Expats in Amsterdam should undergo a course in “becoming an Amsterdammer”, which would include language, history and culture lessons, and meetings with people who have “lived in the city for longer” according to the city’s branch of the PvdA Labour party.

The project should be funded by companies which employ expats and employers should commit to ensuring “this group of new Amsterdammers successfully complete the programme”, the motion states before the council states.

“You become an Amsterdam by contributing and by embracing the Amsterdam mentality,” the motion says. “If you accept the mentality, then you are one of us. Then you become ‘our expat’.”

The PvdA says its motion has been prompted by changes in the city’s population make-up, in which international workers and students account for most of the growth, and which “threatens social cohesion”.

Given that international workers are staying longer in the city – at least 45% live in the Dutch capital for more than five years – they should have to integrate like any other foreign worker, local PvdA leader Lian Heinhuis said.

“You can earn from the city but you should also make a contribution,” Heinhuis told the Parool. “And it is only logical that companies take responsibility to facilitate expats becoming part of Amsterdam society as much as possible.”

New arrivals now account for some 16% of the city’s  population and expats are currently being blamed for the shortage of housing, high rents and the increasing dominance of English in shops and cafes.

Research by local broadcaster AT5 last year suggested 71% of the native population believe expats are ignoring Dutch society, don’t speak Dutch and do not make an effort to get to know their neighbours.

And last year, the city’s mayor Femke Halsema called on expats to “get out of their bubble” and become part of the local community.

But none of this reflects the reality on the ground, said Deborah Valentine, director of volunteer organisation Access which helps new arrivals to find their feet.

“This motion shows a total lack of awareness about what the international community is already doing to integrate,” said Valentine. “People are learning the language, volunteering and sending their children to local schools, in Amsterdam and all over the country.”

Segregation

Last month national statistics agency CBS said people of Dutch origin with high salaries are least likely to have people with foreign roots in their networks of friends, colleagues and neighbours.

The higher the income, the more likely they are to live in a segregated bubble, the CBS said in a new report.

Lian Heinhuis did not respond to Dutch News’ repeated requests for comment

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