Student Grant and Loan System

Student finance (‘studiefinanciering’in Dutch) is funding service for university students distributed by the Dutch government’s Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (DUO).

The exact amount of student finance changes every year. The table on the website of DUO gives more information about the amounts.

Student finance - tuiton fee loan

Full-time EU/EEA-students under the age of 30 are eligible for a tuition fee loan. Students of UCU, and UCR, PPE pay a higher (statuary) tuition fee and may request DUO for a higher tuition fee loan. You will have to pay this loan back after you graduate, including the interest on the loan. 

Student finance - loan, travel product and supplementary grant

Full-time EU/EEA-students may be eligible for a student grant of DUO. It entails a monthly contribution towards the cost of your studies and your living costs. This student grant includes nowadays:

  • a supplementary grant (depending on parental income);
  • a student travel product (Studenten OV-chipkaart);
  • a loan;
  • (optional) tuition fee loan. Students of UCU, PPE and UCR pay a higher (institutional) tuition fee and may request for a higher tuition fee loan 

The student travel product and supplementary grant are converted into a gift if you graduate (i.e. a master’s degree) within 10 years. (If you fail to meet this requirement, you will have to pay back the student grant in full, including interest as well as a sum for every month you held a student travel card. If you obtain a bachelor's degree, you can request DUO to convert the supplementary grant of the first 36 months into a grant.
Otherwise you will have to repay them including an interest. 

Terms and conditions student grant

Full-time EU/EEA-students may be eligible for student finance, if you meet the following requirements:

  • You must be a citizen of an EU or EEA country.
  • You must be a full-time student on a higher education course in the Netherlands which is eligible for a student grant.
  • You have been living in the Netherlands for 5 consecutive years or more.
  • You must have at least 56 hours of employment per month.
  • You must have an employment contract for that work.
  • You must be under the age of 30 when you apply for a student grant (you may continue to receive the grant up until you turn 34, but only if the period during which you receive the grant is uninterrupted).
  • You must hold a Dutch bank account in your own name.

If you do not meet these requirements, there are some special cases in which you might be entitled to the regular student grant. For more information see DUO's nationality chart.

More information

For more information you can visit the DUO website that answers questions such as:

How long am I entitled to receive student finance?

University master of

1 year

2 year

3 year

4 year
Loan: 7 year 8 year 9 year 10 year

Supplementary grant:

4 year

5 year

6 year

7 year

Student travel card:

5 year

6 year

7 year

8 year
EMPLOYMENT CONDITION

In allocating the supplementary grand and student travel card, DUO applies the following rules:

  • If you have a permanent contract, you must submit a copy of the contract together with your student grant application. The contract must clearly show that you have at least 56 hours of employment per month.
  • If you send a temporary contract together with your application form, this contract must also clearly show that you have at least 56 hours of employment per month. You will receive a student grant for the period for which you are employed.
  • If you are employed as a stand-by worker or temporary agency worker and have at least 56 hours of employment per month, you must also be able to prove that you have already worked at least 56 hours per month for three months. You will not receive a student grant for the first three months, but you will receive a grant for the following six months. After this six-month period, DUO will check whether you actually worked 56 hours per month during that period. If this is not the case, you will have to pay back the student grant money received for that period. If you can prove that you worked at least 56 hours per month for the six-month period, you will receive a student grant for the next six-month period.

Please note that you must submit your student grant application in time. DUO does not allocate student grants with retrospective effect.

Dismissal

Even if you are no longer employed, you may be eligible for a student grant:

  • If you had a permanent contract (for 56 hours or more per month), and that contract was terminated against your will, you may ask to have the student grant continued. You will need a declaration from your ex-employer stating that your contract was terminated against your will. Alternatively, a letter of permission to terminate employment from the subdistrict court will also suffice.
  • If you resigned (i.e., you terminated your contract voluntarily), you will only be entitled to receive a student grant if you can prove that there was a connection between your previous job and your degree programme (e.g., if you were an assistant in a pharmacy and are now studying pharmaceutical sciences). You will need to submit your own declaration and an employer’s declaration together with your student grant application.

Please note that these conditions apply only to students residing in the Netherlands. As proof of residence, you can submit an official certificate from the municipal personal records database (Gemeentelijke Basisadministratie, GBA) of your local municipality.

Work placement

If you are obliged to do a compulsory work placement as part of your degree programme and this makes it impossible for you to continue to work 56 hours per month, you retain the right to receive a student grant. In this situation, whether you do or do not receive a work placement allowance is irrelevant.
To ensure that your student grant continues, you must submit the following documents:

  • A declaration from the educational institution at which you are enrolled, stating that the work placement is a compulsory component of the degree programme and stating the exact period in which you will be doing your work placement.
  • A declaration from your degree programme stating that you will remain registered with the educational institution during your work placement.
  • A declaration from you in which you explain why you cannot comply with the 56-hour rule.

Once your work placement has ended, you must comply with the 56-hour rule again to retain the right to a student grant.
Please note that if you are applying for a student grant for the first time and have no employment at the time of application, you are NOT entitled to receive a student grant.

Parents who are employed or have been employed in the Netherlands

Are your parents from an EU/EEA country and do they work or have they worked in the Netherlands? If so, you may be eligible for a student grant under certain conditions. Please refer to the DUO website