Immigration test

A great immigration test in the Netherlands -- from the Akron Beacon Journal:

Dutch immigration adopts debated test
Foreign applicants must watch video showing gay kiss, nudity to pass

The camera focuses on two gay men kissing in a park. Later, a topless woman emerges from the sea and walks onto a crowded beach. For would-be immigrants to the Netherlands, this film is a test of their readiness to participate in the liberal Dutch culture.

If they can't stomach it, no need to apply.

Regardless of whether they find the film offensive, applicants must buy a copy and watch it if they hope to pass the Netherlands' new entrance examination.

The test -- the first of its kind in the world -- became compulsory Wednesday, and was made available at 138 Dutch embassies.

Taking the exam costs $420. The price for a preparation package that includes the film, a CD-ROM and a picture album of famous Dutch people is $75.

"As of today, immigrants wishing to settle in the Netherlands for, in particular, the purposes of marrying or forming a relationship will be required to take the civic integration examination abroad," the Immigration Ministry said in a statement.

And the result of the film plus other precautions:

Both praise and scorn have been poured on Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk, the architect of the new test and other policies that have reduced immigration by at least a third.

"If you pass, you're more than welcome," Verdonk said. "It is in the interest of Dutch society and those concerned."

Trying to move to a different nation without knowing it's culture or having the will to adapt to it is downright stupidity. To think that you can move there and then somehow "shame" the citizens into changing their behaviour to fit your mores is downright tyrannical; make that passive-aggressive tyrannical. Hat tip to fellow Whatcom blogger Robert Ashworth writing at The Slow Lane