(source)

Human Rights Watch, an international human rights group, has called the Dutch government’s practice of testing prospective immigrants on their knowledge of Dutch life, including the country’s attitude toward gays, discriminatory. 

Part of the test includes a DVD on The Netherlands, titled “Blue Movie,” and includes pictures of two men kissing and a same-sex wedding. The video also includes sections on domestic violence and female circumcision. The video is part of a larger Dutch policy that forces some would-be immigrants to take (and pass) a language and culture test before seeking a visa.

The rights group said the test essentially targets families from developing nations — in particular, Turkey and Morocco — because citizens of the United States, Japan and other developed nations are exempt.

“The overseas integration test is discriminatory because it explicitly applies only to relatives from predominantly non-Western countries,” said Human Rights Watch’s European director Holly Cartner. “These measures keep families apart and appear to be aimed at keeping certain kinds of people out of the Netherlands.”

The test, primarily a language exam, must be taken at Dutch embassies abroad and costs $540 per attempt. Immigrants also face visa fees amounting to hundreds of dollars per year, and permanent residency or naturalization fees that cost nearly $1,500.

Immigration from those countries has fallen sharply since the Dutch government began cracking down in 2003 amid heavy anti-Muslim rhetoric from far-right political parties.

Government spokeswoman Gerda de Lange rejected the criticism. The legality of the policy was “debated thoroughly in parliament and by the Council of State before it was passed” in 2006, she said.

“The law is not discriminatory,” she said. “There are indeed exemptions for some countries, but that’s true of the whole of immigration law. The law is intended to ensure that immigrants are better prepared to integrate. They will have more chance of succeeding if they know the basics of Dutch language, history and culture before they arrive.”

“If their aim is to build a new life here, they should begin acquiring the knowledge they’ll need,” she said.

The test made international headlines when it was introduced because preparatory materials include a film with scenes of gay men kissing and a woman walking bare-breasted on the beach — considered an essential introduction to liberal Dutch culture.