Coronavirus - international admissions
We recognise that these are highly unusual times and understand that you may have concerns and questions about your application for Utrecht University. We are working hard to answer your questions and are committed to supporting you and ensuring that the admissions process continues as smoothly as possible. It is our intention to follow the normal application process, while allowing for flexibility where we can.
Below you will find the answers to frequently asked questions concerning several topics in relation to coronavirus developments. This FAQ offers the answers (as far as possible) to the most frequently asked questions. The list will be updated continuously.
It is possible to apply for a Bachelor’s programme for the academic year 2022-2023 from 1 October 2021 onward. We have not made changes to the application procedure and deadlines. It is our intention to follow the normal application process, while allowing for flexibility where we can.
Information about the application procedure can be found here.
If you are unable to provide a valid passport with your application, you may apply with either a scan of an expired one, or a scan of your national identity card (with an official translation if it is not issued in English, Dutch, German, French, or Spanish). These scans must be followed by a written explanation as to why you do not have a valid passport at the moment.
Please note that in case of (conditional) admission, we must receive a scan of a valid passport as soon as possible, otherwise it will not be possible to proceed with your visa application. Please make sure to apply for a new passport at your earliest convenience, and send us a scan of your new document via admissiondocuments@uu.nl.
The deadline to meet the criteria in your conditional letter of acceptance is 31 August 2022. All documents must have reached Utrecht University by this date.
You can find the conditions of your admission and sending instructions in your letter of conditional acceptance.
If you have already graduated, we strongly recommend you to send your certified hard copies as soon as possible. The sooner we receive these, the sooner you can receive your letter of unconditional admission.
If you are graduating in the summer of 2022 and your diploma will not be issued before 31 August 2022, please contact us at admissionsoffice@uu.nl.
The deadline to meet the criteria in your conditional letter of acceptance is 15 June 2022. All documents must have reached Utrecht University by this date.
You can find the conditions of your admission and sending instructions in your letter of conditional acceptance.
If you have already graduated, we strongly recommend you to send your certified hard copies as soon as possible. The sooner we receive these, the sooner you can receive your letter of unconditional admission.
If you are graduating in the summer of 2022 and your diploma will not be issued before 15 June, please submit a certified hardcopy of your diploma statement by 15 June, and certified hardcopies of your final diploma and transcript by 31 August.
Should you have any questions, you can contact us at admissionsoffice@uu.nl.
If you are able to graduate and will receive your diploma despite the cancellation of the exam session, this event will not have an impact on your eligibility. Therefore as long as you meet the conditions in your letter of admission (in a timely manner), you can be unconditionally admitted.
Do note that if you applied for a limited enrolment or selective programme, you will still need to be selected by your programme.
Non-EU/EEA students have until 15 June 2022, and EU/EEA students until 31 August 2022, to send us sufficient test results. As test centres have reopened in many locations, we remain hopeful that it will be possible to take the necessary exams in time.
Should circumstances change, we will review the situation again.
We do accept TOEFL iBT Home Edition. When applying, please make sure to upload the official score report. If you have been conditionally admitted, you can send the report to admissiondocuments@uu.nl.
As the deadline for us to receive the certified copies is 15 June 2022 for non-EU/EEA students, and 31 August 2022 for EU/EEA students, we suggest you wait and keep in touch with your school about when they can make the certified copies for you. In case your school will not be able to open in time, we can also accept certified copies made by a public notary.
Please note that certified hardcopies and translations made by lawyers are not admissible.
Due to COVID-19, we are exceptionally also accepting digital documents sent directly by your secondary school, as long as they are sent from an official school email address. Please ask your institution to submit such documents on your behalf via admissiondocuments@uu.nl. Sworn or certified translations can also be sent to us in this manner, however the digital documents must be sent to us separately by the translators themselves, via their official email addresses. Otherwise, we must receive the original translations as hardcopies through post.
Digital documents sent personally by students are not admissible.
Please do not send us your original documents. All hardcopy documents that are sent to us become the property of Utrecht University, and we cannot guarantee that we can return them to you.
In accordance with the guidelines of the Dutch government, most of our staff is primarily working remotely until further notice, and will only come in to the office periodically to process post. This will unfortunately result in the slower processing of physical documents that are being sent to the office of International Student Admissions.
Regardless of this delay, we do advise you to send us the required documents as instructed in your letter of conditional admission. You will receive a notification as soon as your documents have been processed by us.
For the latest updates about courses and/or exams at Boswell Beta and CCVX please refer to their respective websites.
Our goal is to minimize study delay as much as possible for all our admitted students. If you are unable to travel to Utrecht due to travel or other restrictions, please contact the programme coordinator in your faculty to explore your options.
You may also consider deferring your application to the next available start date of your programme. For limited enrolment and selective programmes please contact the coordinator of your programme to learn about possibilities for deferral. For other programmes please contact International Student Admissions for more information.
It is also possible to cancel your application completely. You can do this even if you have previously accepted the offer of admission in OSIRIS Online Application. Make sure that you cancel your application in Studielink before 31 August 2022. If you authorized a direct debit collection of the tuition fee, this will then also be cancelled automatically. In case you have already paid the tuition fees, we will refund this amount fully (provided you cancelled before 31 August 2022).
Please note that the application fee is non-refundable. However, if you defer your current application or submit a new one for the next academic year, you will not have to pay this fee again.
Study programmes will not be offering face-to-face matching activities this year. However, it is mandatory for all students (including internationals) who live in the Netherlands on 1 June 2022, to hand in an online matching form. Please visit our Matching information page for more details.
International students who will only move to the Netherlands after 1 June are still welcome to participate in online matching activities. See the above mentioned page for more information.
The university is working hard in these uncertain times to answer all relevant questions. If you have any specific questions about your application process, please contact admissionsoffice@uu.nl
It is possible to apply for a Master's programme for the academic year 2022-2023 from 1 October 2021 onward. We have not made changes to the application procedure and deadlines. It is our intention to follow the normal application process, while allowing for flexibility where we can.
Information about the application procedure can be found here.
If you are unable to provide a valid passport with your application, you may apply with either a scan of an expired one, or a scan of your national identity card (with an official translation if it is not issued in English, Dutch, German, French, or Spanish). These scans must be followed by a written explanation as to why you do not have a valid passport at the moment.
Please note that in case of (conditional) admission, we must receive a scan of a valid passport as soon as possible, otherwise it will not be possible to proceed with your visa application. Please make sure to apply for a new passport at your earliest convenience, and send us a scan of your new document via admissiondocuments@uu.nl.
The deadline to meet the criteria in your conditional letter of admission is 1 September 2022. All documents must have reached Utrecht University by this date.
You can find the conditions of your admission and sending instructions in your letter of conditional acceptance.
If you have already graduated, we strongly recommend you to send your certified hard copies as soon as possible. The sooner we receive these, the sooner you can receive your letter of unconditional admission.
If you are graduating in the summer of 2022 and your diploma will not be issued before 1 September 2022, please contact us at admissionsoffice@uu.nl.
The deadline to meet the criteria in your conditional letter of admission is 15 June 2022. All documents must have reached Utrecht University by this date.
You can find the conditions of your admission and sending instructions in your letter of conditional acceptance.
If you have already graduated, we strongly recommend you to send your certified hard copies as soon as possible. The sooner we receive these, the sooner you can receive your letter of unconditional admission.
If you are graduating in the summer of 2022 and your diploma will not be issued before 15 June 2022, please send us certified hardcopies of your Proof of Anticipated Degree form and transcript by 15 June, and certified hardcopies of your final diploma and transcript before 1 September., we strongly recommend you to send your certified hard copies as soon as possible.
Should you have any questions, you can contact us at admissionsoffice@uu.nl.
Even if you are unsure whether you have the right documents or all of the required documents, make sure to submit your application as soon as possible and before the application deadline. We will then check if your application file is complete as it is. If we find that a document is missing from your application or does not meet the required standards, we will let you know by email and you will be able to upload a new document in OSIRIS Online Application.
You may also contact International Student Admissions at admissionsoffice@uu.nl for specific advice. Please be aware, however, that while we are working continuously to answer emails, there may unfortunately be some delays in our response due to the high number of applications and emails we are receiving at this time.
EU/EEA students have until 1 September 2022 to send us sufficient test results. As test centers have reopened in many locations across Europe, we remain hopeful that it will be possible to take the necessary exams in time.
The deadline for non-EU/EEA students to send the results of English proficiency tests or other additional exams is 15 June 2022. Unfortunately, it is not possible to extend this deadline due to visa regulations.
Should circumstances change, we will review the situation again.
We do accept TOEFL iBT Home Edition. When applying, please make sure to upload the official score report. If you have been conditionally admitted, you can send the report to admissiondocuments@uu.nl.
In accordance with the guidelines of the Dutch government, most of our staff is primarily working remotely until further notice, and will only come in to the office periodically to process post. This will unfortunately result in the slower processing of physical documents that are being sent to the office of International Student Admissions.
Regardless of this delay, we do advise you to send us the required documents as instructed in your letter of conditional admission. You will receive a notification as soon as your documents have been processed by us.
As the deadline for us to receive the certified copies is 15 June (non-EU/EEA) / 1 September 2022 (EU/EEA), you may wait and keep in touch with your university about when they can make the certified copies for you. Alternatively, we can also accept certified copies made by a public notary.
Please note that certified hardcopies and translations made by lawyers are not admissible.
If your university issues certified digital versions of diplomas and transcripts we can accept those instead of hard copies sent by post, as long as the digital documents can be verified online. Scans of your documents without a safe and reliable way to digitally verify them are not sufficient and they will not be accepted. You can find our guidelines and requirements on this page.
Due to COVID-19, we are exceptionally also accepting digital documents sent directly by your university’s registrar, as long as they are sent from an official university email address. Please ask your institution to submit such documents on your behalf via admissiondocuments@uu.nl. Sworn or certified translations can also be sent to us in this manner, however the digital documents must be sent to us separately by the translators themselves, via their official email addresses. Otherwise, we must receive the original translations as hardcopies through post.
Please do not send us your original documents. All hardcopy documents that are sent to us become the property of Utrecht University, and we cannot guarantee that we can return them to you.
If you are unable to obtain certified copies of your diploma and transcript, please send an email to admissionsoffice@uu.nl
Please visit the website of Utrecht Summer School for the latest updates.
In case your summer school course is cancelled, please contact your Graduate School to find out which consequences this has for your admissibility.
To reapply for the upcoming academic year, please submit a new enrolment request in Studielink. You will receive new login information for Osiris Online Application, however you do not have to submit an application nor upload your documents again.
After submitting a new enrolment request, please contact your Graduate School. They will issue a new conditional acceptance letter, including a new deadline to meet the conditions. Once you fulfill the conditions specified in your conditional acceptance letter, your enrollment can be completed.
If you previously have not requested permission from the Graduate School to defer your application, please see the next question.
Please contact your Graduate School to inquire whether you can be accepted conditionally again without having to submit a new application.
If the Graduate School grants you permission, please submit a new enrolment request in Studielink. You will receive new login information for Osiris Online Application, however you do not have to submit an application nor upload your documents again. The Graduate School will issue a new conditional acceptance letter, including a new deadline to meet the conditions. Once you fulfill the conditions specified in your conditional acceptance letter, your enrollment can be completed.
If the Graduate School will not grant you permission to be admitted based on your previous application, you will need to submit a new application. To reapply, please submit a new enrolment request in Studielink. You will receive new login information for Osiris Online Application, where you can reupload your documents, and request an exemption for the application fee. You do not have to pay the application fee again.
Our goal is to minimize study delay as much as possible for all our admitted students. If you are unable to travel to Utrecht due to travel or other restrictions, please contact the programme coordinator in your faculty to explore your options.
You may also consider deferring your application to the next available start date of your programme. Please contact the coordinator of your programme to learn about possibilities for deferral.
It is also possible to cancel your application completely. You can do this even if you have previously accepted the offer of admission in OSIRIS Online Application. Make sure that you cancel your application in Studielink before 1 September 2022. If you authorized a direct debit collection of the tuition fee, this will then also be cancelled automatically. In case you have already paid the tuition fees, we will refund this amount fully (provided you cancelled before 1 September 2022).
Please note that the application fee is non-refundable. However, if you defer your current application or submit a new one for the next academic year, you will not have to pay this fee again.
The university is working hard in these uncertain times to answer all relevant questions. If you have any specific questions about your application process, please contact admissionsoffice@uu.nl
The application procedures will be started up in May. We will send an email inviting you to start your digital application as soon as the procedure has been started up.
You will receive instructions on how to submit your visa/residence permit application in May. Information about the application procedure is available on our website.
We strongly recommend you to submit your application as soon as possible, and well in advance of the deadline, as it takes time to process your application.
Once your application (including payment) is complete, we can submit it to the IND. The IND usually takes 2-5 weeks to process the application. As soon as we receive the decision from the IND, we will inform you by email. This email will also include information on the next step, including scheduling an appointment at the embassy or consulate for your visa.
We cannot predict whether changes will be made to travel regulations, the availability of Dutch embassies/consulates in affected areas, and so on. The Visa Office will monitor this, and provide information on measures that may have an impact on the application procedure.
No. There is no refund of the visa/residence permit application fee once the application has been submitted to the IND.
- If you need an MVV entry visa: we strongly recommend not to book your flight until you have received the MVV entry visa in your passport. This advice remains the same even if the processing times at the Dutch embassy/consulate are longer than customary due to the corona crisis.
- If you do not need an MVV entry visa: we strongly recommend not to book your flight until you have received the IND approval letter on your residence permit application.
Before booking your flight, you should also check the latest travel policies of your own government for any restrictions about leaving (and returning to) your country. Be aware that as long as there are travel restrictions in place, the availability of flights to and from the Netherlands may be limited.
Travelers are no longer required to self quarantaine after arriving in the Netherlands. Other rules may still apply, depending on where you are from. For more information, please visit this page, where you can find a checklist for entering the Netherlands.
Please already submit your digital application in Osiris in the meantime, so we can start checking your other documents. You may upload the Aon confirmation email as proof of insurance for now. The visa department will contact you about where you can sent the certificate once it becomes available.
Holders of a valid MVV entry visa are currently exempt from the entry ban for the Netherlands.
However, please note that the Dutch government has introduced several travel restrictions and requirements in response to COVID-19. Please visit the website of the Dutch Government for the latest information on travel restrictions and entry requirements, before booking your flight. The travel restrictions may be subjected to change. The Dutch Government also provides this 2 minute check your trip survey to help you prepare.
You should also check the latest travel policies of your own government for any restrictions about leaving (and returning to) your country. Be aware that as long as there are travel restrictions in place, the availability of flights to and from the Netherlands may be limited.
Please visit the website of the Dutch Government for the latest information on travel restrictions and entry requirements, before booking your flight. The Dutch Government also provides this 2 minute check your trip survey to help you prepare.
You should also check the latest travel policies of your own government for any restrictions about leaving (and returning to) your country. Be aware that as long as there are travel restrictions in place, the availability of flights to and from the Netherlands may be limited.
Please keep checking the embassy/consulate's website regularly, and schedule in your appointment as soon as this is possible. You should travel to the Netherlands as soon as possible, after receiving your MVV entry visa. For more a more detailed FAQ on picking up your MVV please check this website.
Please inform us as soon as possible via visa@uu.nl if you decide not to come to the Netherlands this semester. Your current visa/residence permit must be cancelled. In case you are deferring your application, the visa department will start a new residence permit procedure for you the next semester you can enter your preferred programme.
You will have to wait until you can travel to the location of the embassy again. As soon as this is possible, book your appointment and travel to the embassy to collect your MVV. Travel to the Netherlands with your MVV as soon as possible upon receiving it. For more a more detailed FAQ on picking up your MVV please check this website.
Please inform us as soon as possible via visa@uu.nl if you decide not to come to the Netherlands this semester. Your current visa/residence permit must be cancelled. In case you are deferring your application, the visa department will start a new residence permit procedure for you the next semester the you can enter your preferred programme.
- Will you be able to travel to the Netherlands soon? But is your mvv no longer valid?
You can make a new appointment if the embassy or consulate is open. This appointment has to take place within 90 days after your current mvv expires. At the appointment you will have to explain that you could not travel with your mvv because of the measures. The embassy or consulate will then reissue your mvv.
- Has it been more than 90 days since your mvv expired? Or were you unable to collect the mvv within 9 months?
Then the embassy or consulate cannot simply reissue the mvv. You must then make a new application first. This can be done in the same way as you made the previous application. You have to pay for the new application as well. Have you received a positive decision on the new application? Then you can make an appointment to collect your new mvv from the embassy or consulate.
Please inform us as soon as possible via visa@uu.nl if you decide not to come to the Netherlands this semester. Your current visa/residence permit must be cancelled. In case you are deferring your application, the visa department will start a new residence permit procedure for you the next semester the you can enter your preferred programme.
You normally have 3 months to collect your mvv. This has been extended to 6 months because of the corona crisis. What if it is not possible to collect your mvv within 6 months due to the coronavirus measures? The embassy or consulate will handle your case flexibly if you collect the mvv within 3 months following those 6 months. At your appointment, you must explain that you could not pick up your mvv sooner because of the corona crisis. So, you must collect the mvv within 9 months after the positive decision of the IND.
Please inform us as via visa@uu.nl as soon as possible. Utrecht University has returned to on campus education and it will not be possible to do your degree online. If you want to defer your application to next intake you also need to contact your faculty, or Graduate School.
No, this is not mandatory. However, do take notice of the current rules about negative test results and other entry requirements as set up by the RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment). For current rules please see this checklist for travel to the Netherlands. The information and rules tend to change rapidly so please make sure to check the link regularly and as close to your departure as possible. The Dutch Government also provides this 2 minute check your trip survey to help you prepare.
If you have any specific questions about your visa/residence application process, that are not answered in this FAQ or on this website, please contact visa@uu.nl
At this moment, education is held online, unless a programme sees an opportunity to provide a lecture or seminar on location. In the week of January 17, we will publish more information about education in block 3. We expect that this block will allow for much more on location.
Exams in block 2 are held on location, as well as labs. There is no maximum group size for exams. For practical education, the maximum number of people allowed in the room is 75.
Contact your programme coordinator or check the students website for more information.
Please consult the programme coordinator in your faculty or graduate school for further information.
The mode of education (on-campus/online) and travel difficulties do not affect our tuition fees or tuition fee payment deadlines. All tuition fees need to be paid according to the regular university regulations as outlined in your admission letter.
On the page about Health, safety and quarantine (for students) you will find information about whether you should go into quarantine after arriving in the Netherlands, how you can support someone in quarantine or if you can attend classes when you are in quarantine. You will also find information about the implementation of the coronavirus vaccination.