The new right wing Dutch government (coalition) was formally sworn in today. It wants to make things more difficult for foreigners. This for those wanting to move/work/study in the Netherlands, and those already in the country. This includes announced measures such as:
- To make naturalisation possible after ten years of residency instead of the current five years.
- To raise the language requirement for naturalisation to B1 level (in line with previous plans), currently still A2.
- To limit labour immigration.
- To limit foreign students admitted to Dutch universities.
And although there is informal talk about further measures, the above measures were already agreed to by the new right wing coalition government (The PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB). As the coalition/government has agreed to these points we may see some quick changes to the law. However, not timeframes have been advised.
The current shortage of labour, skilled and unskilled, the net benefits of international students, and the opposite effects these measures have to integration and harmonisation of Dutch society are ignored. It is possible that opposition may challenge laws and measures but seen the (uneasy) majority of the new government it is unclear if this will have any effect. Time will tell, and again no timeframes have been announced to date.
