Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on immigration and integration policy around the world.
The Netherlands has had one of the toughest integration policies for immigrants in Europe since new laws were passed in 2013 with the support of far-right members of parliament. But there is now agreement across the political spectrum that those stricter policies, which placed higher burdens on immigrants for passing required examinations on Dutch language and society, have not produced the desired results. A draft set of proposed changes, if passed by parliament, could go into effect as soon as 2020. In an interview with WPR, Ricky Van Oers, a researcher at Radboud University’s Center for Migration Law in the Netherlands, discusses what those changes entail and what the future might hold for immigrants in the Netherlands.
World Politics Review: Why is the government proposing to change the Netherlands’ integration process for immigrants?