Helpful info about the Integration Agency
Have you just arrived in Flanders and is it all new to you? Or have you been here for some time, but still don’t feel quite at home? The Integration Agency will help you on your way.
Are you looking for a job or would you like to study? Want to do something fun in your spare time? Do you have questions about your rights and duties? Would you like to learn Dutch or get to meet new people? The Agentschap Integratie en Inburgering or AGII (the Integration Agency) can help with individual guidance, a social orientation course and a Dutch language course.
A quick introduction
The Agentschap Integratie & Inburgering or Integration Agency was founded in 2015 when several organisations and services of the Flemish Government active in the fields of integration, equal opportunities and orientation towards Dutch language courses merged. The goal remains the same: to help newcomers with integration in the broadest sense of the word.
Individual guidance
A social assistant of the Integration Agency will help you find the answers to your questions. He/she will give you practical information about your integration program: the when, where and what.
Social orientation
This training course teaches you about living and working in Flanders, education, healthcare and a lot more. Your teacher will help you on your way, enabling you to become self-reliant. Social orientation courses are given in your own native language or a so-called contact language, English for example.
The AGII organizes the social orientation courses at different locations, at different times (during the day, in the evening or at weekends), and at a pace suitable to your circumstances.
Dutch
The AGII doesn't teach Dutch itself, but will find the course and school that best suits you. You can also come to the AGII with all your questions about learning Dutch. If you already know some Dutch, they can test you to establish the right level for you to start in.
Interested?
The AGII speaks your language or finds an interpreter if needed. They take your job, your family and your personal situation into consideration. You can talk about what you have done before and what you can and could do now and in the future.
Since 2023 the program is paying. When you succeed, you receive a civic integration certificate. This is an important document you can use at a job interview, the Public Centre for Social Welfare (OCMW), the Flemish Employment and Vocational Training Agency (VDAB), Actiris,...It can even be useful if you want to become a Belgian citizen.
- Contact details and opening hours of the regional office in Leuven can be found here
- More information on the integration courses: www.integratie-inburgering.be/...
- More information on learning and practising Dutch: https://integratie-inburgering...
