December 22, 2010 5:46:51 PM CET
I came here on a Working Permit (old scheme) and I was not required to attend the inburgering class or take the test (if I had had a partner - same thing - not required).
The KM program is the same though - neither you nor your wife/partner are required to attend inburgering and take the test.
Many Gemeentes misunderstand. Often (very often) wives move here because their husbands are Dutch and indeed they ARE required to attend inburgering so probably that gemeente is just applying this rule to everyone they encounter that is not Dutch.
However KM people here for work are in another category altogether.
Mistakes happen and the IND messes things up ... a lot.
But your wife is definitely not required to attend inburgering classes or take the exam. DEFINITELY.
I would have your company's immigration specialist write a letter to this effect and you can send it to the IND.
One caveat: If you decide to stay here permanently (this is what I did
) after 5 years of continued residence, you and your wife can apply for a Dutch/EU Permanent Residence Permit. This allows you to live/work here or anywhere in the EU without any permits.
One of the requirements however, is that you have passed the Dutch language test.
Just by coincidence (or maybe by design), if you are learning the language after work on your own time ... it takes about 5 years to become fluent in Dutch (more or less). So if you have thoughts of maybe staying here .. you need to start lessons because it's .. hard.
This is your choice though because again, it is not required.
