AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - A Dutch court punched a hole in toughened immigration restrictions, ruling an illiterate Moroccan woman cannot be required to pass a Dutch language test to join her husband in the Netherlands. The order dismayed politicians who have sought to curb immigration from non-Western countries and they vowed Friday to fix the law to cover the loophole exposed by the Amsterdam District Court.Faced with public outrage over Islamic radicalization and the religion-motivated murder of a Dutch filmmaker, parliament enacted a tough law in 2005 requiring immigrants to pass an exam on the Dutch language and culture before they are granted a visa.
The Amsterdam court, however, found the test requirement was omitted from a clause referring to family reunification and ruled in favor of an unidentified North African woman who had been rejected for a visa.
Even with the ruling, the law will require her to pass another integration test within 3 1/2 years to maintain residency in the Netherlands.
The Christian Democrat Alliance, the largest party in the governing coalition, said it was determined to overturn the ruling, either through a judicial appeal or new legislation. "We think that when you start here, you have to know something about the values over here," said Chantal van den Berg, a party spokeswoman.