Financing and grants
Financing for EU and EEA students
There are some financing possibilities for students who have the nationality of one of the countries of the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA). Full-time bachelor and master students and students, who have an EU or EEA-country nationality can apply for one of the financing options below.
- EU: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
- EEA: all of the above, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
These options are also open to students from non-EEA nationalities who meet the nationality criteria of WSF 2000*
'Studiefinanciering' is the system of student financing, provided by the Dutch government to Dutch students. If you are a EU/EEA citizen and you are enrolled in a regular, full time study programme, you may under certain circumstances be eligible for a Dutch study grant. If you have a study grant, you cannot have a tuition fee loan.
The 'studiefinanciering' is a performance grant for a maximum of 4 years with the possibililty of a loan for 3 more years. The first 4 years are technically a loan which will be converted into a gift when you achieve sufficient results. You must obtain a Dutch bachelor or master diploma within 10 years of the start of your 'studiefinanciering'.The performance grant is made up of the basic grant (basisbeurs), if applicable a supplementary grant (aanvullende beurs) and the public transport card for students (loaded on the OV-chipcard). Any supplementary loan must always be repaid.
Conditions
- You are registered for a full-time bachelor course in the Netherlands, for which you pay the tuition fee.
- You have your own Dutch bank account
- You meet the nationality criteria of WSF 2000*
- You are under 30 years of age when you apply for studiefinanciering for the first time
- You continuously have a legal job for at least 32 hours a month
EU/EEA students who are not entitled to full study grants ('studiefinanciering') can apply for a loan to pay their tuition fees. This tuition fee loan ('collegegeldkrediet') and is paid to you monthly. You repay the sum you borrowed after your study.
Please note that this applies to students from within a EU or EEA country!
Conditions:
- You must be under the age of 30 when you apply for loan tuition fees for the first time
- You must be enrolled as a full-time student for an accredited course at a funded or recognized institute of higher education or university
- You must have a national insurance number in the Netherlands
- You must have a bank account, other than a savings account, in the Netherlands
If you are entitled to a loan or restitution of part of the tuition fee you should send in your application to DUO before the first of February. If DUO receives your papers later you will only receive the loan for the months following your application. Please note that you have to apply for the loan each and every academic year again.
More information: The rules and regulations for 'studiefinanciering' and student loans are changing quickly, check the DUO website.