The Dutch government on Monday passed a law aimed at heavily restricting the number of would-be Pakistani immigrants to the Netherlands, by linking applications to Dutch language proficiency, officials said. Under the new law, any Dutch national of Pakistani origin will only be permitted to send for family members (with a view to settling in Holland) provided that they learn Dutch prior to immigration application. Similarly, any Pakistani wishing to immigrate to the Netherlands will be required to take a language proficiency test at the Dutch Embassy in Islamabad. Anyone failing the test will automatically be denied the right to apply for immigration.