ONA: orientation on the labour market

ONA means Oriëntatie op de Nederlandse Arbeidsmarkt: orientation on the Dutch labour market. It is part of civic integration under the old law, the Wet inburgering 2013. In ONA you find out which work suits you and how you can find that work.

Who is ONA for?

ONA is part of the Wet inburgering 2013 (Civic Integration Act 2013). That law applies if you already had to integrate before 1 January 2022.

Did you have to integrate between 1 January 2015 and 1 January 2022? Then ONA is part of your civic integration exam. There are a few exceptions. DUO has a scheme to see whether someone has to do ONA.

Do you integrate under the Wet inburgering 2021? Then you do not do ONA. In the B1 route and the Z route you do the MAP (Module Arbeidsmarkt en Participatie, labour market and participation).

What do you do in ONA?

In ONA you get to know the Dutch labour market. You take steps to find work that suits you. DUO describes 8 themes (in Dutch):

Beroepenoriëntatie (orientation on jobs)
Realistisch beroepsbeeld (a realistic picture of a job)
Je eigenschappen kennen (knowing your qualities)
Beroepskansen (chances of work in a job)
Beroepscompetenties verwerven (gaining job skills)
Netwerk opbouwen (building a network)
Werk vinden (finding work)
Werkcultuur (work culture)

For each theme you fill in result cards (resultaatkaarten) about yourself and about what you did. Together these cards form your portfolio. DUO assesses this portfolio.

How the ONA exam works exactly today, you read on inburgeren.nl.

The MAP instead of ONA

There are fewer and fewer ONA courses. That is why the municipality (gemeente) can offer the MAP instead of ONA. Ask your municipality about this.

This is also possible if you get a civic integration diploma at A2 voluntarily, for example before you become Dutch (naturalisation).

Practise on DutchKlaar

DutchKlaar has no exercises for ONA. You can practise with lessons about work and applying for jobs, and with KNM questions about work and income.

Practise the topic Work

Official practice exams

On inburgeren.nl you read how the knowledge exams work: KNM, ONA and the MAP. Ask your municipality whether you do ONA or the MAP.

Knowledge exams on inburgeren.nl (opens in a new tab)

DutchKlaar is a practice website. We are not DUO and not an official organisation. Rules can change. For your own situation, look in Mijn Inburgering on inburgeren.nl, or ask your municipality (gemeente).

Sources

This text is based on these official pages (in Dutch):

Last checked on 23 October 2026.