I was biking home from work this evening, which takes me past the Valley, on the ground floor of which is a well known chain restaurant. Outside the restaurant a group of people were gathered; they stood out to me, because one was clutching an enormous bunch of flowers. I thought, cute, maybe they’re celebrating a birthday.

Not half a second later a group of 4 boys in red training kits (football, or hockey, not sure) were biking past on the opposite direction and started hurling the most awful insults at this group of people based purely on the fact that they were Asian. I shouted back at them “doe normaal” but they just laughed and carried on.

A split second and a “joke” among friends for them. A ruined evening for the targeted group. I can’t stop thinking about the guy clutching the enormous bouquet of flowers, celebrating something this night, only to have his special moment ruined and tainted by this experience.

We all need to be better in calling out this behaviour in our …

Goes deeper than ya think.

https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/nieuws/2025/09/26/kabinet-wil-naturalisatietermijn-verlengen-van-5-naar-10-jaar

Weird to see the cabinet of the failed coalition trying to push a major legislation one month before the election, yet here we are.

Edit: you can leave your feedback on the initiative here: https://www.internetconsultatie.nl/naturalisatietermijn/b1

So I am in an area that is pretty dominated by PVV supporters. Most people around here if you ask them support tougher immigration restrictions and stronger integration requirements. However, when asking me about the processes I am taking, they are also shocked/surprised to learn the level of integration requirements I have as somebody who came in after the 2021 act. They are unaware that immigrants now have to get up to B1, that my courses if I take the full 600 hours will be costing me close to €8,000, that there are waiting lists to get matriculated into language programs, that I have to take additional cultural integration classes and the like.

I’ve found that they are basically advocating for policies to be implemented that have already taken effect. I guess because they are so recent, maybe they are basing their judgements off of immigrants who matriculated under the prior regulations, not knowing that newer immigrants have a much more intensive pathway to follow. They are …

There’s been a lot of discussion about the Dutch government’s plan to increase the required years of legal residence for naturalisation from 5 to 10. At the time, people noted it was only a motion and could take years before becoming law (https://www.reddit.com/r/Netherlands/comments/1lux1f7/parliament_motion_to_make_naturalization/)

Now I’ve seen the news that the cabinet has officially approved the proposal. My question is: what does this mean for the timeline?

I also understand this may partly be a move ahead of the elections, but since it did receive support from coalition parties, does cabinet approval suggest the process might move more quickly now?

Hello, dear people! I really need your advice. I went to see a GP, she examined me and said she could refer me to a doctor because I might need surgery. And this is the answer I got today after my visit. What do you usually do in such a situation? If I wait 150 days, my symptoms will become much worse than they are now.

I can go to a private clinic, but am I right in thinking that I will most likely have to pay out of my own pocket and that this wonderful insurance, for which I pay 150 euros a month, will not cover the costs?

Is this normal here? I am completely devastated by this news.

Hi all, I am a woman and I had a job interview last week and it was the first time ever I get asked about my age and whether i have children and whether i want children, the job had nothing to do with these topics it was just a tech job. I lived in many places before and I know these questions are usually illegal in other countries (e.g France) since they’re a basis for discrimination. It was a face to face interview and I didn’t record anything so I don’t have any proof but still want to report it in case maybe other women reported this employer/person so it adds to their case. I don’t know how this goes and who I should contact to report something like this