Pre-arrival Dutch lessons loom
30 June 2003
AMSTERDAM Foreigners who wish to join their partner or family in the Netherlands will soon have to organise Dutch language courses at their own expense before entering the country, a Justice Ministry official has claimed.
Integration co-ordinator Carsten Herstel also said that foreigners would have to complete exams at the Dutch embassy in their country of origin before their departure, but that the Netherlands will not provide any language courses.
The government accord reached between the Christian Democrat CDA, Liberal VVD and the Democrat D66 after the January 2003 election states that foreigners who voluntarily wish to enter the Netherlands meaning both expatriates and immigrants must have a basis level of Dutch.
But Foreigner Affairs and Integration Minister Rita Verdronk has said an investigative report indicated the provision of publicly funded language lessons outside of the Netherlands would be expensive and complicated, newspaper Trouw reported.
The report said the quality of lessons would be difficult to guarantee if contracted out to the commercial sector and that foreign-based education would be less successful. It also said a language demand placed on immigrants might breach the EU human rights treaty guaranteeing the right to a family life.
And speaking at an integration study day in Leiden on 26 June, Herstel said there was only a small chance the Netherlands would offer Dutch language courses in foreign countries.
An idea is presently circulating through the ministry that the government should not initiate such a project, but Herstel said it did not mean that Minister Verdronk intended to breach the government accord. Instead, it meant that foreigners could in future be forced to find and pay for Dutch language courses in their own country.
The language exam would take place at a Dutch embassy and would be checked in the Netherlands. The ministry is investigating the level of Dutch that should be required, but anyone who passes will be given a visa to temporarily stay in the Netherlands (MVV) and newcomers will be required to participate in a follow-up integration course after their arrival. Those who successfully complete the follow-up course within five years will be allowed permanent residence.
The new regulation is focused mainly on Turkish and Moroccans living in the Netherlands, most of whom marry a partner from their land of origin. There were 23,935 brides and bridegrooms of Dutch immigrant residents last year, eclipsing the number of asylum seekers (18,667).
Growing concern in The Hague and among the general public about the integration of immigrants has led to increasing talk of compulsory Dutch language lessons and courses in Dutch culture.
Shortly before his shooting death before the May 2002 election, maverick politician and populist LPF founder Pim Fortuyn won widespread support by campaigning for a stronger immigration policy.
The main political parties are also advocating a crackdown on immigration and Minister Verdronk is expected to reveal greater detail about the new plan to integrate newcomers before their arrival when the government releases the 2003 Budget in September.
Meanwhile, the Dutch union for elderly migrants, Nisbo, has urged the establishment of integration courses in Turkey and Morocco. The union contradicted the ministry report which claimed the courses would be expensive and said it could set the system up relatively cheaply using its own contacts.
Nisbo said using local means and teachers, integration courses in Turkey could be offered for EUR 1,250 compared with EUR 4,500 in the Netherlands. The union has offered its services to the new CDA, VVD and D66 Cabinet, Dutch associated press ANP reported.
The union said on its website that it strives to improve the situation of elderly immigrants in Dutch society. Nisbo provides individual advocacy for the elderly and lobbies to influence government policy.
[Copyright Expatica News 2003] |
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