This genuinely surprises people, and it’s accurate as of today: the Dutch naturalisation language bar sits lower than what many newcomers already had to clear just to get permanent residence.
Anyone who became obligated to integrate before 1 January 2022 sits under the old Wet inburgering 2013 — exam level A2. Anyone obligated from 1 January 2022 onward falls under the newer Wet inburgering 2021, which raised the standard target to B1 (with a narrower, case-by-case A1/A2 fallback for people who genuinely can’t reach B1, decided municipality by municipality). Permanent residence generally requires holding that inburgering diploma at whichever level actually applies to you.
The citizenship exam (inburgeringsexamen required for naturalisation) is currently set at A2 — the older, lower standard — even for people who had to clear B1 under Wi2021 to get their residence status in the first place. A plan to raise naturalisation to B1 has been announced, and a separate proposal to extend the residency wait from 5 to 10 years was floated and then dropped. As of today, the B1 naturalisation change still hasn’t been brought into force. Standard residency before applying: 5 years (3 years for a spouse or partner of a Dutch national, 2 for stateless persons).
NT2 Staatsexamen Programma I or II diplomas satisfy the requirement either way, in addition to the standard inburgeringsexamen.