When can you apply for a free credential evaluation?
You can apply for a free credential evaluation if one of these situations applies to you:
- you have to go through inburgering on or after 1 January 2015 and received the letter (Kennisgeving) Inburgeringsplicht Wet 2021 from DUO;
- you are becoming a Dutch citizen (naturalisation);
- you have applied for a permanent residence permit.
If you are becoming a Dutch citizen or you have applied for a permanent residence permit DUO decides if you can request a Diplomawaardering for free. We will check this with DUO after you have submitted your application.
If you already received your inburgeringsdiploma, you cannot request a free credential evaluation anymore. You can apply for a credential evaluation, but you need to pay. Do you want to study in the Netherlands? Please continue on our page ‘To study’. Do you want to work in the Netherlands? Please continue on our page ‘To work’.
Required documents
Which documents are required to depends on your situation. To apply for a credential evaluation you at least need to following documents:
Scan of your documents: |
'Inburgering' |
Naturalisation |
Permanent residence permit |
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Copy of your residence permit (front and back) |
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Copy of the letter (Kennisgeving) Inburgeringsplicht Wet 2021 from DUO |
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Copy of an official document which states your Citizen Service Number (BSN)
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Only if the Citizen Service Number (BSN) is missing on the letter (Kennisgeving) Inburgeringsplicht Wet 2021 from DUO |
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Copy of the credential you want evaluated |
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Copy of the list of subjects in the year you took the examination (for secondary school certificate or vocational training) |
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Copies of the lists of subjects in each year of study (for a university degree) |
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Sometimes you have to upload extra documents, for example:
- for many countries there are extra documents you need to upload. On this page you can read which extra documents you need to upload in My IDW per country.
- a copy of your bachelor diploma and a list of marks or grades if you request a credential evaluation for a Master's;
- a copy of the documents from your previous education if you have received credit transfer for the education for which you are requesting a diploma evaluation;
- upload also a proof of change of name if your name on your passport, resident permit or id-card is not the same as on your diploma. This is for example a marriage certificate.
You do not have all documents or zero documents?
Are you missing some of the necessary documents and is it unsafe to request these from the country where you completed your study programme? You can still apply for a credential evaluation. We will decide whether we can give you a credential evaluation on the basis of the documents you have.
Are you missing all the documentation and diplomas? Then state this when you fill in the application. You will have to answer extra questions about your study programme. We will be able to give you an Indicatie Onderwijsniveau (Indication of Educational Level), which defines which educational level in the Netherlands is comparable to your diploma. This is only an estimation because you no longer have the documentation and diplomas.
How to apply for a credential evaluation when you need to integrate in the Netherlands?
1.
Submitting an application
2.
Check of your documents
3.
Following your application
4.
Receiving your credential evaluation
1. Submitting an application
Submit your application via the website Mijn IDW.nl. After activating your account, you can start the application. Fill in all the information and upload the required documents. There is no need to send in (original/certified/notarised) documents by post or email.
On this page you find the step-by-step instructions for My IDW and the instruction video op Youtube in English.
2. Check of your documents
We check whether your application is complete or not within 5 working days. You receive an e-mail from us if we need more documents. To see which documents are missing you log in in your account in Mijn IDW.
When your application has been completed, it will be sent to our expertise centre. We will send you an email at this point.
3. Following your application
You can follow the status of your application in your account.
It may be that the credential evaluator has to request information from other countries, or original documents or other extra documentation from you. You will receive a message if that is necessary.
4. Receiving your credential evaluation
When your credential evaluation is ready, you will receive an email from us. From that time you will be able to download your credential evaluation from your account. You can download it in your My IDW account by clicking on the PDF-file in My IDW.
The digital signature is not visible in the browser, but it is visible when you download and open the document in Adobe.
You can download the credential evaluation more than once; it remains available in your My IDW account for 3 years.
Questions about your credential evaluation
Do you have a question about the content of your credential evaluation? Is there a mistake on the credential evaluation, such as a spelling error or a wrong date of birth? Or do you have a complaint? Send an email with your questions to info@idw.nl within 6 weeks of the date given on the credential evaluation. You will receive as quickly as possible a reply from us.
Start an application in My IDW
Explanation in a video
Watch the animation video about a free credential evaluation with inburgering
Video with explanation in English
Video with explanation in Arabic
Frequently asked questions: Inburgering
When your application is complete, you will receive an email from us. From that moment on, an application takes 6 working weeks.
Do you apply due to inburgering, MAP or ONA? In that situation you do not need to upload any translations. Do you already have translations? Feel free to upload your translations.
Applying for a credential evaluation is completely free if:
- you are inburgeringsplichtig on or after 1 January 2015 and received the letter (Kennisgeving) Inburgeringsplicht Wet 2021 from DUO. If the citizen service number (BSN) is missing on the letter (Kennisgeving) Inburgeringsplicht Wet 2021 from DUO, you must send a scan of an official document containing the BSN. For example, a Dutch driver's license or an extract from the municipal register. The BSN usually also appears on the Dutch health insurance card;
- you are becoming a Dutch citizen (naturalisation);
- you have applied for a permanent residence permit.
Do these situations not apply to you? You can start a paid application. Do you want to work in the Netherlands? Then take a look at the page To work. Do you want to study in the Netherlands? Then take a look at the page To study.
Upload all documents you have of your education, such as a diploma or a list of subjects. Do you have other documents about your occupation? In that case upload these as well. After uploading these documents, please contact us. Please visit out contact page.
Depending on the documents you uploaded you will receive a Diplomawaardering, an Opleidingswaardering (EducationEvaluation), a Bericht geen waardering or an Indicatie Onderwijsniveau (ION).
Send an e-mail to info@idw.nl and tell us in which language you want to receive your explanation: Arabic, Farsi and/or French.