Register at your University
If you plan to study in the Netherlands, you must enrol in a university for international students. To enroll in a study program in the Netherlands, you have to submit your request for enrolment to studielink.nl. If you already live in the Netherlands, use your DigidID to log in. If you do not (yet) live in the Netherlands, register at Studielink with a username and password. Make sure you check the deadlines from the University you’d like to enrol in.
More information about enrolment at the different Universities in the Netherlands for international Students:
- University of Utrecht
- University of Amsterdam
- VU University Amsterdam
- University of Groningen
- Leiden University
- Maastricht University
- Radboud University Nijmegen
- Erasmus University Rotterdam
- Tilburg University
- Delft University of Technology
- Eindhoven University of Technology
- University of Twente
- Wageningen University and Research Centre
PLEASE MAKE SURE you communicate well with your University. Sometimes, you won’t get a confirmation for your enrollment, but you are enrolled as soon as you get a student number. In other cases, you will get a student number and invitation for the introduction week without being officially enrolled.
Tutition fees
If you want to study in the Netherlands as an EU citizen, tuition fees in are a little more than €2000 a year as long as this is your primary education (tuition fees are much higher if you already possess another degree). Private universities and university colleges have higher tuition fees. Most universities offer two ways of paying tuition fees. You can either pay the full amount at the beginning of the academic year or choose to pay by monthly instalments of about €200 each (10 times). At some universities, you’ll have to pay twice a year for each semester.
If you are not able to pay the tuition fees yourself, you can take out a tuition fee loan (collegegeldkrediet). The tuition fee loan is a component of the Dutch student finance program. Unlike the supplementary grant (aanvullende beurs), you will have to pay back the collegegeldkrediet after you finished your studies in the Netherlands. Read more about the tuition fee loan.
Student finance program
If you study in the Netherlands and are enrolled at a Dutch university (this does not apply for exchange students), you can apply for student finance. The student finance program consists of four components: a regular loan, the student travel product, a supplementary grant and a tuition fee loan. You don’t have to take out all four of them.
Especially the supplementary grant and the student travel product are pretty attractive because the loan turns into a gift (with some exceptions) if you successfully finish your studies within ten years. However, whether you get the supplementary grant depends on the income of your parents and whether they are considered to be able to contribute to your finances. Furthermore, to get the loan when studying in the Netherlands, you have to meet the nationality criteria (EU citizen or coming from one of the EER countries) and work 56 hours a month. Be aware that you have to be able to prove that you meet the requirements and, e.g. show your payrolls regularly. Apart from the money, you will get a public transport card with which you can travel for free (either weekends or weekdays). This is a great way to explore the Netherlands for free if you are studying. Please, note that you will only be able to apply for the student finance program after you’ve already worked for three months in the Netherlands. It is possible to apply for this loan retrospectively, but there is no guarantee.
If you are entitled to student finance, you can also take out a regular loan which you have to pay back after you finished your studies. You don’t have to take out the full loan; it is up to you to decide how much you would like to take out.
You can find more information about the student finance program in the Netherlands on the website of the Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (DUO = literally translated as “Education Implementation Office”). Please be aware that the application is all in Dutch so it might be worthwhile to grab a cup of coffee with your new Dutch friends and fill in the application together.
