Failing to integrate leads to fines, not deportation

To date not a single immigrant who failed his integration exam had his residency permit revoked, the Ministry of Security and Justice confirmed to broadcaster NOS. But numerous fines of up to 1,250 euros were imposed. A spokesperson for State Secretary Klaas Dijkhoff of Security and Justice could not say why could not say exactly why people who failed the integration exam were allowed to stay in the Netherlands. "It is always an individual assessment", the spokesperson said to the broadcaster. In the coalition agreement the VVD and PvdA agreed that immigrants who do not pass their integration exams in the allotted time will have their residency permits revoked. Late last month it was revealed that half of the immigrants that arrived in the Netherlands in 2013 did not pass their integration exam in time. Last week Minister Lodewijk Asscher of Social Affairs wrote to parliament that failure to integrate in principle always carries consequences. In practice, however, there are many reasons not to revoke a residency permit. Refugees, for example, can not have their residency permits revoked unless they committed a crime.