Further to a ruling of the Central Appeals Tribunal the civic integration requirement for Turkish nationals has been abolished. This appeal court held that the civic integration requirement for Turkish nationals negatively affects their legal position in the Netherlands and is in violation of the Turkey-EU association agreement.

On 16 August 2011 the Central Appeals Tribunal ruled on the appeal filed by several municipalities against court decisions about the civic integration requirement of Turkish nationals in the Netherlands. The Tribunal held that the imposing of a civic integration requirement on Turkish nationals in the Netherlands was contrary to Turkey-EU association law, a series of agreements and decisions between the European Union and Turkey.

Turkish nationals working in the Netherlands (or who have been working here in the past) as employees or as entrepreneurs may derive rights from association law. The purpose of association law is to make it easier for Turkish nationals to take up residency or pursue activities on the employment market (as employees or entrepreneurs). One of the pillars of association law is that Turkey and the EU have agreed to not treat Turkish nationals entering the employment market of one of the EU member states worse – in a legal sense - than EU citizens. Therefore Turkish nationals deriving their residency from association law should be treated the same as EU citizens. Another important pillar of association law is that the EU has agreed with Turkey not to introduce any new (after 1973) restrictions for Turkish nationals. New restrictions are all measures that make it more difficult for Turkish nationals to live and work in the EU.

On 1 January 2007 the Civic Integration Act took effect. Municipalities may impose penalties for non-compliance with the provisions of that Act, such as showing up for the intake interview, attending a civic integration course or passing the exam within a certain term. EU citizens do not need to integrate.

The municipalities argued before the Central Appeals Tribunal that the duty to integrate is isolated from being able to live and work in the EU and therefore this was not a ‘new restriction’. Moreover, they argued that the fact that EU citizens need not integrate stems from the right of EU citizens to ‘free movement’ within the Union and that Turkish nationals do not have this right to free movement (to the same extent as EU citizens).

Referring to rulings of the European Court of Justice on association law the Central Appeals Tribunal decided that passing the civic integration exam as a condition for obtaining a residence permit (temporary or permanent) touches on the right to live and work in the Netherlands. Moreover, the fact that a penalty may be imposed for not passing the civic integration exam has an adverse effect on the position of Turkish nationals in the Netherlands and thus constitutes a new restriction. And finally, the civic integration obligation does not apply to other EU citizens. The Central Appeals Tribunal therefore held that this conflicted with the duty of equal treatment of Turkish nationals and EU citizens.

With the Tribunal’s decision the civic integration requirement for Turkish nationals in the Netherlands has been abolished. This means that municipalities may no longer invite Turkish nationals to cooperate in civic integration procedures, may no longer impose penalties and that the Immigration Service may no longer reject applications for residence permits (temporary or permanent) if the civic integration diploma has not been obtained.

On 23 September 2011 the Dutch Minister for Interior Affairs announced that Turkish nationals need no longer take the basic civic integration exam at the Dutch embassy in Ankara or the consulate in Istanbul.

Voluntary integration is obviously still possible and is encouraged by the Dutch authorities. However it is important for Turkish participants in civic integration programmes to inquire about the costs of the programme.

Barbara Wegelin