dutch traders carried hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans to the Americas, and people were also traded in Asia. Slavery ended on 1 July 1863 in Suriname and the Dutch Caribbean. This day is remembered as Keti Koti ('broken chains'). The government apologised in December 2022, and the King apologised in 2023.

From kingdom to democracy

After Napoleon was defeated in 1813, William I became king. In 1848, under King William II, Thorbecke led the reform that made ministers responsible to parliament. Voting rights grew slowly: all men in 1917, women in 1919.

The Second World War and after

Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. After the bombing of Rotterdam on 14 May, the Dutch army surrendered. During the occupation, more than 100,000 Dutch Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. Deportations began in 1942. In the Hunger Winter of 1944–1945, at least 20,000 people died in the western cities.

The Netherlands was liberated on 5 May 1945. In Asia, Japan had occupied the Dutch East Indies since 1942 and surrendered on 15 August 1945.

Date	What happens
4 May	National Remembrance: war victims are remembered
5 May	Liberation Day: freedom is celebrated
1 July	Keti Koti: the end of slavery is remembered and celebrated

Indonesia

Indonesia declared independence on 17 August 1945. A war followed until 1949, and the Netherlands transferred sovereignty on 27 December 1949. More than 300,000 people left Indonesia, most of them for the Netherlands, including about 12,500 Moluccans.

The 1953 flood

On the night of 31 January to 1 February 1953, a storm broke the dikes in Zeeland, West Brabant and the South Holland islands, and 1,836 people died. The country then built the Delta Works: dams, dikes and storm surge barriers. Large parts of the Netherlands lie below sea level; the lowest point is 6.76 metres below the Amsterdam water level (NAP).

The Netherlands in Europe

The Netherlands is one of the six founding countries of European cooperation, with Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany and Italy.

1951: Treaty of Paris, the European Coal and Steel Community.
1957: Treaty of Rome, the European Economic Community.
1992: Treaty of Maastricht creates the European Union.
2002: euro coins and notes come into use.
2005: Dutch voters reject a proposed European constitution in a referendum.

Health care, school and work

Health insurance

Everyone who lives or works in the Netherlands must have standard health insurance. It covers costs such as GP (huisarts) visits, hospital treatment and prescribed medicine. Extra insurance is optional. Children under 18 must be insured but pay no premium. Parents register a newborn with an insurer within 4 months.

School

Children may start primary school at 4. School is compulsory from 5.
Primary school has 8 years (groepen). In year 8 pupils get a school advice for secondary school.
School is compulsory until the end of the school year in which a child turns 16. Young people of 16 and 17 without a basic qualification (startkwalificatie) must keep going to school.
Publicly funded schools charge no fees. They may ask a voluntary contribution for extra activities.
Some schools are based on a religion or belief, because the Constitution protects the freedom to provide education.

Work

Employees from 21 up to state pension age have a right to the full statutory minimum wage. Workers aged 15 to 20 get a youth minimum wage. Employers who pay too little can get high fines.