Dutch residence permit holders

If you start a new study program or need more time to complete your studies, three months before your residence permit will expire you will receive an invitation from us. Do not send us an e-mail about this. We are not allowed to apply for an extension earlier than three months before the end date of your residence permit. When you have not received your invitation two monthbefore your residence permit will expire, then send us an e-mail.

Conditions to apply for an extension:

• You need to have sufficient academic progress: Check below under drop down Academic Progress for more information about what the academic progress check entails.
• Financial means:You need to have sufficient financial means that cover your tuition fee and living expenses for the entire duration of your extended residence permit
• If you already paid your tuition fee (full/in installments), we will also take this into account.

Certificates of Deposit from mainland China cannot be accepted as proof of financial means.

You will receive a new residence permit card after the extension application has been completed. We will inform you by email on how to submit your biometrics again, if required, and how to collect your new residence permit. The cost for an extension application is €286. This fee is non-refundable.

Do you already have a Dutch residence permit for another purpose (Search Year, employment, stay with a family member, au pair, etc.), but do you need to change it to a residence permit for study? Then, the Visa Office will submit a so-called ‘change of the purpose of stay’ application to the IND on your behalf.

The Visa Office will invite you to submit the visa application in May, for the September start, or October, for the February start. The application form and required documents are the same as our ‘regular’ visa procedure. You can find the required documents for this application here. 

You will receive a new residence permit card after the ‘change of purpose’ application has been completed. We will inform you by email on how to submit your biometrics again, if required, and how to collect your new residence permit. The cost for an application change in the purpose of stay is €286. This fee is non-refundable.

Financial requirements

Students applying for a ‘change of purpose’ must demonstrate that they have sufficient financial means for their studies. Although tuition fees can be paid in installments, you are required to show proof of the full tuition fee plus living costs for the first year of study. Certificates of Deposit from mainland China cannot be accepted as proof of financial means.

Application deadlines

All required documents must be submitted before June 15^th, for the September start, or November 15^th, for the February start. Late submissions cannot be accepted, as your application cannot be forwarded to the IND after the visa deadline.

Meeting admission conditions

In addition to financial requirements, you must also meet all admission conditionsstated in your conditional admission letter. 

Please carefully review your conditional admission letter to see which requirements apply to you. If you do not meet these conditions before the visa deadline, June 15^th or November 15^th,  we will be unable to forward your application to the IND.

Do you already have a residence permit for study from another Dutch educational institution, and do you wish to study at Utrecht University? Then, the Visa Office will need to transfer your current residence permit to our university. This is called a ‘change of educational institution’ application.

The Visa Office will invite you to submit the visa application in May, for the September start, or October, for the February start. The application form and required documents are the same as our ‘regular’ visa procedure. You can find the required documents for this application here (link). 

Financial requirements

Students applying for a ‘change of institution’ must demonstrate that they have sufficient financial means for their studies. While tuition fees may be paid in installments, you must be able to show proof of the full tuition fee plus living costs for the first year of study. Certificates of Deposit from mainland China cannot be accepted as proof of financial means.

Application deadlines

All required documents must be submitted before June 15^th, for the September start, or November 15^th, for the February start. Late submissions cannot be accepted, as your application cannot be forwarded to the IND after the visa deadline.

Meeting admission conditions

In addition to financial requirements, you must also meet all admission conditions stated in your conditional admission letter. 

Please carefully review your conditional admission letter to see which requirements apply to you. If you do not meet these conditions before the visa deadline, June 15^th or November 15^th,  we will be unable to forward your application to the IND.

Change of institution | With or without extension

• With extension: If your current residence permit expireswithin three months after starting your study program at UU, you must also apply for an extension. We will process this at the same time, and you will receive a new residence permit card once the extension has been completed. The cost for an extension is €286, which is non-refundable.
• Without extension: If your current residence permit is validfor more than three months after starting your study program at UU, the change of institution application is free of charge. The Visa Office will invite you to extend your residence permit three months before the expiration date on your current residence permit card. Due to IND regulations, it is not possible to apply for an extension earlier.

As a Dutch student residence permit holder, you need to take a few things into account when it comes to keeping your residence permit for study purposes. Not following any of the requirements below means that the IND will revoke your residence permit.

• You must register at the municipality when you arrive in the Netherlands and remain registered during the entirety of your stay. This means that you need to report it to the municipality any time you move.
• Your main residency must be in the Netherlands. You may stay outside the Netherlands for a maximum of 12 consecutive months, as long as this is in the context of your studies and the completion of those studies. The credits you earn abroad during this period can still be counted towards your study progress in the Netherlands. Are you going to study temporarily in a different EU Member State as part of a mobility program? In that case, you can study there for a maximum of 360 days (about 12 months). You normally do not need a separate residence permit for that Member State.
• You must remain registered as a student. Deregistration means that your residence permit will be revoked. If you decide to come back to study at UU after you have deregistered, you will have to apply for a new residence permit, VVR, and/or entry visa, MVV.
• You must validate your residence permit on a yearly basis. This means that you will be asked to declare that you or your sponsor still have sufficient financial means to cover your tuition fee and living expenses.
• You must maintain sufficient study progress, meaning that you must obtain at least 50% of the credits you can earn in a year. More information about the Academic progress can be found below. You will receive an e-mail from the Visa Office after your study program started.

If you are not from the EU/EEA or Switzerland, there are some restrictions if you want to work next to your studies:

• Your employer must give you a personal work permit. They must apply for this permit for you.
• You can work for a maximum of 16 hours a week during the year or full-time during June, July and August.

Self-employment: In case you decide to work for yourself, there is no maximum number of hours you can work. You also do not have to apply for a work permit. Be aware that there are some disadvantages to self-employment. You can find more information about self-employment here! We also recommend our students to be aware of possible false self-employment, you can find more information about that here!

More information can be found in the flyer by the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment.

Internship

You are free to do an internship as part of your studies if you still follow the requirements for your residence permit. This means that for your internship, you don’t need a work permit. You do however need to sign an internship agreement. This agreement must be signed by you, your internship provider, and the UU. You can find an example of such an agreement on the Study in Holland website.

Basic healthcare insurance

When you have a, part-time, job that pays at least Dutch minimum wage, you must take out Dutch public health insurance. You can find more information about that here! 

Do you work on a self-employed basis? Please contact the Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) and request an assessment of your so-called Wlz position. The SVB will decide whether you need to take out public health insurance or not. 

Validity of the residence permit after graduation

If you are no longer enrolled, we will notify the IND. The IND will give you three months after the graduation date/end date of your exchange program or until the expiry date on your card, whichever comes first, to leave the country. You must leave the country, unless you have arranged residency on other grounds, such as the search year. 

Examples:

• Your residence permit is valid until 30 November. You graduate one month later than expected, on 30 September. This means that you can remain in the Netherlands with your residence permit until 30 November.
• Your residence permit is valid until 30 November. You graduate in time, on 30 July. This means that your residence permit will remain valid for three more months, until 30 October.
• If you start a new study program or need more time to complete your studies you need an extension. For more information look at the drop down Extension above. Please note that submitting your extension application after the expiry date of the residence permit will result in a residence gap.

Validity of the residence permit after stopping your studies

If you hold a residence permit for the purpose of study and terminate your enrolment without graduating your residence permit becomes void as of the date of termination of enrolment and you will be required to leave the country within 28 days. An exception to the 28-day rule is if your residence permit expires within three months after the termination of your enrollment, you have to leave the Netherlands before the date of expiry, rather than within 28 days.

Should you plan on re-enrolling to finish your study program later, please be aware that you will need a new MVV and/or VVR first. You would therefore have to contact us via visa@uu.nl, at least three months in advance of your new start date to start up the necessary application procedure.

If you terminate your enrolment without graduating, you may be entitled to a (partial) reimbursement of your tuition fees, as you only pay for the months you were enrolled. Please make sure you continue to have access to the bank account, as reimbursements can only be made to the account from which we originally received the payment. You can find more information about tuition fee refund here.

Deregistration municipality

When you leave the Netherlands, remember to cancel your registration with the municipality you live in. Please check the website of your own municipality for instructions on how to do so. If you live in Utrecht, you can find more information about deregistration on their website. 

Returning your residence permit card

Your residence permit card must be returned to the IND when you leave. Please refer to the IND website. 

If you think about pursuing a career in the Netherlands after graduation, you can apply for a search year residence permit. This residence permit gives you the opportunity to find a job within one year after obtaining your degree. In that year, you do not need a work permit to work in the Netherlands.

Terms and conditions

You can apply for the Search Year residence permit within three years after you have graduated, either from your bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD.

For example: you have finished your bachelor’s and have applied for a Search Year residence permit to work. During that year, you decide to apply for a master’s degree. You can start the studies with your Search Year visa, if it is still valid, and apply for a new residence permit for study purposes. After completing the master’s degree, you can apply for another Search Year residence permit to look for work.

While you are searching for a job you will have to finance your stay in the Netherlands yourself, either using your own funds, a financial sponsor or by finding other (temporary) employment. You are not allowed to claim state benefits.

The Search Year residence permit is only valid for one year and cannot be extended

The application fee for the Search Year residence permit can be found on the IND website. The application is done by the student, not the university. A statement of completion studies can be acquired at the faculty.