Practise for the basic civic integration exam abroad
How does the exam work?
You take the basic civic integration exam in your own country, at the Dutch embassy or consulate, before you move to the Netherlands. The exam is on a computer and has three parts. Speaking and Reading are at level A1 — the entry level of the Common European Framework (CEFR). You have to pass all three; if you fail one part, you retake only that part. The full exam costs € 150, paid to DUO.
For KNS, you answer multiple-choice questions about Dutch society on the computer. The questions go with photos and you answer in Dutch.
The topics are about daily life: living, working, money, health, education, raising children and how people in the Netherlands deal with each other.
In the exam you get 30 questions; you pass if you have at least 21 correct. On this website you practise exactly this kind of question, with the translation and explanation via the little flag.
On this website you practise all 100 questions free and without an account. For the practice exam of 30 questions you create a free account; your result is then kept.
More about this examIn Speaking skills it is tested whether you can understand and speak simple Dutch at level A1 — the lowest level of the Common European Framework of Reference.
You listen through a headset to short tasks and speak answers yourself. For example: you answer a short question or you finish a sentence. It is about short, everyday language.
It is all about being able to make yourself understood in simple, everyday situations — perfect grammar is not needed.
In Reading skills it is tested whether you can read and understand written Dutch at level A1.
You read short, simple Dutch texts and answer questions about them — think of a short message, a simple instruction or an announcement from daily life.
This way it becomes clear whether you can recognise and understand individual words and short sentences in everyday situations.
Here you practise 609 words, 690 sentences and 167 short reading texts at level A1, with explanation and translation in 12 languages. Lesson 1 is open without an account; for lessons 2 to 24 you create a free account. Of the 40 planned lessons, 24 are finished.
More about this examThis website is an independent practice platform and not a website of the Dutch government. We do not run exams and do not mark them. The official rules and the registration are at Naar Nederland (DUO), IND and NederlandWereldwijd. Content checked on 1 September 2026.